On the 7th of July, the NATO SFA COE received the visit of Mr. Nikolai Rogosaroff and Mr. Marc Schibli, representing the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Section of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI). The DDR Section is the only civilian section in the UN Secretariat designing and implementing programmes for members of armed groups/forces in conflict and post-conflict settings.

The goal of the meeting was to foster the relationship and explore future collaborations with UN institutions through the integration of DDR topics into both NATO SFA COE Courses and the wider area of the contribution to the Law Training Program. This exchange of knowledge and expertise will further enable SFA personnel to support Host Nations in achieving stability and security.

The Director opened the meeting with a historical overview of the Centre and an explanation of the evolution of SFA concept in the NATO environment, introducing the new projects and activities developed by the NATO SFA COE’s Subject Matter Experts.    

In order to perform SFA activities and to be effective in the security sector, it is necessary to have linkages with other areas, such as the DDR program developed by the UN that aims (inter alia) to disarm members of armed groups, whilst helping those former combatants to reintegrate into society as civilians.