The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) today launched a handbook for parliamentarians on Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector, in the presence of the President of the IPU Council, the Chilean Senator Sergio Páez, the Chairman of the Chilean Senate Defense Committee, Fernando Flores, the Defence Chief of Staff, General Juan Carlos Salgado, the Swiss MP, Paul Günter, the Deputy Director of DCAF, Philipp Fluri, and the IPU Secretary, Anders B. Johnsson.

"Because security is central to people's well-being, it is essential that their views find expression in the nation's security policy. That policy has to incorporate the underlying values and principles relating to security which the State seeks to foster and protect", declared the President of the IPU Council, Chilean senator Sergio Páez.

There is thus a clear need for the people's elected representatives in parliament to work closely with the government and the security sector. Yet although they work for the same end, their roles are and should be fundamentally different. Parliament is responsible for setting the legal parameters, adopting the budget and overseeing security activities. It can only exercise these responsibilities in full if it has broad access to information, the necessary technical expertise, and the power and intention to hold the government to account. This, in turn, requires a social fabric that is underpinned by trust and dialogue, says the organisation of the world's parliaments.

In Chile – added senator Páez -, "relations between society and the armed forces have improved over the years. Today's international community will find in Chile an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation, which we hope will be further consolidated in the future. We are confident that this handbook will help to ensure that all the key players in the security arena will steer their cooperative endeavours towards the common good of each and every citizen".

For the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, "nowadays, the part that is played by those whose job it is to provide security is undergoing considerable change. New types of armed conflict and growing ties between states have prompted innovative responses and new thinking about the very concept of security. The attacks of 11 September 2001 and their aftermath have only underscored this need".

Ambassador Theodor Winkler, Director of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) pointed out that "effective parliamentary oversight has thus become all the more crucial to ensure that these new responses are devised and implemented with full transparency and accountability. In its absence, there is a danger of security services misinterpreting their mission and acting like a state within the state, either placing heavy strains on scarce resources, or exerting excessive political and economic influence".

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 145 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. The organisation of the world's parliaments also has a Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York.
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Contacts:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Tel. +4122 919 41 16/27 Fax: +4122 919 41 60, 919 41 97 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org