Security and Justice

States that prioritise rule of law benefit from economic growth, resilient families and communities, and vibrant, culturally rich societies. Yet in many post-conflict and fragile environments the provision of security and the proper administration of justice functions poorly, lacks legitimacy and in the worst cases can themselves contribute to insecurity and repression.

In conflict-affected and fragile countries, defence, policing, and judicial systems face a myriad of challenges. Often, they are weakened by years of conflict and instability. Institutions may face constrained budgets, poor infrastructure, insufficient manpower, sub-standard training and inadequate human resource management. Where it even exists, the legislation that underpins the work of institutions can be frail and outdated. Robust oversight from central government, parliaments or independent monitors may also be lacking.

Combined, these factors distance security and justice actors from the people they serve. When institutions are unable or unwilling to connect with communities they struggle to understand and prioritise their specific security and justice needs. This reduces the security of all, but particularly those – such as women & girls, religious minorities and migrants – who may have specific vulnerabilities and find it most difficult to articulate and advocate for their safety needs.

In states where undue political interference over national institutions is the norm, corruption and nepotism further diminish service provision and undermines the credibility of security and justice institutions with the people they are meant to serve.

Reform of security and justice provision is about three priorities: strengthening institutional accountability, improving service delivery efficiency, and building demand-side capacity to articulate local safety and security needs.

Many international programmes that have sought to address these issues have failed to understand the complex political contexts, consider local power dynamics, or take into account the needs of both security providers and users. Interventions have traditionally suffered from being insufficiently holistic, instead focusing on strengthening specific parts of security structures or building individual capacities without addressing wider systemic weaknesses.

In contrast, Integrity designs and delivers security and justice reform programming that is informed by robust, ongoing analysis of political economies, systems, and stakeholders. We use evidence to adapt programmes to fit both the need and the context. It may not be appropriate, for example, to design activities to effect large-scale institution building in situations of on-going conflict.

We place the people who deliver and use security and justice services at the centre of our programming. Our objective is to empower citizens to communicate their needs and bolster the capacity of the institutions to deliver community-oriented services reflective of local conditions and aligned with international human rights standards. Our programmes thus engender a culture of service and strengthen accountability to citizens.