DCAF and Lumière Synergie pour le Développement co-organised a meeting with civil society organisations (CSOs) from Senegal to discuss the Observatory on private security governance, a DCAF project that seeks to reinforce the role of CSOs in Africa as a means to ensure effective oversight and accountability of the private security sector. The meeting, hosted by Amnesty International Senegal, was part of a series of consultations with CSOs before the launch of the pilot Observatory on private security governance.

Discussions underlined the need for insights into real private security regulatory challenges on the ground. Strengthening the role of CSOs as effective monitoring agents of the private security sector was identified as imperative in order to enable implementation of international initiatives such as the Montreux Document and the International Code of Conduct (ICoC). Participants shared information and have identified common learning needs and priorities for future capacity building. The meeting resulted in CSOs mapping the type of engagement tools and content to be made available on the Observatory. All participants acknowledged the importance of local ownership of the project; therefore, a Senegalese coordination committee will be established in preparation for the pilot launch of the Observatory on private security governance in the coming month.