Donor: Bundesakademie, Germany
Duration of project: October 2001
The German Federal College for Security Studies (on behalf of the German government) and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights organised a seminar entitled ‘Democratic Control of Armed Forces – The Role of Parliament, Media an Academia,’ held from 25 – 27 October at Hotel Intercontinental in Belgrade. The seminar was intended for high ranking representatives – members of parliament, government officials, members of the armed forces, academics and journalists – of several South Eastern and Central European states.Following recommendations from the attendees of the first such seminar in November 2000, which reviewed the principles and mechanics of democratic control of armed forces in general, this seminar focused on the democratic control of armed forces in light of new missions, tasks and structures for armed forces given the transformation of societies and the changing international environment.
The objectives of the seminar were:
- to offer a forum for discussion on the principles and mechanics of democratic control of armed forces in the trasformation process in general and as experienced by participating countries in particular;
- to review roles and responsibilities of parliament, the military and the media in light of traditional and modern military tasks;
- to encourage further contact between experts from all participating countries;
- to summarize and publish the seminar results.
