Tool 7: Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender Ê Parliamentary research services provide non-partisan and balanced analysis related to security issues, customized to meet the needs of parliamentarians. Ê Civil society constitutes a central partner in supporting parliamentarians in efforts to reform and oversee the security sector. Civil society engagement is a crucial aspect of good security governance. Parliaments can employ different means to interact with civil society, including holding national dialogues, organizing public consultations, such as parliamentary hearings on proposed laws, and soliciting presentations by experts. Such relationships are long-established traditions in many societies and strengthen the legitimacy of parliament. Parliamentary engagement with civil society is discussed in section 5.3. Endnotes 1. H. Born and G. Mesevage (2012) “Introducing intelligence oversight”, in H. Born and A. Wills (eds) Overseeing Intelligence Services: A Toolkit, Geneva: DCAF, p. 7. 2. M. Bastick (2014) Integrating a Gender Perspective into Oversight of the Security Sector by Ombuds Institutions & National Human Rights Institutions, Geneva: DCAF, OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE, p. 5. 3. DCAF (2009) Gender and Security Sector Reform, Geneva: DCAF, p. 7. 4. CSCE (1995) “Budapest Document 1994: Towards a genuine partnership in a new era”, Helsinki: Helsinki Monitor. The OSCE was the first security organization to conceive of and adopt a concept of comprehensive and cooperative security, which the participating States have reaffirmed in major documents and decisions taken since the Helsinki Final Act. At the heart of the OSCE comprehensive concept of security lies the understanding that the politico-military, the economic-environmental and the human dimensions are all of equal importance to security. 5. H. Born, P. Fluri and S. Lunn (2010) “Oversight and guidance”, in H. Born, P. Fluri and S. Lunn (eds) The Relevance of Parliamentary Oversight for the Security Sector, Geneva: DCAF, p. 6; DCAF (2015) “Parliaments”, SSR Backgrounder Series, Geneva: DCAF, p. 2. 6. W. F. van Eekelen (2010) “The democratic control of the armed forces: The national and international parliamentary dimension”, in H. Born, P. Fluri and S. Lunn (eds) The Relevance of Parliamentary Oversight for the Security Sector, Geneva: DCAF, p. 47. 7. Interview with MP Michael Hammer, Executive Director of the Austrian Parliamentary Commission for the Federal Armed Forces, Austria, 9 October 2018; interview with Otto Pendl, Director of the Austrian Parliamentary Commission for the Federal Armed Forces, Austria, 13 October 2018. 8. H. Born (2010) “Learning from best practices of parliamentary oversight of the security sector”, in H. Born, P. Fluri and S. Lunn (eds) The Relevance of Parliamentary Oversight for the Security Sector, Geneva: DCAF, p. 33. 9. M. Bentinck and H. Born (2013) Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector, Brussels: European Parliament Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy, p. 29. 9