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Full Document in Spanish is attached.

Secure Human Beings, a Premise for Development

Security Sector Reform in the Dominican Republic

Executive Summary

Human Development puts the human being in the centre of its paradigm through which individuals are the medium, objective and aim of development. The state in which these individuals are located can either support or challenge such development. Human rights such as the right to work, participate in of economic activities, the right of association, freedom from fear regarding personal security are some of the vital objectives of human development.

This study presents the current situation with respect to security of Dominican men and women and the response of the Dominican state to security needs and actors from a human development perspective. It discusses how the state fulfills its role as guarantor of security, the current security sector reform activities and tries to suggest further measures according to the paradigm of human development.

It is argued that violence is not only a reason for insecurities but also a result of such. Violence therefore is reflected in existing insecurities that may need to be tackled via social vulnerabilities, responding to the deeper cause and reason for potential aggressive behavior rather than exclusively responding to violence. The main argument of this thesis is that a security sector reform in the Dominican Republic needs to find more constructive and sustainable responses to causes and interdependent factors of insecurities, violence, and repressive measures by the state, which may result in a retro-alimental spiral of detriment for human development.

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This thesis has been part of a post-graduate diploma in Human Development held by UNDP and the "Universidad Catolica" in the Dominican Republic in 2006. The arguments and views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme or UN-INSTRAW.

Elisa Barbado has worked as a specialist in social education focusing on children and juveniles at social risk since 1999. She has received her university degree from the "Universidad Autonma de Barcelona" and is currently attending a Masters programme in risk prevention and recovery in communities. During two years in the Dominican Republic she has worked as a technical assistant for disaster prevention and recovery for UNDP and as an expert of mission for international humanitarian aid.

Nicola Popovic is currently the gender, peace and security associated expert for UN-INSTRAW. She has lived and worked in the Dominican Republic for the last 18 months. Her current work focuses on gender and security sector reform, monitoring and evaluation, as well as the implementation of UNSCR

1325 and gender training for security personnel. She has worked with survivors of gender based violence in Bosnia Herzegovina and holds a Masters degree (LLM) in International Peace Support Operations. Nicola Popovic - npopovic@un-instraw.org

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