Within this framework, the Capacity Building for Defense and Security Forces Division (RFDS) is one of the four pillars of the P2S Department. It operates in the following key areas:

• Security Sector Reform (SSR); - Infrastructure development and equipment provision in complex environments in direct support of defense and security forces; - Strengthening governance and institutional capacities & Training, professionalization, and accompaniment of forces;

• Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).

The expertise sought specifically covers the following thematic areas:

• Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR): support to the planning and implementation of DDR programmes, assistance with the socio-economic reintegration of ex-combatants, and community-based management of the return to civilian life.

• Security Sector Reform (SSR): analysis and support to security and defence public policies, democratic governance of the sector, institutional capacity building, and intersectoral coordination between defence, security, and justice actors.

• Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW): support to combating illicit proliferation, development of national arms control strategies, and strengthening of tracing, stockpile management, and destruction systems.

• Gender and Defence / Inclusive Security: integration of gender approaches into defence and security policies and institutions, prevention of gender-based violence, and promotion of women’s participation in defence and security forces.

• Trust-building between populations and armed forces: design of civil–military dialogue and communication strategies, promotion of accountability and transparency, and support to participatory local security governance mechanisms.

• Military justice and human rights: support to the modernization of military justice systems, strengthening of judicial and disciplinary capacities, and promotion of respect for fundamental rights and international humanitarian law.

• Peacebuilding and conflict prevention: support to local peace and social cohesion initiatives, conflict dynamics analysis, and design of integrated stabilization and community resilience approaches.

These activities are implemented through a responsible and sustainable approach, in line with international standards, the AFD Group’s environmental and social principles, and the “do no harm” principle. In this perspective, the Division also develops innovative projects contributing to the sustainable reintegration of ex-combatants and to the restoration of trust between populations and security institutions.

Active across several geographic areas—Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, the European Neighbourhood, among others—the RFDS Division implements its actions through French, European, and bilateral funding, in support of inclusive, democratic, and sustainable security.