(Bratislava, Slovak Republic, 31 March 1998)
The Round Table "The Civil Control of the Military in Slovakia and Non-Governmental Sector" is organized within the EU Phare Programme of Democracy, the Project of the "Civil Control of the Military and Officers in Democratic Societies". The goal of the Project to be carried out here in a panel discussion is to identify the current status, possibilities and inevitability of control of armed forces.
PROGRAMME:
I. Panel Discussion
"Specification of the civil control of the military and a role of individual players in this control".
II. Panel Discussion
"Non-governmental organizations and a role of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic (SR) in dialogue with them".
III. Panel Discussion
"Use of foreign experience in implementation of the democratic control of the military".
IV. Panel Discussion
"Impact of the military service social conditions on activities of non-governmental organizations - humanization of the military".
The panel discussions were headed by M.Sc. Lubomír Andrassy and M.Sc. Miroslav Minár. The expert guarantor of the Round Table "The Civilian Control of the Military in Slovakia and Non-Governmental Sector" was Prof. Dr. Peter Barták, DSc.
COMMUNIQUE OF THE ROUND TABLE PARTICIPANTS
The Round Table "The Civil Control of the Military in Slovakia and Non-Governmental Sector" was organized within the EU Phare Programme of Democracy, "Civil Control of the Military and Officers in Democratic Societies" Project. Co-organizers for the Slovak party were the Association of Reserve Soldiers, Association of the Military Youth of SR, and the Military Broadcast of the Slovak Radio. The Seminar was held 31 March 1998 under the effective assistance of the Ministry of Defence of SR. The expert guarantor was Prof. Dr. Peter Barták, DSc.
I. The Round Table participants discussed theoretical and current practical issues of development of the civil, democratic management and control of armed forces of SR. The stress was laid on the Army of the Slovak Republic (ASR), role of non-governmental organizations in this process, and foreign experience learned in this process. The participants jointly agreed that in the field of the civil control of ASR the positive results were achieved within five years, but, nevertheless, there are still significant missions to be carried out by relevant institutions. These missions should not be carried out at random because this is a gradual process. The paradox is that this process is in our society driven by the military department, by soldiers. The participants of the Round Table consider the developed civil control of the military with publicly declared criteria to be one of prerequisites for adoption into transatlantic structures.
The Round Table participants therefore appeal in particular to political parties, especially to parliamentary political parties, as the decisive subjects in developing the civil democratic control of the military in SR, and also to representatives of the press and other media, to civilians employed with the defence department, and to civic, non-governmental organizations and associations for deepening their responsibility and for their more intensive and effective developing the civil, democratic management and control of all armed forces of SR.
II. The Round Table participants recommend to focus efforts in development of the civil control of armed forces of SR in particular on the following spheres of problems and tasks:
1. In the formal field of development of the civil control of armed forces of SR:
- legislative legal completion and precision
- identification and specification of basic competencies of decisive constitutional officials and bodies of SR (President, National Council of SR (NC SR), Committee for Security and Defence of NC SR, government, Minister of Defence)
- overall quality improvement of the armed forces control by means of the budget
- additional precision of basic rights and duties of the civil-political management and control body of the defence department, that is, the Ministry of Defence of SR, and military-professional, commanding and executive body, that is, the General Staff of ASR
- develop and pass laws on other branches of the armed forces of SR (Ministry of the Interior Force, Railway Force)
- prompt adoption of conception and to start professional training of civilian personnel for the field of security and defence of the country.
2. In the non-formal field of development of the civil control of armed forces of SR:
- contribute to substantial enlargement, deepening and improvement of quality in providing information for the Slovak (and international) public on the Army of SR, the Ministry of the Interior Force, and the Railway Force)
- encourage and support approximately one ten of active civic, non-state, and non-profit organizations and associations in their pioneer efforts for civil control of the Army of SR
- support formation of non-state, non-profit organizations of research or educational specializations, and/or help expand range of existing organizations, companies, foundations to the field of civil, democratic management and control of armed forces of SR
- decisively enhance transparency of work and relations of the state and private non-profit scientific, industrial and business companies with armed forces, in particular with the Army of SR
- support and help enlarge the range of activities of the Trade Union Association of Civilian Employees of ASR in the field of developing the civil control of the military system
- assist in setting a body/authority, which would be helpful in solution of problems of relatively largest social group within the armed forces - the conscripts (Commissioner for Defence in NC SR, Spokesperson of Conscripts, and the like).
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