Our approach

Listening and acting in partnership

Listening to beneficiaries – considered as true partners – both during the design of projects and throughout their implementation, constitutes an absolute priority for Coginta. Involved at all stages, the partners take greater ownership of the projects, precisely developed to meet their needs. Thus, when formulating a project, Coginta organizes joint missions in order to promote local expertise and take into account the sociological, cultural and anthropological dimensions of the context in which the project will be implemented. The investments to be made (e.g. sites for the infrastructure to be built, materials and equipment delivered, etc.) are identified jointly with the partners so that they truly meet their needs.

Training modules are also developed with the participation of partners, and are often designed and conducted by local trainers. Training or awareness activities for the general public are also developed in a concerted manner, particularly with members of civil society including representatives of customary authorities or associations, young people and women, who contribute to developing the messages to be conveyed. Joint monitoring missions and periodic status updates are also organized according to partner requests and project progress, in order to address, together, any constraints or difficulties encountered.

Promoting an operational approach close to the local populations

For many years, cooperation projects in judicial and security matters were mainly concentrated in the capital, at the institutional level, with a strong commitment to systemic and global reform. These projects, as useful as they were, had little visibility among populations whose access to justice and daily security did not seem to be improving despite significant support from technical and financial partners. Coginta's approach is intended, as far as possible, to be more operational, with projects implemented in remote areas where populations have a feeling of disconnection from the State, due to the scarcity of basic services, of which justice and security are part. The issue lies precisely in these economically marginalized areas, far from the centers of power, which struggle to reap the fruits of public policies.

Coginta has chosen to act in a localized manner by implementing cooperation projects that promote the action of security forces and the judicial system to provide better security to populations and allow them to go about their socio-economic activities in safer environments. This approach involves strengthening the conditions for the deployment of security and justice institutions, technical assistance to enable them to become more professional and field work with populations to strengthen the link between the State and citizens.

Adopting a conflict-sensitive approach

When implementing projects, our teams always take care not to unintentionally worsen community, social or political tensions that could exist in the intervention areas. On the contrary, all activities carried out must make it possible to strengthen social cohesion and peace. For each project, we therefore conduct an in-depth analysis of the context of the intervention area and take into account as much as possible the needs expressed by the partners as well as the points of concern. Our projects are flexible depending on the evolution of the context, thanks in particular to the flexibility allowed by the procedures which govern the implementation of the projects, but also due to the profiles of our team members who know how to adapt and offer solutions or possible corrective measures.

Favoring a territorial approach
and concentrating efforts

Concentrating efforts on a given geographical area or on a particular institution makes it possible to envisage lasting and profound changes. This approach takes the form of a multidimensional support including the construction of infrastructure, the acquisition of equipment, the improvement of individual and collective skills, and the promotion of good governance to cover the needs of justice and security institutions, who often work in degraded conditions. Putting them in a position to be able to fully carry out their missions refocuses them towards their primary objective: the protection of populations.

The increased commitment of armies in “theaters of internal operations” is often explained by the inability of internal security forces to stabilize the situation alone. However, armies alone do not have the operational capabilities to guarantee the protection of populations. In this perspective, Coginta supports the consolidation of the territorial network of internal security forces in order to guarantee local security in the daily lives of populations and thus create favorable conditions for socio-economic development. This territorial network, set up by gendarmerie brigades and police stations, constitutes the basis of any security system. It is part of a security concept focused on the primary service of people.

Consider the preservation of the environment
as a genuine lever for social cohesion

Coginta operates in contexts where the interactions between security, development and the environment are closely linked and where the preservation of ecosystems is essential to the well-being of communities. Our organization is committed to fully integrating the environmental dimension into its interventions because today it constitutes an essential imperative for the sustainability and effectiveness of actions.

Thus, Coginta recognizes that environmental protection can be a vector for pacifying social and security tensions within communities. In the design and implementation of its projects, the organization systematically integrates initiatives aimed at preserving natural resources, strengthening climate resilience and promoting environmentally friendly practices. Coginta also supports the establishment of participatory management mechanisms for natural resources, such as fauna, flora, fishery resources, agricultural land and grazing areas. This includes strengthening local capacities for sustainable exploitation of resources and preventing conflicts related to their use.

Where possible, Coginta uses renewable energy to power new infrastructure, helping to reduce pressure on natural resources and mitigate the effects of climate change. When formulating new projects, Coginta integrates environmental criteria to ensure that interventions do not harm the local ecosystem and contribute to its preservation.

Taking action for gender equality

As an essential condition for the socio-economic development of any country, gender equality constitutes the basis of good governance. Promoting this equality requires tackling the structural and root causes of existing inequalities, with a view to bringing about systemic changes in terms of representation, access to resources and recognition of rights. Coginta's action therefore aims to guarantee free and equal access to justice, protection against all forms of discrimination and violence, the elimination of obstacles that hinder women's equal access to justice and physical protection.

In addition, Coginta ensures that victim protection services and procedures, legal aid and detention conditions are gender-sensitive (health, hygiene, privacy and security conditions adapted to the needs of women, whether they are victims or perpetrators of crimes). The content of our training activities is gender-sensitive and includes, where relevant, modules on the prevention and treatment of sexual and gender-based violence. The infrastructure we build also takes into account the specific needs of women, with separate spaces when necessary.

Furthermore, Coginta works for better representation of women in the security and justice institutions. This underrepresentation in key sectors affects the ability to meet the needs of victims, the majority of whom are women. This also contributes to discriminatory responses based on gender, which are therefore ineffective and aggravate the population’s lack of confidence in the police and judicial authorities. Coginta therefore encourages and supports the recruitment of female staff in institutions responsible for security and justice so that they are diverse in terms of gender, in order to provide adequate access to justice and protection for women and men, according to their specific needs.

Guaranteeing sustainability by promoting local skills

Coginta operates with a focus on sustainability. Our approach is based on the principle that the results achieved during projects must be long-term and endure beyond their completion. To this end, Coginta systematically prioritizes partnerships with existing organizations, avoiding the creation of ad hoc mechanisms that would struggle to take root or be too costly for partners to maintain. Also in line with this sustainability approach, Coginta promotes peer-to-peer training, particularly on topics in which managers and/or technicians from beneficiary institutions have already received training. Coginta recommends, whenever possible, training of trainers to ensure the continuity of skills and expertise transfer. At the end of the projects, the training modules are returned to the partners, and a database containing the names of all staff trained by Coginta is provided to the institution concerned.

The modules thus developed by Coginta can be reused by the competent institutions and the training provided is valued in career management. Furthermore, as part of the implementation of awareness and prevention activities, traditional community communication channels are favored, with the participation of representatives of different local interest groups (women, young people, religious people, traditional leaders, etc.) to strengthen their anchoring and impact.

Promoting human rights and paying particular attention to the most vulnerable populations

Human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms inherent to every person, regardless of their nationality, gender, ethnic origin, religion, language or any other characteristic. Any country that adheres to an international human rights treaty is called upon to transpose these standards into its national legislation and apply them. In doing so, Coginta supports States in their obligations to respect human rights by protecting individuals against violations perpetrated by state and non-state actors, and to empower the holders of these rights.

In the security sector, human rights establish appropriate standards of behavior and practices for agents in the exercise of their functions. Among the principles of good security sector governance is the requirement to subject the use of coercive force by security institutions to democratic control, so that it serves to protect individuals and communities and not to threaten them.

So that respect for human rights can contribute to security, Coginta works to promote inclusion, non-discrimination and the participation of populations in security policies. Thus, the accountability of the security sector is expressed through respect and promotion of human rights to allow populations to flourish. Respect for human rights by the security sector actors also increases the civilian population's trust in government institutions and effectively prevents conflicts.