Women, Peace and Security highlighted at the NATO Summit

Speaking at the event, the Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, Irene Fellin, said that "NATO's commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security agenda is a distinctive feature of our Alliance. Standing up for and advancing the rights and participation of women in defence and security is at the heart of who we are and what we do”. Ms. Fellin called on participants—including ministers and government officials from NATO Allied and partner countries, as well as civil society representatives–to “continue to champion gender equality in every sphere”.  “The road ahead requires unwavering commitment and collective efforts at all levels”, she concluded. 

The reception gathered government officials, political leaders, academics, and civil society representatives. Foreign and defence ministers from Allied nations attended, as well as foreign ministers from NATO partner countries, namely Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Republic of Korea.  

Prior to the reception, an expert-level Women, Peace and Security (WPS) roundtable at the Loy Henderson Auditorium was held, co-hosted by Irene Fellin and US Ambassador-at-Large for the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta.

The events provided an opportunity to further advance the WPS agenda and spotlight the new NATO policy on WPS, to be endorsed at the Summit. The new policy represents a significant step towards promoting gender equality in line with NATO values and ensures the meaningful participation of women in peace and security efforts.