Experts discuss mainstreaming gender perspectives in Georgia

The meeting highlighted the importance of mainstreaming gender perspectives into security sector reform. It also focused on progress made in implementing related UN Security Council Resolutions through Georgia’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, since its adoption in December 2011.

The goal of the meeting was to help states implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and related resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. These resolutions, supported by NATO, recognize the disproportionate impact war and conflicts have on women and children, and call for full and equal participation of women at all levels in issues ranging from early conflict prevention to post-conflict reconstruction, peace and security.

“We are very grateful to UN Women and NATO for this unique opportunity provided to our government and civil society to work with a variety of experts in the field of Women, Peace and Security,” says Rusudan Kervalishvili, Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Chair of the Gender Equality Council.

Experts from Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan and the United Kingdom attended the event. They shared best practices focusing on enhancing provision for security needs of all citizens by integrating a gender perspective.

“Our baseline studies and daily work in all countries of the programme we cover, illustrate that much has been done in the area of police reform in most of the target countries, but substantial work is ahead of us in areas such as policing and improved access to justice for victims of sexual gender-based violence, defence reform and peacekeeping,” says Graziella Piga, Programme Manager, Cross-Regional Programme, UN Women.

“The role of women in security, especially in conflict zones, is extremely important,” says Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, who addressed the meeting via VTC. “The same goes for the participation of women in the armed forces and their contribution to security and defence sector reform.”

“The meeting served to bring to the surface the need to further implement gender policies in the framework of security sector reform and ensure that the 3Ps – Prevention, Protection and Participation – make conflicts less harmful for the many women and children who suffer their consequences,” she adds.

The meeting was organized by the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia together with the NATO Liaison Office in Tbilisi, NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division and the UN Women/EU cross-regional programme, ‘Women Connect Across Conflicts: Building Accountability for Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889.