Speech

There can be no lasting peace without inclusion; without women and men contributing equally to shaping the future of their countries and to building resilient communities.

That is the historic lesson codified in Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

It is fifteen years later: has the world become a safer place?

Today, I would like to briefly highlight the Global Study that looked at those fifteen years of implementation, zoom in on NATO’s experience, and look forward to the challenges ahead.

Two weeks ago, the Global Study was launched. To no surprise, it concludes that we have come far in developing normative frameworks. But we have fallen short in actual implementation. We have fallen short in actual prevention of conflict and protection of those who bear the burden of conflict. Also, we have fallen short of ensuring equal participation of men and women in matters of peace and security.

On 13 October 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2242. Recognising the rapidly changing global context and the security challenges that poses, Resolution 2242 aims to put equal participation back at the core of all peace and security related strategies. And to make women empowerment and gender equality core business of every peace and security professional.

And that is precisely what NATO has tried to achieve: to make gender equality core business. To ensure that a gender lens becomes a basic tool for every security provider. To put gender awareness in our genes.

The NATO model for achieving this? “Keep it practical, and start in-house” - that would be my summary. Our emphasis has been on institutionalising gender sensitivity in order to make gender sensitivity a normalcy, a capability, an aspect of professionalism. It is our ambition to integrate gender perspectives in our day-to-day tasks.

We have enhanced our gender expertise and established a wide network of gender advisors - positioned at the strategic decision making level - from the top to the bottom, and from the bottom to the top.

We have integrated gender perspectives:

1. In education, training and exercises;
2. In all stages of planning, execution and evaluation of our missions and operations;
3. In the core defense planning and reporting cycle of our member Nations.

We have made women, peace and security a main platform for practical cooperation and partnership with other international organisations, partner Nations, and civil society.

But we have progressed only a little and even stagnated in increasing equal participation in our own structures. Only 10.6% of NATO troops are female, and the increase is slow: 3% in 15 years. Only 5.6% of our troops deployed are female. Only 22% of senior international staff is female and their share is stagnating if not decreasing. We have no women at the top.

Therefore, in the High Level Open Debate in New York on 13 October 2015, the NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Vershbow on behalf of NATO, pledged:

1. To actively encourage member Nations to submit female candidates for the most senior NATO positions;
2. To increase the share of women in senior decision making positions in NATO by establishing a Women Professional Network and Mentoring Programme;
3. To further enhance our partnerships for gender equality with international organisations and partner Nations;
4. To institutionalise the constructive dialogue with civil society by establishing a civil society Advisory Panel on women, peace and security;
5. To finance gender sensitive research into drivers of radicalisation and to develop evidence-based responses to violent extremism.

We have achieved a lot. Looking ahead, the challenge is to sustain what has been learnt and achieved. To internalise a gender lens and at the same time adapt the NATO model to the new security challenges of today.

Why? Because for us as an Alliance, promoting gender equality and empowerment is a matter of both credibility and capability. Because we can only effectively defend the founding principles of the Alliance, if and when we live up to them. We need to lead by example and demonstrate in practice that it does make a difference to be inclusive.

And because we have learned through our operations that we are more effective when we build on our diversity as a strength. Inclusion makes us stronger. We are stronger when we build on all talents our societies have to offer. It increases our effectiveness and allows us to better deliver on our mandates.

In the words of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: “Gender equality is not optional - it is fundamental. It allows us to respond better and smarter to the many security challenges we face today.”