News

Clare Hutchinson, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security visited Colombia (25-26 April 2019) to participate in an international seminar on gender and territorial security. While in Bogota, Ms. Hutchinson also attended a number of high level meetings, including with the Colombian Vice Minister of Defence Ms Diana Abaunza Millares and the Head of the Colombian Army Gender Office, Lieutenant Colonel Claudia Martinez.

“There can be no protection without participation, because, at its root sexual violence is a gendered issue,” Ms Clare Hutchinson, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security said on Tuesday (23 April 2019), during her address to the United Nations Security Council‘s open debate on sexual violence in conflict.

On 29 March 2019, NATO took part in the annual United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Alliance was represented by Ms. Clare Hutchinson, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security.

On the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, meet four women scientists leading NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme projects in the areas of counter-terrorism, cyber security and communications.

Clare Hutchinson, Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, visited NATO’s peace-keeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) on Wednesday (7 November 2018). Ms. Hutchinson discussed the promotion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda with the commander of KFOR, Major General Salvatore Cuoci. The commander briefed the Special Representative on the many initiatives to ensure a gender perspective is incorporated across all KFOR operations and training.

Clare Hutchinson, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, participated in a UN Security Council debate on women's empowerment in New York on Thursday (25 October 2018). Ms. Hutchinson stressed NATO's strong commitment to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, noting the adoption of a new Policy and Action Plan by Allied leaders in July. She said: "the Women, Peace and Security agenda needs collective action to ensure tangible progress. We must be courageous in our work together to achieve sustainable and lasting peace, not only for women, but for everyone."

At NATO, we have taken up the challenge of advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda. From the first NATO/EAPC Policy and Action Plan (2007) to this current iteration (2018), we have reaffirmed our commitment to the principles of Women, Peace and Security by putting those principles into practice. A new NATO/EAPC Policy and Action Plan was endorsed by Heads of State and Government at the NATO Summit in July 2018. The Office of the NATO Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security is pleased to present this revised NATO/EAPC Policy and Action Plan. Thank you to everyone involved who worked with the Office to make this possible.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller is in Baku, Azerbaijan today (20 September 2018) to meet with senior government officials and to address a major international conference on Women, Peace and Security.

The annual conference of the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives (NCGP) took place from 29 May to 1 June 2018, in Brussels, Belgium. This year’s theme was “A 360 degree approach to gender”. The conference aimed to raise awareness of gender initiatives across the political, military and social domains in NATO, the United Nations (UN), the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and their respective nations and partners.

“NATO has an opportunity to be a leading protector of women’s rights, drawing on the strengths and capabilities of its nations, and working with its more than forty partner countries,” Ms. Clare Hutchinson, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security said on Monday (16 April 2018), during her address to the United Nations Security Council at an open session on the topic of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.