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| Updated: 13-Jul-2005 | NATO Update |
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New tasks and responsibilities for NATO
Current challenges and future tasks and responsibilities were discussed at a somewhat special conference held in Brussels, 11 July 2005. It was the first time that NATO partnered with the Women in International Security (WIIS) to organise a conference. Some 80 foreign affairs professionals from Europe and the United States attended the event which the NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, addressed in a keynote speech. Highlighting the role of women in international security policies today In a video interview given prior to the conference, Dr Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for External Relations, stated: “I think this conference shows just how prominent women are now in the security debate. First of all serving in the Armed Forces in more prominent roles, more senior positions in many NATO countries, but also the fact that women have made a very big conceptual contribution to the debate over the last few years and I think this demonstrates that security is not a man’s profession, if it ever was, but is increasingly a profession in which women have an interest and women are making their mark”. Pushing for political and military transformation
The interventions and discussions broadly acknowledged the need for NATO to transform, both at a political and military level, and looked into ways of implementing this process. The participants put forward candid views on the direction NATO was taking at present emphasising that the Alliance needed to improve its commitment and develop a greater political role toward Afghanistan and Kosovo. They also agreed that NATO should do more in the Middle East and propose concrete measures for cooperation. Discussions also focused on NATO’s efforts in combating terrorism and concerns were raised regarding NATO’s geographical reach and whether the organisation was not overstretching itself.
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