A number of achievements and good practices on gender equality in Russia, says OSCE Senior Gender Adviser on working visit to Moscow

MOSCOW, 30 July 2015 - The OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Ambassador Miroslava Beham, concluding a three-day visit to Moscow on Wednesday noted a number of achievements and good practices in gender equality in the Russian Federation, particularly in the areas of law enforcement and combatting extremism and terrorism.

In her meetings with representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, Education, Labour as well as with the Union of Women of Russia. Beham discussed issues related to violence against women, the economic and political empowerment of women, their social and cultural rights, and the important role women can and should play in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peace-building.

"I was impressed by the efforts of the Russian Federation to include women in law enforcement and security policies,” said Beham. “In particular, the share of women engaged in activities on combatting extremism and terrorism is higher than in most of the comparable institutions in other countries or in international organizations. I encouraged the Russian authorities to share their experiences in this regard with the OSCE and participating States so that they can benefit from them."

The Senior Gender Adviser stressed during her meetings that a gender-inclusive approach to all peace and security issues is indispensable if the OSCE, with its concept of comprehensive security, is to be more effective. She emphasized that national security policies would also benefit from this approach.

In the field of combating violence against women and domestic violence, Beham encouraged the Russian representatives to finalize the procedure on the draft law on domestic violence that has been under discussion for some time.

"The adoption of the law on domestic violence would be an important step in improving the lives and the security of Russian women, children and men," she said. "I recognize the efforts that have been made so far in the Russian Federation in responding to violence against women and domestic violence in political and practical terms, but this is an area where all OSCE participating States still have to make measurable improvements, and a law can contribute much to this."

In this context the Senior Gender Adviser addressed the issue of data collection on the prevalence of violence against women and agreed with her Russian interlocutors to continue discussions on this.

An agreement was also reached on the importance of evaluating progress in the implementation of economic and social rights of women this year, the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Recalling the Beijing Platform, which states that the 'empowerment of women and the equality between women and men are prerequisites for achieving political, social, economic, cultural and environmental security among all peoples', Beham said that, “OSCE participating States would be well advised to assess how far they have come in these areas."

She welcomed the fact that there are a number of good practices in Russia in these fields and invited her hosts to present them to representatives of the OSCE’s 57 participating States in Vienna.