When women make progress, all of society makes progress, says Chairperson-in-Office Special Representative on Gender Issues during visit to Ukraine

The OSCE Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office on Gender Issues, Ambassador Melanne Verveer, concluded a visit to Ukraine on 17 June 2017. The visit was organized by the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship, the Office of the Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.

Verveer held a range of meetings in Kyiv as well as in the eastern city of Kharkiv, focusing on progress in the sphere of gender equality and implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. She highlighted the importance of gender equality and women’s active contributions to peace and security in the OSCE area and underlined the fact that “when women make progress, all of society makes progress.”

Verveer met with Ukrainian ministers, representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, including Chief Monitor Ertugrul Apakan, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine Vaidotas Verba, and civil society representatives.

The gender-specific impact of the conflict on the civilian population was an important topic of discussion, as were the implementation of Ukraine’s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security and the outlook for a possible ratification by Ukraine of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on countering violence against women.

The Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, informed the Special Representative about the recent creation of the position of Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy to enhance the government’s effectiveness in ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Anastasia Deeva, reported on a pilot project being implemented with police units in several regions of Ukraine on preventing and responding to gender-based violence. The OSCE Project Co-ordinator Office in Ukraine has conducted training courses in support of this initiative.

Verveer also met with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsia, who was recently named “HeforShe” champion by UN Women, and with two members of the parliamentary Equal Opportunities Caucus, Iryna Gerashchenko and Maria Ionova.

The impact of the crisis in and around Ukraine on the civilian population, in particular on women, was at the centre of Verveer’s discussions with civil society representatives in both Kyiv and Kharkiv. Rural and elderly women were identified as particularly vulnerable groups facing hardship in the conflict area. The majority of internally displaced persons are female. At the same time, women in communities and civil society are playing a leading role in alleviating these hardships.

“Women here have shown that they are true bridge builders. Women’s organizations are for instance working hard to support internally displaced people and to build the capacity of future female political leaders both at the national and regional level,” Verveer concluded.