OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre staff participate in international conference in Berlin on gender-responsive approaches to small arms control

Staff from the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre participated in the conference on “Gender Equal Arms Control: Towards Bullet-Proof Inclusion”, organized in Berlin by the German Foreign Office jointly with the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies on 20 and 21 February 2020.

The conference aimed at accelerating action on gender-responsive small arms control and the Sustainable Development Goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions promoting the meaningful inclusion and participation of women in building peace and security, as well as Sustainable Development Goal Five on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. To this effect, the Gender Equality Network for Small Arms Control (GENSAC) was launched at the conference.

The OSCE promoted its efforts at the conference on gender-responsive arms control and presented the Scholarship for Peace and Security training programmes, which have been implemented jointly with the UN Office on Disarmament Affairs for the last two years, to build the capacities of young professionals, particularly women, in the areas of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. The OSCE emphasized the need for young professionals’ engagement in networking and mentoring programmes to facilitate equal opportunities for women and men in the security sector.

The conference gathered government representatives from Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as from international organizations.