OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and Project Co-Ordinator in Ukraine honour women’s contributions to peace and security

KYIV, 30 October 2020 - The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and the OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Ukraine marked the 20^th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by honouring the efforts of women and girls in support of peace and security. The landmark Resolution recognizes the wide variety of roles women and girls play in support of sustainable peace and calls for their full and meaningful inclusion in these efforts. 

“The SMM works to achieve gender parity in its own ranks and it integrates a gender perspective in its activities, most notably in the areas of monitoring and reporting, thereby enabling it to effectively implement its mandate,” said the SMM Chief Monitor Yaşar Halit Çevik.

As the Ukrainian government adopted this week a new National Action Plan for UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine pledged to continue its practical support to relevant authorities in implementing the Resolution.

“The Resolution calls for action, and Ukraine can count on comprehensive assistance from the OSCE in transferring plans within the Women, Peace and Security agenda from paper to reality,” said the OSCE Project Co-ordinator Henrik Villadsen.

The Project Co-ordinator’s manuals, “Women. Peace. Security” for security sector professionals and social service providers together with training courses over the years have helped to raise awareness of how conflicts impact women and girls, and of the need to address these issues. Other capacity-building and awareness-raising efforts include combating gender-based violence, inclusion of women in dialogue processes, gender-sensitive justice, and the rights of women in armed forces.

The SMM’s recent publication Women on the Contact Line illustrates how women, including community leaders as well as the Mission’s monitoring officers, build bridges between people, serving the cause of sustainable peace in often unseen but concrete, meaningful ways.

The SMM and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine remain committed to supporting women’s voices for peace and security.