Gender equality

Women, peace and security

In support of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, the Organization supports the efforts undertaken internationally to engage both women and men in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.

Overview

Our challenge, our action, our teams

Commitment

The resolution and other international commitments and declarations recognize the importance of women’s full and equal representation and participation in peace and security governance at all levels. They also call for special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence in situations of armed conflict. The OSCE participating States supported these efforts in the 2004 Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality and called, in a Ministerial Council decision in 2005, for the development of policies to “encourage the full and equal participation of women and women’s organizations in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict rehabilitation” and to support the sharing of experiences and best practices and […] engage with women’s peace initiatives.

Implementation

Several OSCE offices and teams are involved in furthering the women, peace and security agenda. The Secretariat’s team working under the Programme for Gender Issues supports government and civil society actors with a variety of activities to help the States implement their commitments under the agenda. They also work with the Conflict Prevention Centre on an initiative to further the inclusion of women in effective peace processes and helps to empower young women professionals in the fields of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation through a scholarship programme run by the Conflict Prevention Centre. Within the OSCE’s work on transnational threats, the Programme’s team also works on raising awareness of the role of gender in preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism.

Reporting

The OSCE participating States voluntarily report every year on measures by their security services to implement the women, peace and security commitments as part of an exchange of information taking place via the Forum for Security Co-operation and in compliance with the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security.

Projects

Initiatives funded by individual states and organizations

Projects

News and activities

Current announcements, press releases, media advisories and other updates

News Item

Including the views of diverse communities in shaping multi-perspective historical narratives contributes to societal cohesion - OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp

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News Item

On first official visit to Kazakhstan, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp discusses integration of diversity and multilingual education

DateDateLocationLocation Kazakhstan
News Item

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp emphasizes need for effective consultation with non-majority communities during visit to Kosovo

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News Item

In first official trip to Central Asia, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp visits Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

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All news

Resources

Official OSCE documents, publications, guidelines and other resource material

This content is available in: English, Русский Guide / manual / handbook

Gender in military operations: Guidance for military personnel working at tactical level in Peace Support Operations

DateDateLocationLocation

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
This content is available in: English, Русский Study / report

Designing Inclusive Strategies for Sustainable Security: Results-Oriented National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security

DateDateLocationLocation

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Inclusive Security
This content is available in: Bosanski, Hrvatski, English, Русский, Српски, Українська Study / report

Implementing Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the OSCE Region

DateDateLocationLocation

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
This content is available in: English, Русский Guide / manual / handbook

Inclusion of Women and Effective Peace Processes: A Toolkit

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Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Decision / declaration

Ljubljana Ministerial Decision No. 14 on women in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation

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Treaty / agreement

Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security

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All resources

Studies and reports

Reports, studies and analyses for policymakers, researchers and all those interested in this field of our work

All studies and reports

Manuals and guides

Practice-oriented manuals, guides, handbooks and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners working in this field

All manuals and guides

Learning, training and education

Strengthening competence

The OSCE offers training courses and learning material to support practitioners and other interested audiences in the OSCE participating States.

Learning and training