Women, Peace and Security Agenda under scrutiny at OSCE-supported workshop in Vienna

Government and civil society representatives from Andorra, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Slovakia gathered for the third OSCE National Action Plan Academy workshop on 19 and 20 April 2018 in Vienna to discuss good practices in the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

The workshop was opened by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova. “As the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 is just two years away, it is a good time to take stock of what has been achieved so far. Many steps have already been taken to advance the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, but we have to acknowledge that much more work needs to be done under all four pillars of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda,” she said.

Swanee Hunt, head of the NGO Inclusive Security, urged the participants to keep in mind that Women, Peace and Security is not a so-called women’s issue but a human security issue. “Bringing women to peace negotiation tables and peace operations will make societies safer for all,” she said.

The participants brainstormed on how a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security could result in concrete and realistic outcomes. Instead of listing different activities to be conducted, a National Action Plan should be structured around results expected to be achieved within the time period covered by the plan, participants agreed.

The workshop also compared the strengths and weaknesses of different models of co-ordination for drafting and implementing a National Action Plan.

“The OSCE, with its comprehensive approach to security and its mandate that covers the whole conflict cycle, is well placed to lead work on Women, Peace and Security,” said the workshop facilitator Miki Jacevic. “The OSCE region, where more than half of the countries have already adopted National Action Plans, can be a good example to other regions where there more work still to be done.”

Two previous National Action Plan Academy workshops were organized in 2016 and 2017, respectively. So far, 130 government and civil society representatives from 25 OSCE participating States have benefited from these workshops.