14.10.2010.
International Conference on Women in the security sector
International Conference "Women in the Security Sector, UN Security Council Resolution 1325" has began today at the House of Guards in Topcider. The two-day meeting is organized by the Strategic Research Institute of the Ministry of Defence with the support by the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway. At the Opening Ceremony, the speakers were Chief of the Strategic Planning Department of the MoD Defence Policy Sector, Major General Bozidar Forca, PhD; Acting Director of the Strategic Research Institute of the Ministry of Defence Dr Jovanka Šaranovi?; and the Norwegian Ambassador to Belgrade Nils Ragnar Kamsvag.
The Conference involved representatives of government and NGO sector, academic community, politicians, representatives of international institutions, participants in the international peacekeeping operations, representatives of the ministries of defence and ministries of interior from the participating countries.
The meeting was a continuation of the work of the Ministry of Defence on developing of a National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women, Peace and Security".
The UNSC Resolution 1325, which was adopted on 31 October 2000, is one of the most important resolutions of the United Nations in the field of peace and security policy, which emphasise the implications of conflicts on women and girls and their importance in peace building and post-conflict recovery of a country.
General Forca, who is the head of the MoD Working Group for the development of NAP, pointed out that this gathering is a part of a series of activities related to the implementation of Resolution 1325 in Serbia which is to enter the final phase by the end of the year. Activities related to drafting the action plan have been completed, General Forca added, and the next step is considering this document in the Serbian Government.
"Accepting the concept of gender streamlining as one of the strategic orientations, the Serbian Armed Forces has committed itself, in accordance with its capabilities, to seeking to achieve the highest standards in this area, taking into account the lessons learned, specificities of the inherited conditions and demonstrated trends in countries that may serve as an example in that respect which is worth of being followed", said Dr Šaranovi? speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the Conference.
"Today we are one step closer to adopting the National Action Plan for implementing of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by which Serbia shows its willingness to respect the internationally accepted obligations, and the determination to apply this resolution in its policy, but also to directly engage in its implementation" said Dr. Šaranovi?. She stressed that the engagement in developing NAP required synchronized operation of a wide circle of competent authorities, and the result is determining the position of our country in relation to the dominant trends in the world, as well as the theoretical foundation of the field through research projects. In addition, as Dr Šaranovi? noted, it is for the first time in the history of the Serbian Armed Forces that the girls are educated at the Military Academy, the fact that also contributed to girls being informed and motivated to apply for this type of education, and to the admission of women into the professional military service.
Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia, Nils Ragnar Kamsvag, pointing to the importance of women in the security sector, emphasised that the responsibility for the adoption and implementation of the document is the matter of each state individually. Expressing his support to the Serbia's initiative for the adoption of this resolution, he emphasized that few countries in the world fully adhered to this resolution and that its adoption should not remain only on paper, but its practical application is to be worked on .
On the first day of that international gathering, the panellists will discuss topics concerning the achievements and constraints of women in the security sector 10 years after the adoption of Resolution 1325, then the safety and equality in the Balkan region, as well as problems related to the position of women in armed conflicts, peacekeeping and peace-building operations.
Exchange of experiences and proposals for improving regional cooperation in the field of gender streamlining is the topic which is to conclude the second day of the Conference.
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