Ministry of Defence of Montenegro Standardises Gender Training Using In-house Resources

The Ministry of Defence of Montenegro is finalising the Gender Training Handbook, a knowledge tool aimed at developing and implementing standardised training programmes for various target groups within the ministry and the Armed Forces of Montenegro thus improving the knowledge of all employees on gender equality in Montenegrin defence sector.

On 23 February 2023, in close cooperation with the ministry, SEESAC organised the 3rd meeting of the working group consisted of gender military instructors from the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Montenegro who initiated the Handbook's development in 2021. The meeting, which took place in Podgorica, Montenegro, enabled coordination among the working group members to finalise and plan the design, print and distribution of the Handbook.

Previously, at the ministry’s request, SEESAC supported the two meetings of the working group in 2021 and 2022, both held in Budva, Montenegro.

This activity is part of a broader regional effort to standardise gender training in the ministries of defence and armed forces in the Western Balkans. With SEESAC’s support, the ministries of defence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, and the Republic of Serbia, have acquired the in-house capacity for such an endeavour – certified gender military instructors. The instructors are planning, producing, and updating the guidelines for gender training aimed at developing and implementing a systematic approach to raising gender awareness for soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers, and civilians employed in the defence system.

This activity was organised within UNDP SEESAC's second phase of the Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, which provides support for mainstreaming gender in the security sector reform, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.