Gender analysis of SALW control legislation and policies – reports just launched

UNDP SEESAC in cooperation with Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) commissions in the region has undertaken a large-scale gender analysis of small arms control legislation and policies. In five Western Balkans jurisdictions, we screened a total of 101 laws, 113 bylaws and 39 strategies and action plans to assess their gender responsiveness and propose hands-on recommendations to adequately address risks women and men face with regard to firearms.  

The Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illicit possession, misuse and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition in the Western Balkans, adopted in 2018, places specific importance on the advancement of gender equality and calls for the full integration of gender and age perspectives into small arm control policies. The Roadmap prioritizes the strengthening of arms control legislation and aims to ensure that arms control policies and practices in the Western Balkans are evidence-based and intelligence-led.

To facilitate the implementation of these commitments, UNDP SEESAC, in close cooperation with the SALW commissions conducted an all-encompassing gender analysis of existing legislation and policies relevant to arms control. The analysis is an integral part of SEESAC’s ongoing support to the region through the EU Council Decision 2018/1788, on harmonization of arms-control legislation with the EU regulatory framework and other related international obligations across the region. Such analysis was conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro and North Macedonia. In Serbia, a similar analysis was conducted by UNDP Country Office.

The analysis documented significant progress achieved by the institutions in the Western Balkans in integrating the gender perspective into small arms control policies. This has been particularly the case with recently adopted strategies and action plans for the implementation of the Roadmap, which foresee multiple measures to:

  • address linkages between firearms and domestic violence,
  • respond to gendered aspects of firearm demand, use and misuse – including linkages between masculine norms and firearms,
  • increase participation and representation of women in arms control, and
  • further build institutional capacities for gender mainstreaming and improve gender-sensitive data collection and record-keeping.

In addition, there have been noticeable efforts to ensure that laws on weapons prevent that firearms are used in the context of domestic violence, alongside the progress aimed at eliminating domestic violence. The analysis also identified out that these frameworks are not necessarily always coherent and gaps in operational responses have been identified. The analysis extensively mapped legislative and policy preconditions mainstreaming gender and participation of women in small arms control. In addition, existing record-keeping practices were analyzed to identify entry points for genders sensitive data collection.

The analysis resulted in a wide range of recommendations on how to strengthen the response to gendered aspects of firearms through legislative and policy actions, particularly related to the prevention of the use of firearms in domestic violence. The findings and accompanying recommendations were thoroughly discussed with SALW commissions in the region and have been already used in ongoing revisions of SALW control strategies and action plans in the Western Balkans. Through a recently launched DG NEAR funded project, UNDP SEESAC will be supporting the implementation of key recommendations and assist relevant institutions in the region in their efforts to integrate the gender perspective into their operational level activities.

Here you can check the reports for Albania, Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro, while the report for Kosovo will be published soon.

 

* References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of the Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). 

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