SEESAC Presents Regional Approach to Integrating the Gender Perspective in SSR/G at the Cetinje Parliamentary Forum

Cetinje, Montenegro - SEESAC Coordinator Dr. Ivan Zveržhanovski took part in the Cetinje Parliamentary Forum organized by the Parliament of Montenegro with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Montenegro on April 28-29, 2015.

Dr. Zveržhanovski’s presentation was  part of the session on Gender and Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSR/G), where he is speaking about the Regional Approach to Integrating the Gender Perspective in SSR/G Processes.

“Inclusion of gender in SSR contributes to increased operational effectiveness”, Dr. Zveržhanovski said, adding that “security policies creation should be enriched by the experiences, knowledge, interests, and needs of both women and men”.

“A wider pool of potential recruits brings a wider set of skills and knowledge to respond to the new and evolving security challenges”, Dr. Zveržhanovski emphasized.

Dr. Zveržhanovski used examples from SEESAC projects to explain the benefits of the regional approach to integrating gender in SSR. Discussing both the Women Police Officers Network (WPON) and the Gender Equality in the Military projects, Dr. Zveržhanovski noted that the regional approach helped the participating countries accomplish their goals in a cohesive manner and ensured that the benchmarks set for both the police and the military were contextually appropriate as well as realistic.

Dr. Zveržhanovski told the Forum that the main benefits of the regional approach to integrating gender in SSR/G in South East Europe include “information exchange, sharing of experiences and learning; healthy competition as a driving force for change, and democratic governance and reconciliation”.  

Other topics discussed at the Parliamentary Forum included Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms for the Security and Armed Forces Personnel, Perception of Human Rights and Gender for Security and Armed Forces Personnel in SEE and streamlining Human Rights and Gender for the Security Sector in General Policies, Training Programmes and Education Curricula. The delegates are expected to adopt a joint declaration on the second day of the Forum. 

The Forum was opened by the Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro H.E. Ranko Krivokapic, U.S. Ambassador Margaret A. Uyehara, and the Director of the Office of the OSCE Secretary General Ambassador Marcel Pesko.