SEESAC at the Gender Equality Platform for Border Security and Management Meeting

SEESAC took part in the meeting of the Gender Equality Platform for Border Security and Management, organized by OSCE on 17 and 18 May 2016 in Helsinki, Finland.

The meeting was part of the project Women Leadership and Empowerment Initiative for Border Security and Management Agencies, which aims to enhance the capacities of the OSCE participating States border security and management agencies by developing mechanisms to promote gender mainstreaming at all levels in the border security and management services.

SEESAC presented results achieved through the Women Police Officers Network in SEE , and Gender Equality in the Military in the Western Balkans  projects; and the importance of regional cooperation, information sharing and knowledge exchange.

Through the two projects SEESAC is facilitating regional cooperation among police services and armed forces on gender equality, and has supported raising gender awareness in these institutions, making human resources policies more gender responsive, improving working conditions for women, and supported strengthening of gender equality mechanisms, contributing thus to better recruitment and retention of women in policing and the military.

WPON provides a plat­form for information sharing and knowledge exchange across police services in South East Europe on the status, needs, and priorities of policewomen and has become a unique regional platform for gender equality in policing. WPON members advocate for advancement of the position of women in police services as well as gender-sensitive policing practices.

In addition to this, SEESAC presented results achieved through the Gender Equality in the Military Project, in particular the Regional Network of Gender Trainers, an important mechanism for increasing gender awareness in the military. Gender Trainers developed and delivered gender seminars/training to more than 4,000 soldiers, NCOs, officers and civilians in four MODs and AFs participating in the project. In addition to this, gender trainers have been deployed through the UNDP SEESAC’s Regional Security Sector Reform Platform to assist the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations in conducting Gender Training of Trainers outside Western Balkans.

The Launch Meeting of Gender Equality Platform was opened by Ambassador Ann-Sofie Stude, Coordinator for UNSCR 1325, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland; Dr. Emily Haber, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Germany (by video address) and Mr. Dennis Cosgrove, Head/Border Security and Management Unit, Transnational Threats Department, OSCE Secretariat. Representatives from border security and management services of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation participated in the meeting.