Western Balkan Ministries of Defence and Armed Forces Integrate Gender Perspective in Military Education and Training

The Regional Working Group for the Integration of the Gender Perspective in the Military Education and Training gathered to review and agree on the final draft of the Regional Baseline Study on the Integration of a Gender Perspective in Military Education and Training in Ministries of Defence and Armed Forces in the Western Balkans. Eighteen members of the working group agreed on the final draft study and developed the list of recommendations based on the findings, conclusions, and ministries’ priorities during the event organised in Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 29 June 2022.

High-quality military education and training with the gender perspective is a prerequisite for creating an agile defence sector, ready to respond to the 21st-century complex challenges and uphold the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.

The study has been drafted through joint work of Ministries of Defence (MoDs) and Armed Forces (AFs) in the Western Balkans. Both regional and country-level work contributed to identifying viable ways to integrate gender perspective in military education and training, as well as sharing the existing good practices. Supported by SEESAC, the process has been initiated by the MoDs and AFs by using tried and tested methods of regional cooperation which already proved fruitful in developing the regional knowledge tools.

The four ministries’ cooperation on developing the study is supported through the Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project funded by the governments of Norway and the Slovak Republic. Implemented by SEESAC, the project provides the Western Balkan MoDs and AFs an information and knowledge exchange platform for facilitating actions in ensuring long-term and sustainable inclusion of the gender perspective in defence policies and practices.