21Feb2014

Following the presentations in Skopje and Sarajevo, the study on the Position of Women in the Armed Forces in the Western Balkans was presented in Podgorica on 21 February 2014 during the 27th session of the Gender Equality Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro.

For the occasion, the Committee invited relevant national and international stakeholders including members of the Security and Defence Committee of the Parliament, representatives of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), members of the Armed Forces (AF), Gender Focal Points in the Government of Montenegro, as well as representatives of nongovernmental organizations and international organizations.

In addition to Chairperson of the Gender Equality Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, Ms. Nada Drobnjak, the session was also addressed by Prof. dr Milica Pejanović Đurišić, Minister of Defence of Montenegro, Mr. Rastislav Vrbensky, UNDP Resident Representative in Montenegro, Colonel Esben Aass, Defence Attaché at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, Dr. Ivan Zveržhanovski, SEESAC Coordinator and Ms. Radmila Đakonović, Gender Coordinator at the Montenegro MoD and member of the Working Group tasked with developing the study, who presented its findings.

Ms. Nada Drobnjak noted that the Gender Equality Committee looks upon the issue of security sector reform from the perspective of human rights, which are essential for every man and woman. Ms. Drobnjak took the opportunity to highlight the value UNDP/ SEESAC's Gender Equality in the Military project brings by providing a way for the  Ministries of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to cooperate.

In her remarks, Minister Pejanović Đurišić confirmed that the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro is committed to the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. Furthermore, she emphasized that the MoD of Montenegro will not only continue its efforts to increase the number of women in its Armed Forces but that it will continue to work on improving the conditions in which they currently serve. On this occasion, Ms. Milica Pejanović Đurišić announced that the MoD had already approved the action plan for the implementation of the recommendations from the Study.

Mr. Rastislav Vrbensky stressed that the Study represents a truly unique example of regional cooperation of four Ministries of Defence from the region and that UNDP/SEESAC will support the MoD in their implementation of the Study recommendations.

Colonel Esben Aass pointed out that the study provides and highlights challenges of integrating women in the AFs, as well as ways of overcoming them. More importantly, Colonel Aass stressed that gender equality should not be initiated by and for women, but by and for all, and that all institutions need to be responsible for the implementation of UNSCR 1325.

SEESAC Coordinator, Dr Ivan Zverzhanovski, praised members of the Working Group for the tremendous effort in collecting the data, which is not easily available, but for also for successfully identifying the issues, the problems and the solutions, which will contribute to the improvement of the position of women in the Armed Forces of the four Western Balkan countries. Data collection in itself proved valuable, since some of the question were asked for the first time and thus brought about a re-think of certain policies. In particular, he challenged the myth that all measures to achieve gender equality are expensive and highlighted the solutions identified in the study as best-practice examples of low-cost quick win measures which can bring long-term impact.

Members of parliamentary committees actively engaged in the event posing a series of relevant questions, focusing in particular on standards, comparison with other countries and other security institutions as well as issues of recruitment of women.

Although military careers are now open to women in the Western Balkan countries, a more systematic approach is needed to attract and retain them in the defense and armed forces, and gender perspective must be integrated into the human resource policies and practices. 

Recognizing this need, the Ministries of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with the support of UNDP/SEESAC, conducted a joint baseline study of The Position of Women in the Armed Forces in the Western Balkans.

The Study provides:

Comparable Data on the representation of women in the armed forces in the Western Balkans;

Policies and practices of the Ministries of Defence and the armed forces on recruiting women, their education and training, career development and participation in peacekeeping missions;

Policies and practices related to achieving gender equality in the armed forces.

Endorsed by all four Ministries, the Study is an essential tool for the development and implementation of gender sensitive recruitment and retention policies.

Conducted as an activity of the regional Gender Equality in the Military: Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project, implemented by UNDP/SEESAC, the study is currently available in English, Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian.

SEESAC's Gender Equality in the Military project aims to create a more conducive environment for the advancement of women in the military in the Western Balkans. With this as its goal, SEESAC is supporting the Ministries of Defense in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in their efforts to ensure better integration, retention and professional development for women in the armed forces as well as stronger participation of women in decision-making and gender sensitive change in their organizational cultures.