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CIMIC and Gender: Moving Towards Inclusion

Seminar on Gender & Civil-Military Relations

Representatives of various military and civil institutions – incl. NATO and OSCE – discussed the relations of gender and modern military operations against the background of developing Stability and Reconstruction in post-conflict scenarios. To consider gender – the issue of equality in sexes – is since the UN resolution 1325 of 2000 an obligation for all UN members. The seminar dealt with the inclusion of gender aspects into military assessments, training and in the execution of operations. Gender was presented and accepted as an issue that should have commitment of the highest levels as it can directly influence the outcome of the mission. The event was conducted by the CCOE in co-operation with Cordaid (a humanitarian NGO) , Genderforce (a project on gender in the military) and Shevolution (an international Consultancy dealing with woman rights).

The seminar’ was held at Landgoed Huize Bergen in Vught in the Netherlands. All participants actively participated in the discussions with a very open mind and in a constructive atmosphere. The keynote speech was delivered by Mrs. Elisabeth Rehn, former Secretary of Defence of Finland and former Special Representative of the UN in Bosnia Herzegovina. She is also co-author on a UN report on woman rights.

Further briefings included case studies on operations in Bosnia I Herzegovina, Afghanistan and the Caucasus and information on concrete projects to enhance the position of women in line with the UN resolution. One of the speakers addressed gender within Human Rights, by silent diplomacy. Also the status of gender in NATO and OSCE was presented and discussed. All participants agreed on the importance of this issue in modern operations as woman can play a defining role in the return of stability and security. It was also concluded that military should consider the importance of their own behaviour both in giving an example and in relation to their attitude and behaviour to women both in their own unit and outside the compound.

In all aspects of preparation, structure, mission and reporting the seminar proposed concrete improvements both for the military and the civil organisations/institutions. An open discussion with all parties involved was also seen as a positive outcome of this seminar. A number of the proposals will be incorporated in documents and trainings by the CCOE. Further exploration of the results and new activities will be proposed and discussed. Also the Civil-Military Co-operation Centre of Excellence will facilitate the communication between all participants on the follow up activities.

An Executive Summary is planned to be published on this website within two weeks.
A full seminar report will be available in May 2006.

A first draft of the Seminar Report, with the outcome of 3 days hard work, will be used as input for the annual meeting in the NATO HQ of the Committee on Women in the NATO Forces (CWINF) in Brussels, from 15 – 19 May 2006.

If you need further information or if you want to receive further information regarding this subject please contact the CCOE officer for gender Major Marian Feddema at feddema.m@cimicgroupnorth.org.

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