20.04.2015
Participation of Director of SRI at a Regional Conference and Consultations on UNSCR 1325 implementation in the OSCE region, April 20, 2015.
Director of the Institute for Strategic Research and Adviser to the Minister of Defense for Gender Equality, Jovanka Šaranović, PhD, participated in the Regional Conference and Consultations on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 of the UN in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), held in Vilnius (Lithuania) from 19 to 20 April 2015.
Regional Conference and Consultations were jointly organized by the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the OSCE Secretariat and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, "UN Women". In the introduction, the meeting was addressed by President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, Director of the ODIHR Michael Georg Link, the Regional Director of "UN Women" for Europe and Central Asia Ingibjorg Gisladottir, as well as Jovanka Šaranović, as state representative, in the year when Serbia took over the Chairmanship in the the OSCE.
As the priorities of the Serbian Chairmanship of the OSCE in terms of gender equality, Šaranović noted the Addendum to the Gender Action Plan of the OSCE and the activities of the OSCE Special Representative on Gender Issues. She also presented the key achievements of the Republic of Serbia regarding the implementation of UNSCR 1325: a five-year extension of the first National Action Plan (NAP), the establishment of the Coordinating Body for Gender Equality of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the Women’s Parliamentary Network (made from women - members of the National Assembly, regardless of their party affiliation), who presented the Women s Platform for the Development of Serbia for the period up to 2020.
It was pointed out that the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Concept of Gender Equality as its strategic orientation, being consistently implement it for all these years, and as examples of achievements in this area, it was listed: the establish and functioning of all institutional bodies and mechanisms for Gender Equality provided by NAP, increasing the percentage of women in the Defense System, as well as creating preconditions for increasing their representation in the command and operational responsibilities, the opening of all levels of education in the defense for women, regular maintenance of the course "Gender in Multinational Operations" at the Center for Peacekeeping Operations, started training managerial staff, formed a network of certified instructors, cooperation with key international organizations and participation in regional projects.
The key elements for the Republic Serbia s success in the field of Gender Equality are the following: political will, openness to inter-departmental cooperation, good cooperation with civil society, as well as improving the capacity under the mentorship of international organizations.
