ROU GENDER MANAGEMENT OFFICE

 HISTORY OF THE GENDER MANAGEMENT OFFICE
 

On December 1, 2020, was published the Order of the Minister of National Defence no. M.203. It was issued for the implementation, at the level of the MOD, of the provisions of the National Strategy and the National Action Plan on the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1.325 (2000) – Women, Peace and Security for the period 2020-2023.

The management and monitoring of gender perspective implementation at the MOD level are provided by the Department for Parliament Liaison and Personnel Welfare, through the Gender Management Office.

Gender Management Office developed the Code of Conduct from a Gender perspective and standards of behavior in the MOD, the procedural rules at the level of the Ministry regarding the resolution of complaints about gender discrimination and acts of sexual harassment.

It also ensures the coordination of the activities of gender counselors in the MOD, organizes and coordinates trainings, specialized convocations/information meetings and consultation with them, at least once a year.


Collaboration with the structures designated for training the personnel and structures nominated to participate in missions abroad and with the representatives of the national institutions responsible for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1.325/2000, as well as the representation of the MOD at conferences/seminars and working groups, with the theme Women, Peace and Security represent all the responsibilities of the Department for Parliament Liaison and Personnel Welfare, through the Gender Management Office.


The chief of Gender Management Office is designated National Focal Point in the field of gender issues.

In order to fulfill the responsibilities for the implementation of the National Strategy and the National Action Plan, the commanders/heads of military structures, up to the Battalion/similar level including, appoint, by day order per unit, a gender counselor, usually among officers.
It performs tasks such as:
♦ maintain the functional dialog with the designated gender counselor at the upper echelon and inform hierarchically about any exceptional situations regarding gender issues identified at the level of the military structure to which it belongs;
♦ ensures the gender training of the entire staff from whose structure it belongs, by including specific topics in the working meetings of the commanders and/or in the command preparations;
♦ ensures the integration of gender perspective in the process of planning operations;
♦ ensures the introduction of gender themes on the staff training agenda during the pre-deployment period and actively contributes to their training on the principles included in the Women, peace and Security Agenda;
♦ supports the initiatives developed at the level of the military organization in the field of cooperation in the field of implementation of the Women, peace and Security Agenda;
♦ participates in the activity of promoting in the military or civil media the importance of women’s participation in the entire field of activities carried out at the level of the Romanian Armed Forces, by providing data / information on gender issues to the structures / personnel with information and public relations responsibilities within each military unit.

 

Gender counselors appointed at the level of central structures maintain the functional dialog with the  Gender Management Office and support the National Focal Point with the information necessary to develop  responses to requests received from international organizations in the field of Women, peace and security.

The National Strategy and National Action Plan on the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1.325 (2000) – Women, Peace and Security for the period 2020-2023 were approved by Government Decision no. 561 of 16 July 2020, published in Official Gazette no. 667 of 28 July 2020.

The National Action Plan is the instrument that underpins the development of common policies and directions for the implementation of UNSCR 1.325 (2000) used by the institutions of the national defense, public order and national security system in Romania, as well as by other central administration institutions with responsibilities in the field.

The Women, Peace and Security Agenda is a tool for managing issues related to both equal opportunities and treatment between women and men, as well as conflict, violence and security. The overall vision of the global agenda is aimed at achieving gender equality, peace and security.

Four main objectives are set for the implementation of the UN resolution:
– gender mainstreaming in security and defense policies;
– increasing the representation and significant participation of women in peace negotiations, mediation processes and peacekeeping missions;
– preventing and combating all forms of discrimination, harassment and gender-based sexual violence;
– working with civil society in the process of implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, each of which contains a series of measures.


Resolution 1325 (2000) of the National Security Council of the United Nations Women, Peace and Security, adopted on 31 October 2000, hereinafter referred to as, UNSCR 1325(2000), affirms the important role of women in conflict prevention and resolution, in peace negotiations, peace consolidation, peace keeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction and highlights the importance of the full participation and involvement of women in all peace and security promotion and insurance efforts.

The contents of UNSCR 1325 (2000) expresses concern for civilians, especially women and children, who represent the vast majority of the victims of armed conflicts and reaffirms the importance of the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution as well as the peace construction process.

Moreover, UNSCR 1325 (2000) presents the necessity for equal participation and full involvement of women in all efforts for peace and security keeping and promotion, as well as the need to increase their role in the decision making process regarding conflict prevention and resolution. The analysis of the potential for violence against women in a certain country can constitute an indicator that can predict the potential for conflict of that nation. As such, if data regarding women’s rights and the potential for violence against women is introduced in the early warning systems, this may lead to improved predictability regarding the manifestation of gender based violence and other atrocities.

In order to achieve the objectives, UNSCR 1325 (2000) is based on four pillars:

Participation – which deals with increasing participation of women in the decision making process at all levels at national and regional levels, within international institutions and mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, in peace negotiations, as well as in UN peace keeping operations.

Prevention – which involves taking special measures for conflict prevention as well as the prevention of all forms of violence against women during and after conflicts, including but not limited to sexual and gender based violence, discriminatory practices, abuses and exploitation. There is a correlation between women’s situation and the level of conflict in an area, that, while real, it is insufficiently explored and has its roots in the fact that male dominated societies and those dominated by military structures fail to protect women’s rights and very little if any opportunities exist to promote women’s rights appropriately within the public and private spheres of these societies and/or at every decision and leadership level.

Protection – it refers to the special attention in order to protect women and young girls from sexual or gender based violence, including emergency or humanitarian situations such as refugee camps.
 
Assistance and recovery – includes the adoption of assistance and recovery measures in order to tackle crisis from the gender perspective, which includes respecting the civilian and humanitarian nature of refugee camps, by taking into account the needs of women and young girls from as early as the design and layout phase of the refugee camps and amenities.

From 2000 until today, UNSC adopted eight additional resolutions on the WPS theme, which means that, at the UN level there is already an Agenda for this theme. In this regard, we would like to mention the following resolutions:
 
  • 1820/2008, that deals with sexual violence in conflicts as an element of war tactics;
  • 1888/2009 that highlights the increasing role of UN peace keeping missions in protecting women and children during conflict situations;
  • 1889/2009, through which the UN Secretary General is requested to propose a set of indicators regarding the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000);
  • 1960/2010 that offers a tracking system concerning those responsible with sexual violence during conflicts. This resolution requests the compilation of lists identifying those who are responsible with committing such acts of violence;
  • 2106/2013, which requests that – aside from UN and SC – all members states should get involved in applying the resolutions of the SC regarding Women, Peace and Security;
  • 2122/2013, that highlights new measures to enforce the participation of women solving conflicts at UN and member states and regional organisations level and requests removing the obstacles against the facilitation of such participation;
  • 2242/2015 that identifies the new themes which impact this field: climate change, violent extremism, the increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons.
  • 2467/2019, that emphasizes the elimination of sexual violence during conflicts, by establishing new measures for the UN and member states systems in order to eliminate, track cases where such violence occurs and to identify the support measures required for the victims. The resolution brings to attention the acknowledgement of children born from rape, starting from an approach focused around the survivors.

UNSCR in the WPS field acknowledge in equal measure that boys and men are and can be victims of sexual and gender based violence, including but not limited to: torture and failure to report it, stigmatization and discrimination, the promotion of false messages regarding homosexuality, infertility, prohibition of access to health services, etc.
Sexual violence is a recurring problem in armed conflicts and has become part of the strategic instruments used especially by extremist terrorist groups. More and more often, men, women, boys and girls are subjected to the same risk, irrespective of age and, in most cases, the victims of such atrocities do not report these issues because they feel ashamed.

The list of sensitive indicators regarding the gender perspective includes of wide range of manifestations, such as: women’s education, vulnerability against gender based violence, frequent kidnappings, human trafficking for the purposes of providing sexual services, domestic violence and single parent family support. The indicators can be classified into four categories: demographic, human rights and security related, political and institutional, economic and social.

An early warning system, capable of taking into account the gender perspective, can facilitate the taking of adequate measures in order to prevent abuses against women during and after conflicts, as well as to protect their involvement, given that, in a conflict, women’s ability to empathise and relate with the community may lead to a more efficient approach of inter-ethnic alliances, in view of preventing and solving conflicts.

Even though they are not part of the UNSCR 1325 (2000), it is important to mention that the two additional resolutions regarding sexual exploitation and abuse in peace keeping operations (UNSCR. 2272/2016) and human trafficking and its impact (UNSCR 2331/2016).

The implementation of the WPS agenda at NATO level was accomplished by means of BISC 40-1 Directive Integrating UNSCR 1325 and gender perspective into the NATO Command Structure.

The NATO action plan envisages the integration of the gender perspective both internally, within NATO forces, as well as externally, within the operations and missions executed by the alliance. The document highlights the importance of integrating the gender perspective as a tool that must be used at all operational, planning, leadership and evaluation levels in order to obtain high operational efficacy and to bring a real awareness of the situation.

The EU promotes peace and security within and outside their borders. It is consecrated in the Treaty on European Union and reflected in the global strategy for security and external policies of the European Union.
The WPS agenda constitutes a tool for managing aspects concerning both equal opportunities and treatment for women and men, as well as conflicts, violence and security. The overall vision of the WPS global agenda seeks to achieve gender equality, peace and security.

In December 2018, the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted the Conclusions regarding WPS and the EU Strategic Approach in the WPS field, which seeks to reaffirm the holistic implementation of the WPS Agenda, the UN Strategy regarding gender equality, peace and security.

The EU Strategic Approach regarding the WPS field offers a solid foundation for the accomplishment of equal opportunity and treatment for men and women – one of EU’s fundamental values – by engaging with, increasing the responsibilities of, protecting and supporting women and young girls in view of achieving peace and security.
Additionally, we must stress the importance of women in leadership in the context of policies and programmes concerning peach keeping and security.

The organisational approach starts by identifying certain social roles fulfilled by men and women that are different in each of the communities to which they belong, and that must be taken into account when configuring the transition from a state of conflict to one of peace.

The EU strategy is aligned with International Human Rights provision, with emphasis on respecting the prohibition to exercise any form of sexual violence in the context of humanitarian aid interventions, as well as the development of programmes meant to respond to the needs of victims of such acts.
 

! Disclaimer: We draw your attention to the fact that on this site there is information translated from Romanian, translations that are not legalized.