Georgia integrates gender perspective into the security sector
Date:
Two significant events dedicated to integrating the principles of gender equality, women, peace and safety into the security sector of Georgia were held in Tbilisi and Gori.
On 6 August 2019, a senior leader seminar held in Tbilisi aimed at supporting the Government of Georgia, namely its security agencies (the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service), in the implementation of the 2018-2020 National Action Plan on the Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security.
Ms. Lela Chikovani, Deputy Defence Minister of Georgia; H.E. Justin McKenzie Smith, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Georgia; and Ms. Erika Kvapilova, UN Women Country Representative in Georgia, opened the high-level meeting and welcomed the participants.
Around 100 representatives holding leadership and managerial positions in the security sector took part in the seminar and discussed the importance of integrating a gender perspective with the purpose of achieving political-military, strategic and operational objectives. “We greatly value the skills and abilities of women, and therefore we will do our best to recruit and facilitate their career advancement in the defence forces,” remarked General Alexander Kiknadze, Commander of Eastern Command of the Georgian Armed Forces.
In parallel with this seminar, a three-day gender focal points awareness course was conducted at the David Aghmashenebeli National Defence Academy in Gori. The course aimed at mainstreaming a gender perspective within security sector employees’ area of responsibility at both the strategic and operational level.
Both events clearly demonstrated that introducing, integrating and implementing a gender perspective at all levels of the security sector and within the day-to-day work of its senior and strategic/operational level employees, is a precondition for successfully reforming the security sector and contributes to the advancement and effective functioning of the respective institutions.
The events in Tbilisi and Gori were organized by UN Women in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and with funding from the UK Government. The events were led by the trainers and instructors of the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations of the Swedish Armed Forces; and the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence in Bulgaria.