The issue of gender and security, as well as networking of women, is one of the preconditions for gender empowerment and that is why the new Platform of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will provide great opportunities for mutual support and exchange of good practice, said Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković at the online event at which the OSCE Platform for Women Leaders, Mediators and Peacebuilders was launched.

Speaking about the experiences of Serbia, the Commissioner pointed out that 67 percent of local self-governments have formed local security councils, in which, on the average, a third of members are women, which is still not a sufficient number. The role of women in emergencies was particularly important during the pandemic, which showed that the new security paradigm should include a gender perspective in addressing various security challenges, and in particular put the concept of human security at the center of public policy, as well as the topics of rule of law, institutional infrastructure, intergenerational solidarity, environmental protection, and others, Janković pointed out.

The launch of the Platform was officially presented by OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, while the event was attended by, among others, OSCE Ambassador to the South Caucasus Annika Söder, representative of the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network Betül Çelik, director of the Global Network for Women Peacebuilders Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos, and others.