Women should be more involved in the process of creating and implementing policies in the security sector, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, at the conference “Women, peace, security: Planned (non)action – third time’s a charm“, organized by the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, at which the key findings of the Report on monitoring the implementation of the second National Action Plan (NAP) for application of Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council were presented.
The Commissioner pointed out that the overview of the submitted activities shows a slower pace of implementation of the second NAP compared to the first, as well as that local self-governments were not ready to take on the responsibility entrusted to them in its implementation. The most complete report on the activities carried out was submitted by the BIA, the most significant increase in the number of women in management positions was realized by the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia – 18%, while in the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Army, stagnant growth was recorded at all levels, the Commissioner said, stating that it is encouraging that there is an increased interest of girls in enrolling in educational institutions of the Ministry of Defense. The report also shows a more significant balance of women’s representation was recorded in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – 49% and the Customs Administration – 42%.
The next plan can be of crucial importance for the implementation of the principles contained in Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council, said Janković, stating that local self-governments often note in their reports that they carried out the largest number of activities on the topic of community security with the police, which indicates that the MIA has the most capacity to direct activities at the local level and contribute to the localization of the third NAP.
Commissioner Janković said that the primary goal of the Commissioner’s institution is to contribute to the assessment of the situation in this area as well, spot potential challenges in achieving equality and make recommendations, following its competencies, for more efficient implementation of public policies at the central and local level.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Jan Braathu, the Minister of Justice, Maja Popović, the Assistant Director of Police, Dragan Vasiljević, addressed the conference, and a panel discussion was held in which the following participated: Aleksandra Ćirić – President of the Municipality of Ruma, Natalija Tomić – Member of the Management Board of the Network of Women in the Police, Lieutenant Colonel Marko Marjanović from the Center for Peace Operations of the Serbian Armed Forces, and Filip Stojanović from the Center for Public Policy Research.
