28/05/2014
On the 27th May 2014, the Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS) organized the international conference on ‘Gender and Security Sector in Kosovo and the Implementation of the UNSCR 1325’. The conference was organized in partnership with NATO Public Diplomacy Division, as the first cooperation between a Kosovar institute and NATO.
The conference brought a considerable number of experts and actors in the field of security, senior representatives from NATO headquarters in Brussels, regional experts, and representatives from Embassies in Kosovo, academia, and civil society activists.
The KCSS Executive Director, Florian Qehaja, Minister on Duty of the Ministry of Kosovo Security Force, Agim Çeku, and NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, Mari Skaare, in their welcoming remarks have all supported this international initiative, emphasizing the progress made in the inclusion and representation of women in the security sector and the Kosovo Security Force and the willingness to contribute in this regard.
The first panel discussed the position of women in security institutions and the Armed Forces of Montenegro and Slovenia with respective experts on this field, Olivera Injac and Rok Zupančič. Both panelists revealed their personal experiences from the academic background as well as the progress achieved and the remaining challenges in the inclusion of women in security institutions in the NATO member states and prospective members.
The conference also presented the preliminary findings of research conducted by the four independent researchers as a part of this project. Their research is mainly focused on the position of women in the security sector in Kosovo and the implementation of UNSCR 1325 – the case of Kosovo. One of the reports is published as a result of cooperation between KCSS and Ministry of Kosovo Security Force, which measures the perception of women and men towards within the MKSF.
The third panel reviewed the Practical Implications of UNSCR 1325 for the Conduct of NATO-led Operations and Missions in KFOR and ISAF. The two senior representatives from NATO and Gender Advisor at KFOR presented the role and participation of women in such operations and missions as well as the key elements for the implementation of UNSCR 1325.
