Gender Military Trainers Support Newly Appointed Gender Focal Points in Armed Forces of Montenegro

At the request of the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro, UNDP SEESAC organised a two-day capacity-building seminar for the Gender Focal Points – a newly established gender equality mechanism in the Armed Forces of Montenegro. The seminar took place in the Military Training Centre in Danilovgrad, Montenegro on 26-27 September and enabled networking of the Gender Military Trainers and newly appointed focal points.

To maximise the use of internal expertise and experiences, the seminar allowed the Gender Military Trainers to introduce the topics of and share knowledge on gender equality and gender-based discrimination in the military with the Gender Focal Points.

Through seven sessions, the participants learned about the importance of gender equality and integration of gender perspective for defence system as well as about the legal and strategic documents relevant for the gender policies’ implementation. They discussed the NATO policies and practices in the field and highlighted the gender equality mechanisms in the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Montenegro and their scope of work.

Furthermore, the seminar offered discussions on basic terms and definitions of gender equality, gender stereotypes and biases as the basis of gender-based discrimination. Finally, the participants got acquainted with the Guide for preventing discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse in the Armed Forces of Montenegro published in July 2022 and with the importance of gender-disaggregated data and gender-sensitive reporting.

           

This activity was implemented within the Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project and is financed by the Governments of Norway and the Slovak Republic. With the support of SEESAC, the project provides the Ministries of Defence and the Armed Forces from the Western Balkans a platform where, over the period of three years, they work together to ensure long-term and sustainable inclusion of the gender perspective in defence policies and practices, contributing to accountable and responsive institutions and inclusive societies (SDG 16) and gender equality (SDG 5).


Photo: Ministry of Defence of Montenegro

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