SEESAC Helps Ministry of Defence of BiH in Standardisation of Military Training on Gender

UNDP SEESAC supported the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina with IT equipment for the standardisation of the military training on gender at the two military training centres in Pazarić and Travnik. The handover ceremony took place at the Basic Training Centre – Pazarić on Tuesday, 11 October 2022.

General Major Ivica Jerkić, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff for Operations in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thanked UNDP SEESAC for the donated equipment and added that it will support the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, through training which includes the Handbook Gender and Gender-Related Aspects developed by the gender trainers of the Ministy, and the Regional Handbook on Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Discrimination Sexual Harassment and Abuse. General Major Jerkić concluded that the education on gender in the military will strengthen democratic principles and increase gender awareness of the Armed Forces members.

‘’UNDP is proud to be MoD BiH trusted partner and to be able to provide support to MoD’s effort to standardize the military training related to gender equality in line with the SDG 5 and UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security. We see that MoD BIH is already taking bold steps towards standardization of military training. The Ministry once again confirms its commitment to the vision that new generations of soldiers, as well as commanding staff, should acquire through military education and training an essential understanding of the principles of gender equality.’’ Stephen Kinloch Pichat, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said at the handover ceremony.

The donated IT equipment will help the Ministry in raising its and Armed Forces’ capacities for the standardisation of education and training in the field of gender equality by creating conditions for conducting high-quality training. It will also strengthen the capacities of contact persons and gender instructors through the systematisation of materials and teaching content as well as support online training and participation in the regional exchange of information and knowledge.

Within the second phase of the Project Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans, the ministries of defence from the region were invited to propose small-scale projects that contribute to achieving gender equality in their institutions.

The Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina requested SEESAC’s support for standardising the military education and training through. This project focuses on developing a gender training manual and purchasing IT equipment for two military training centres in Pazarić and Travnik. SEESAC has provided support in developing the Gender Training Manual earlier this year.

This activity is organized within the scope of the second phase of SEESAC’s Strengthening of Regional Cooperation on Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans project, which provides support for mainstreaming gender in the security sector reform, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

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