The landmark Security Council resolution declares all people have a role to play in preventing war and building peace and conflict resolution, regardless of their gender. Women’s participation in peace processes can significantly contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security.
The Women, Peace and Security mandate is fundamental to NATO’s common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and obligations under the Charter of the United Nations,
said LANDCOM Commander U.S. Army Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier Jr., during the opening address to kick off the week. “In line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution on WPS, NATO aims to address gender inequality and integrate WPS priorities through the Alliance’s three core tasks of Collective Defence, Crisis Management, and Cooperative Security.”
Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier Jr., Commander of NATO Allied Land Command, delivers the opening remarks to kick off Human Security Week at LANDCOM Headquarters in observance of the 20th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, the vehicle through which Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda was established in October 2000.
Since the adoption of resolution 1325, the issue of women, peace and security has continued to gain attention. Within the last 20 years, there had been significant amount of developments on the WPS agenda. NATO took on the challenge of advancing this agenda at the political level through policies and its work with Allies and Partners, throughout the NATO command structure, and in NATO missions and operations. To this end, NATO also established Gender Advisors and Gender Focal Points structure with the purpose of integration and mainstreaming gender perspectives overall in the NATO headquarters and NATO Command and Force Structures.
“The inclusion of the WPS mandate in the planning and execution is an inherent part of all exercises and operations. The integration of gender perspectives is therefore a headquarters-wide endeavour,” said Lieutenant General Cloutier.
As NATO marks the important anniversary
with series of activities within NATO and its Partners, LANDCOM’s observance amplifies
the shared efforts during the planned gender-focused Human Security Week.
As part of the activities designed to
raise awareness on the importance of the WPS agenda, LANDCOM staff members will
attend a town hall meeting and training on WPS planned at various points
throughout the week. Selected staff members will also participate in a sports
competition entitled “We Run for Peace and Security,” an event that includes a
collection of exercises deliberately planned to last 13 minutes and 25 seconds.
Key LANDCOM staff will also participate in NATO sponsored events like the NATO
Gender Committee on Gender Perspectives and NATO Digital Dialogues.
As he wrapped up his opening remarks, Lieutenant General Cloutier acknowledged the importance of the multinational and gender diversity within the command.
"Every single member of the team ... is critical to us to accomplish our mission," he said.