Women, peace and security

NITECH ››› A TRANSFORMATIONAL DECADE

WOMEN, PEACE & SECURITY

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Jenny Beechener talks to Irene Fellin, the NATO

Secretary General’s Special Representative for

Women, Peace and Security, to find out about the fresh ideas her team is inputting to emerging security challenges

NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security since January 2022, Irene Fellin, leads a shift in culture within NATO. “We are integrating gender perspective into in all NATO core tasks,” says Fellin, who was officially appointed NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in November 2021. “The first WPS Action Plan launched this process a decade ago when gender perspective first became part of NATO operations. It is now part of our strategic vision, and we are extending its reach to climate change, cyber resilience, innovation and new technologies.”

Advancing gender equality and integrating gender perspectives in all that NATO does, across political, civilian and military structures, from policies and planning, training and education, to missions and operations is the aim of the fifth WPS Action Plan, approved in October 2021.

Irene Fellin is leading the implementation of NATO’s Action Plan and infusing her unique approach to gender mainstreaming across the Alliance. An increased focus on human security, complementary to work on WPS, guides the office’s direction, while a 360-degree vision supports a scope that reflects NATO membership. Current priorities include special attention on the Mediterranean region, where Fellin can draw on experience as Senior Gender Advisor with the Rome-based International Affairs Institute (IAI) and Women In International Security (WIIS) Italy. Further, disruptive measures are intended to inject more flexibility in response to an increasingly complex security environment. New initiatives include the introduction of a NATO Youth, Peace and Security agenda to align with the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 2250 adopted in 2015. The policy “recognises young people’s positive contribution to peace processes and conflict resolution,” she says. “We already work a lot with youth, and we want to build a pathway for synergy and collaboration between young men and women. This team-building effort is an evolutionary process to change our entire society.”

PEACE BUILDING, NEGOTIATION AND MEDIATION

Another area of focus extends the dialogue surrounding women’s meaningful participation in peace-building, negotiation and mediation as well as their involvement in security and defence. The policy supports NATO’s existing commitments to principles of inclusion by bringing more women to the table with other decision-makers and expanding supporting roles.

“There are other areas that lack policy direction where we are now defining our approach. In particular, children in armed conflict and protection of cultural property are both areas where I’d like to have a policy framework in place by the end of next year,” she says.

UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in October 2000, remains a

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40 landmark document for the WPS agenda and gender equality. However, many components still need to be advanced. “Conflict affects men and women in different ways. Look at the conflict in Ukraine, where pregnant women are delivering in underground bunkers. The stress means there is a high chance they cannot produce milk which means milk powder becomes a necessity for humanitarian aid.” Fellin believes operational aspects such as these stand to benefit from integration of a gender perspective more generally. “We are introducing key performance indicators to track progress in this area and launched a trial in 2021 to give us a sense of where we are.” Among areas under review, the WPS office is measuring take-up of training courses within NATO headquarters and affiliated institutions, and trends in staffing – especially in leadership roles.

Women holding senior leadership positions (A5/G22 and above) within NATO’s international staff reached 31% in 2020, the highest recorded since NATO began its diversity inclusion programme in 2002. While significantly higher than the 12% proportion of Allied NATO forces personnel across the Alliance (up from 6% in 2002), there is still some way to go. “Women need to be integrated from the outset of all planning and policymaking, and this change has to come from within. We are trying to track how we work as an institution to bring about change internally and externally.”

The implementation of the WPS agenda starts at home and the support of the leadership is essential to lead towards a sustainable cultural and organizational change. A senior-level task force, chaired by the Deputy Secretary General, was established in 2020 with the mandate to meet twice a year. A separate WPS task force comprising representatives from each division was also created that meets once every two months. “This gives us a strong network of colleagues with whom we can work across the different areas, starting with the policy framework and action plans. We work with them to enable each division to change cultural mindsets and integrate gender perspectives on our behalf.” Fellin anticipates that the role of the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative will be necessary for a long time yet. “Women have an important role to play in preventing, managing and resolving conflict. They change the politics and the way of doing business. This participation pillar is central to our work.”