WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY in the western Balkans 132 pages, pdf  Download Back

WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY in the western Balkans

Publisher: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy

Volume: 132 pages, pdf

Description: 

Much of the spirit of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was inspired by what happened in the wars of Yugoslav succession.2 The use of gender based violence as an weapon in conflicts, the marginality of women-led peace initiatives and hostility towards them from the nationalist rulers of the time, as well as the traditionalisation of the role of women in the re-building of states after the conflicts, are some of the reasons which led to efforts by women’s civil society and the international community to define a specific UN agenda aimed at increasing the role of women in all aspects of conflict resolution, security and foreign policy governance. After the adoption of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Security and Peace, it took more than a decade for its instruments to be translated into the national policy agendas of the Western Balkan region. Throughout this period, women’s CSOs shared their insights with other CSOs and the rare politicians who showed an interest, networked regionally and internationally and advocated for the focus in security provision to be on human security as well as for women to have a greater role in all aspects of security and foreign policy governance and conflict-resolution. However, their voice was not part of the mainstream, as most were perceived as ‘enemies of the state’ due to the criticism they leveled against exclusionary ethno-nationalist politics. The window of opportunity for UNSCR 1325 to become part of the region’s mainstream politics only opened once the international community, as part of their own governments’ and organisations’ preparations for marking the tenth anniversary of UNSCR 1325, began supporting work by Balkan governments related to the 1325 agenda. This is not to say that the UNSCR 1325 was imposed externally, but rather that it attained legitimacy with national political and security actors through interaction with the international community rather than with domestic civil society. The dominant motivation for Balkan governments’ adoption of NAPs is in order to join consolidated democracies’ security clubs (e.g. the EU, NATO, the CoE etc.) by strengthening key government institutions for provision of security and gender equality.3 While NAPs are predominantly focused internally on reforms at home, the language used to justify activities prioritises the strengthening of institutions over dealing with the consequences of conflict and an authoritarian past.