斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所-Women-in-Multilateral-Peace-Operations-in-2020--What-s-the-State-of-Play-_8页_291kb

Summary of Women's Representation in Multilateral Peace Operations (2020)

Core Content

This document provides an overview of the current state of women's representation in multilateral peace operations, focusing on the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Union (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations. It highlights the progress and challenges in achieving gender parity as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which was adopted in 2000 and aims to increase the role of women in peace and security.

Main Objectives

• To support the efforts of multilateral organizations and their member states in increasing women's participation in peace operations.
• To provide data and insights for dialogue and idea exchange on the future of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
• To enhance transparency and understanding of trends and developments in gender representation.

Key Findings

UN Military Personnel

• The UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy (2018) sets a target of 25% women among military experts and staff officers and 15% among troops by 2028.
• By 1 October 2020, 10% of force commanders were women.
• Over the past 10 years (2011–2020), the number and proportion of women in UN military personnel have been increasing, especially among military experts and staff officers.
• In June 2020, 18% of military experts and staff officers were women.
• Smaller missions tend to have better gender representation than larger ones.

UN Police Personnel

• The target is 30% women among individual police officers and 20% in formed police units by 2028.
• 43% of chief police officers were women as of 1 October 2020.
• The total number of women in police personnel has remained relatively stable, but the proportion has increased significantly since 2017.
• In June 2020, the proportion of women in UN police personnel was around 33%.
• The number of women in police personnel has decreased since mid-2019.

UN Civilian Personnel

• The UN System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity (2017) aims for a 47–53% range of women in civilian personnel by 2028.
• As of 1 October 2020, 26% of heads of mission were women.
• The number of women in civilian personnel has declined over the past decade, mainly due to a drop in UN peacekeeping operations.
• The proportion of women in civilian personnel of UN special political missions increased to over 33% in June 2020.
• Larger missions and contributions still lag behind in achieving gender parity.

OSCE Field Operations

• The OSCE gender parity strategy (2019–2026) aims for gender parity in all staff levels by 2026.
• Five of its 16 field operations have already achieved this goal.
• As of 1 October 2020, 19% of OSCE field operation heads of mission were women.
• In June 2020, 24% of the total OSCE field operation personnel were women.
• Smaller missions have a better chance of achieving gender parity, but larger missions like the SMM are far from it.

EU CSDP Missions and Operations

• The EU does not have a formal gender parity strategy for its CSDP missions and operations.
• 0% of EU CSDP mission heads of mission were women as of 1 October 2020.
• In December 2019, 6% of EU CSDP military personnel were women.
• The proportion of women in civilian personnel has plateaued since 2015, with 22% in June 2020.
• The proportion of women in civilian personnel is higher than in military personnel.
• Smaller missions and certain types of personnel (e.g., experts, individual officers) show better gender representation.

Critical Observations

• Progress has been slow, with gender parity still out of reach for most multilateral peace operations.
• Larger missions and contributions continue to lag behind in terms of women's participation.
• Structural factors such as reliance on member state contributions and limited numbers of women in national armed forces and police forces hinder progress.
• Sub-Saharan African countries tend to have higher representation of women in uniformed personnel.
• Educational and cultural barriers also affect the inclusion of women in peace operations.
• Civilian personnel are generally more represented than military and police personnel.
• Smaller missions and personnel categories (such as experts and individual officers) are closer to achieving gender parity.
• Data comparison across organizations is challenging due to different recruitment methods and mission characteristics.

Conclusion

Despite some progress, the overall representation of women in multilateral peace operations remains below the targets set by UN Security Council Resolution 1325. While leadership positions show some improvement, increasing the number of women in leadership roles is crucial for achieving gender parity. The document emphasizes that numbers are not everything, and the type of position is equally, if not more, important. It calls for continued efforts and targeted measures to improve the inclusion of women in peace operations.