COMMITTEE REPORTS, RESOLUTIONS, AND ACTIVITIES IN 2020

In a year when the world celebrated the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, Ulla Schmidt (Germany) authored the CDS General Report on Advancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, reviewing the progress achieved in the past 20 years and remaining challenges in furthering gender equality and women’s rights in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond. The related resolution 461 on Furthering the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda reaffirms that the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the WPS agenda, as well as the advancement of gender equality more broadly, should constitute constant guiding principles in the development and execution of all policies and activities in the area of peace and security. The resolution also calls on Allied governments and parliaments as well as NATO institutions to take concrete steps to fully implement their WPS-related commitments. This call was reiterated in the Assembly’s declaration 460 on NATO 2030: A More United and Stronger Alliance on the Global Stage – the Assembly’s written input to NATO’s 2030 reflection process. With this recommendation, the Assembly stressed its commitment to ensuring that the NATO 2030 process and expected revision of NATO’s Strategic Concept – the Alliance’s main strategic guidance – fully incorporate the WPS agenda.

In resolution 465 on Defence Innovation, the Assembly moreover expresses its concerns with regards to the under-representation of women in the science and technology fields. The resolution underlines that “encouraging the participation of women is likely to bring new ideas and perspectives to research, development and implementation.”

Two of the Assembly’s special reports on the COVID-19 pandemic addressed the specific impact of this crisis on women: Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam’s (France) report for the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security (CDS) on The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the Civil Dimension of Security and Gilbert Roger’s (France) report for the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group on The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Middle East and North Africa Region. Ms Garriaud-Maylam, then the only woman Chairperson of an Assembly Committee, shared her thoughts on the role of women in defence and security in an interview published in the framework of celebrations of International Women’s Day.

Angel Tilvar’s (Romania) report for the CDS on Enhancing Information and Education about NATO also includes references to differences in perception between men and women towards NATO and the importance of taking into account the gender perspective in NATO and Allied communication efforts.

The global spread of COVID-19 disrupted the Assembly’s programme of work massively in 2020. Indeed, all but four Committee activities were cancelled or postponed. Instead, the Assembly held some 30 activities by videoconference. None of the in-person Committee activities had an explicit gender dimension. While a substantial number of planned Committee activities would have touched upon gender-related topics, when the pandemic hit Allied countries in February/March, none of the activities were in a stage of planning to draw any firm conclusions.