Moldovan-Swedish Cooperation on Gender Equality in the Armed Forces

CHISINAU, June 22, 2016 — The Moldovan-Swedish military cooperation, the experience of the Kingdom of Sweden and the Nordic countries in promoting gender equality, as well as the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in law-enforcement institutions were the subjects discussed during the meeting between Minister of Defense Anatol Salaru and Ambassador of Sweden to Chisinau, Signe Burgstaller. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Defense HQ.

The meeting was also attended by the Swedish military attaché based in Kiev, Col. Peter Liden, and representative of UN Women in Moldova, Asya Varbanova.

Anatol Salaru appreciated the assistance and expertise offered by the Swedish partners in promoting gender equality in the National Army, with a focus on Resolution 1325, the progress registered within the inter-institutional self-assessment process through gender dimension in the security and defense sector made by the Ministry of Defense, and the necessity to improve the cooperation between institutions on successful completion of this process.

Signe Burgstaller said that Sweden has a vast experience in promoting the Resolution 1325 on national and international level and in the consolidation of women’s role in ensuring peace and security. The Ambassador expressed the availability to offer support for continuing the cooperation in this sector between the Embassy of Sweden, UN Women in Moldova, and the Ministry of Defense.

Gender equality in the Armed Forces and the experience of the Kingdom of Sweden and Nordic countries in promoting gender equality were also discussed within a workshop on “The integration of gender dimension in Moldova’s security sector”, held at the Ministry of Defense. The workshop was attended by State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Aurel Fondos, and the expert from the Nordic Center for Gender in Military Operations of the Swedish Armed Forces, SWEDINT, Paul Murrray.

The event was conducted in cooperation with Embassy of Sweden in the Republic of Moldova and UN Women and aims to consolidate the knowledge on implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as to familiarize with the most recent global and national progress regarding the role of women in the peace and security sector.

Aurel Fondos mentioned the importance of this activity in strengthening the cooperation and intensifying the implementation of Moldova’s national and international commitments on gender equality, especially in the process of developing department policies, specifying that the Swedish experience in this sector is very useful for the Ministry of Defense.

During the workshop, legal expert Vadim Vieru presented the Legislative report on the analysis of international standards and the national legal framework on gender equality in the security and defense sector, developed with the support of UN Women Moldova.