Gender, Peace and Security in the European Union’s Field Missions

This report seeks to contribute to the realization of EU gender policy which is based on the UN resolutions on women, peace and security.

How can we strengthen the work related to UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security in the EU’s field missions? How can we act more strategically to reinforce gender mainstreaming, make use of gender specific measures, and increase women’s participation in civilian CSDP missions?

An in-depth assessment of two long-running missions – European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia and European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) – and observations from the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo) deepen our understanding of the practical realities of such work in the field.

The report recommends a more strategic approach undertaken by decision makers at the highest levels of EU crisis management. While there are important efforts being made by gender advisers and by individual personnel, many of the interviewees expressed a high degree of uncertainty and asked for a clarification about the respective mission’s objectives. In addition, the personnel expressed a need for more developed guidelines and standard operating procedures at their level of implementation and for their specific tasks.