Taking the next step – a consultative workshop for the second-generation National Program and Action Plan on Resolution 1325

UN Women and the Ministry of Internal Affairs hosted a consultative workshop for the development of the next generation National Program and Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The action plan will cover the period 2023-2027 and succeed the first generation of the National Program on Resolution 1325 in Moldova which came to an end in 2021.

Moderated by Daniella Misail-Nichitin, state secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the workshop took place on 31 October and was attended by high-level officials, the technical working group for the implementation of the National Action Plan regarding the implementation of Resolution 1325, Civil Society Organizations, gender coordination groups, gender focal points from relevant institutions, and Women’s Associations from the Law Enforcement and Defence Sectors. The purpose of the workshop was to create a space for commentary on the formulation of the action plan and to discuss how to move forward with the consultative process.

The current international security situation and its consequences for women’s rights clearly impacted the content of the discussions. Dominika Stojanoska, country representative UN Women Moldova, mentioned the pushback on women’s representation and rights during the past few years. She expressed concern of how the war in Ukraine may cause a further recession in gender equality. “We are seeing the risk of progressive militarization, increased funding to military equipment and less funding to the social sphere. We see the risk of increased glorification of masculine power that can inevitably affect women’s role in security and defence, but also in driving back the gender equality agenda.”

MP Angela Munteanu-Pojoga expressed gratitude towards the women of Moldova who have put their efforts and taken a proactive role to transform the Moldovan society. She also stated that there is a lot of work to be done to achieve a successful implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. “We need to work on inter-institutional communication, on political instability, on combating unequal performance for training, harmony between professional and personal life, especially during the pandemic. Yes, we have a lot of work to do.”

The war in Ukraine was also mentioned by H.E. Jacqueline O’Neill, Canada’s Ambassador on Women, Peace and Security, who expressed the need for institutionalized gender equality to increase countries’ resilience during crisis. Her Excellency O’Neill stated that “Many people are trying to roll back on women’s equality and women’s rights. We see a lot of attacks on women’s rights specifically. Many may say that we have a bigger crisis, we can’t focus on things like representation in security forces, we can’t focus on things like institutional change”. She continued “It can seem challenging to focus on a national action plan in a time but this, but it is as important as ever”.

H.E. Annick Goulet, the Canadian Ambassador in Romania, the Republic of Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova echoed this sentiment saying that “It is not only about the numbers, it is not only about the participation, it is not only about the percentage of staff or women. It is also about having a voice. It is not to say that women are better, it is to say that we have a voice, and we need to express it, and it needs to be a part of the equation. Even more so at a time when your world, this region, our collective world is threatened”.

Closing the consultative workshop, Ana Revenco, the minister of Internal Affairs, reiterated the need for women’s representation to ensure security for both women and men and spoke hopefully of the action plan. “I want to believe that this consultative workshop is seen as a need for continuation. A need for building the opportunities so that women have an active role, not a passive role. So, women are not a beneficiary of security, but a creator of security. Directly, this role of women can modernize our country”. She closed the workshop by expressing her full support of the second National Action on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and vowed to support it throughout her work.