The Work Meeting of the civil society organizations assembled in the Network of civil society organizations – Women, peace, safety in the Republic of Serbia took place in Hotel Sloboda, Sabac, from April 25th to 28th, 2023.
The work meeting was organized by the Center for Supporting Women as part of the project Support for the Participation of civil society in drafting recommendations for the Third National Action Plan for implementation of the Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council – Women, Peace, and Security in the Republic of Serbia which is financially supported by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) through the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
The work meeting aimed to inform participants about hitherto activities on the preparation of guidelines for the development of the third National Action Plan for the implementation of Resolution 1325 and to formulate recommendations and suggestions for the introductory part, areas to be covered, and measures.
During the first day of the working meeting, the project objectives were presented, and a detailed plan and work program were established. On the second day, a representative of SeConS – a development initiative group, presented the key findings of the report about the Final Evaluation of the National Action Plan for the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 – Women, Peace, and Security in the Republic of Serbia (2017-2020). Then the participants presented examples of practices from the implementation of the National Action Plan in their local communities and their experiences of cooperation with local mechanisms for security and gender equality. On the third day, a proposal for the content of the introductory part, key areas, and measures was presented, and then, through work in groups, proposals and suggested recommendations were discussed and suggested, which will be sent to the working group for the development of a new National Action Plan.
What was highlighted as the most important regarding the drafting of the new National Action Plan is the very fact that intensive work is being done on the drafting of that document, the introduction of the gender agenda in all programs in the security sector, the adoption of legislative norms and the opening of institutions in the security sector that would ensure implementation of Resolution 1325 and strengthening of mechanisms for civilian control of the security sector.
In order to create a wider base of civil society organizations that are motivated to contribute to this process, in addition to the member organizations of the Women, Peace, Security 1325 Network, other organizations interested in joining this process also participated in the meeting. From IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA, Svjetlana Timotić and Veronika Mitro participated in the working meeting.
