The Ministry of Internal Affairs discussed the state of implementation of gender policy in the system of internal affairs bodies
Yesterday, May 16, Deputy Minister of the Interior Tatiana Kovalchuk met with NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security Claire Hutchinson.
The working meeting was also attended by the Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for Women, Peace and Security Marko Sparano, Deputy Director of the NATO Liaison Office Sharon Irvyn, the National Policy Specialist of the NATO Liaison Office Irina Krasnoshtan and the Coordinator of the IMF Reform Task Team Irina Gubenko.
The parties discussed the development and implementation of the Strategy for the Development of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine until 2020, the implementation of the Action Plan of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security”, as well as NATO partnership objectives and commitments in the Annual National Program.
“For the first time, our department has included a gender approach in the strategic documents shaping the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system, namely in the Strategy for the Development of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system until 2020. Each strategic priority of the Development Strategy intersects with the basic principle of equal rights and opportunities for women and men. Gender policy should be at the heart of the law enforcement system. Another proof of the implementation of gender policy in the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the development and approval of the Ministry's Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security”, which covers the entire system of the Ministry of the Interior and in its content is much broader than the National Action Plan, since it includes subsidiary resolutions,” Tatiana Kovalchuk noted.
“First and foremost, a woman is an active participant in conflict resolution and peacekeeping, and her active participation in this process is as a barometer by which a country's level of gender persuasiveness is measured,” said Claire Hutchinson.
After the bilateral meeting, the Deputy Minister presented Claire Hutchinson to a group of contact persons on gender issues, which was established in the Ministry of Internal Affairs directly to implement the Action Plan of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security”.
At the beginning of such a working meeting, a video was presented, which fully talked about the implementation of gender policy in the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, namely about the development of a network of advisers on gender issues, about the work of mobile police groups to combat domestic violence “POLINA”, about the creation of an independent Sector for gender equality in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the work on the settlement and improvement of the legislation of Ukraine on the issues of gender-based violence.
Acting Head Olga Perunova told about the work of the Gender Equality Sector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. She said: “At present, with the help of the UN Women Gender Advisers, work is underway to develop a Regulation on the Sector, with the definition of its clear tasks, functions, rights and powers, to develop a regulation on the introduction of a network of gender advisers into the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In addition, a gender analysis of the Code of Ethical Conduct of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the CEV is carried out, the activities of which are directed and coordinated through the Minister of Internal Affairs, taking into account the observance of the principles of equal rights and opportunities for women and men and non-discrimination”.
UN Gender Advisor “Women” Kristina Brodych spoke about the work on the development of the Action Plan of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security”, as well as about the system for monitoring and evaluating the Action Plan of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
About the activities of the NGO “Ukrainian Association of Representatives of Law Enforcement Bodies” was told by the head of the Association - Ekaterina Pavlichenko. She noted: “UAPPO is a platform where women law enforcement officers can develop their leadership skills, support each other, and promote the implementation of gender-sensitive policies and practices in relevant structures. UAPPO is one of the nationwide mechanisms for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in law enforcement agencies, as part of the process of introducing an integrated gender approach”.
At the end of the working meeting, Claire Hutchinson once again emphasized the determination and perseverance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the direction of gender equality and noted: “Success is the level of protection of the population, the prevention of violence against women and children, the need to make the invisible visible. The main vision is above all determination, political will, personal convictions, partnership and flexibility for the sake of peace.
Photo by Andriy Novitsky
