An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE impact of CRSV may continue to be a reality in regions post-conflict. In the Western Balkans it is difficult for survivors of CRSV to get both protection and justice. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is differing legislation across the regions meaning survivors are treated differently. In Republika Srpska, court fees are imposed on survivors who lose civil proceedings for compensation. This causes re-victimisation and negatively affects their financial situation, thereby resulting in a deterrent effect on the pursuit of justice. This highlights the importance on continued monitoring and input by the international community and organisations, in bringing conflict regions to a position of stability post-conflict. THE COURSE The NATO Gender Advisor Course is a two-week residential course at the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations (NCGM), near Stockholm in Sweden. The course aims to enable students to perform successfully as a Gender Advisor in a peacetime HQ as well as in crisis establishments at strategic, operational and tactical levels. The course provides the students with a background of frameworks and guidelines regulating gender in military operations as well as the skills and competence required to act in an advisory role both in a national and international context. WHAT IS THE DF DOING IN THIS AREA? United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women Peace and Security (WPS) was adopted in 2000. The binding commitments of this resolution strive toward the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in decision making processes around issues related to peace and security; for protection from gender-based violence and the implementation of gender perspectives in all peace making and peace building strategies. Ireland launched its Third National Action Plan (2019-2024) on Women Peace and Security on 21 June 2019. This comes to a conclusion this year and has been reviewed. The next National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS is currently being drafted by government. Once the recommendations and actions from the NAP are available the DF will design our own DF Action Plan. This Plan will also include any relevant recommendations and tasks from the CODF Report, IRG Report and the Strategic Framework and will form the basis for the WPS agenda in the DF for the next four years. In addition, Ireland are currently the Vice Chair on the WPS CHODs and are due to take over from Jamaica in Jun 2025. Furthermore, 2025 is the 30th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, which was the first global for policy framework to recognise gender mainstreaming as a key strategy for achieving gender equality. It also elevated its significance by calling on governments to apply it to all their policies and programmes. 2025 marks the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of UNSCR 1325. There will be a number of events, presentations and learning opportunities across the Defence Forces throughout the year in to celebrate this milestone. COURSE PASSED! The course is arduous and in-depth with syndicate and individual tasks in the evening. It required agile thinking of me and my fellow students in the analysis of complex situations, especially so, when the scenario Commander did not buy-in to the importance of the gender perspective in military operations. Whilst challenging, it was also extremely enjoyable and the bonus of peer to peer learning resulted in a more holistic developmental experience. Having successfully passed the course, I am now part of a growing network of Gender Advisors across the Defence Forces. I am currently working on recruitment in DF HQ and I routinely use my Gender Advisor skills in the DF force generation effort. I hope to work closely with the DF Gender Advisor so the Defence Forces can further develop gender mainstreaming and the gender perspective in operations both at home, and in particular, when deployed in volatile areas of operation. | 25 Course syndicate work Pictured with members of the course

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