On 1 April, the United Nations Security Sector Reform Community of Practice, in collaboration with the DPPA DPO Gender Equality and Women, Peace and Security Community of Practice, convened a webinar to introduce the policy brief Inclusion of Women Builds Trust and Legitimacy.
The event brought together the author of the brief, the Gender and Security Fellow of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, and United Nations security sector reform experts who contributed to its development. Senior SSR officers from UNMISS and the UN Standing Capacity for Security Sector Reform and Governance also shared field based experiences and operational perspectives.
Discussions examined how gender dynamics shape security sector related risks and conflict drivers, and explored implications for conflict prevention and gender responsive security sector governance and reform. Participants highlighted the importance of inclusive, representative and accountable security institutions in building public trust, strengthening legitimacy and supporting sustainable peace.
The webinar also considered practical entry points for programming, including gender responsive security sector assessment, monitoring and fiscal analysis. These discussions were noted as particularly relevant to the African Union’s ongoing efforts to develop a gender and security sector reform curriculum.
