PRESS RELEASE : Annual Progress Report on the OSCE Gender Action Plan – UK statement [July 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 July 2023.

Deputy Ambassador Brown thanks Secretary General Helga Schmid for presenting the Annual Progress Report on the Implementation of the OSCE 2004 Gender Action Plan.

Thank you, Secretary General, for your presentation of the Annual Progress Report to the Permanent Council today.

As you mention in your Report, gender equality, empowering women in politics, and combatting all forms of violence against women and girls are crucial to the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security and stability. We appreciate the work of the organisation to ensure a gender perspective is included in all aspects of peace processes and conflict resolution, including in mediation.

The UK recognises the exceptional challenges faced by the organisation in promoting gender equality during the 2022 reporting period. Horrific levels of conflict-related sexual violence are being perpetrated in the OSCE region through Russia’s illegal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine – as documented in successive Moscow Mechanism reports. There has been an alarming increase in reports of gender-based violence in temporarily Russian controlled areas – including abuse and harassment, sexual exploitation and economic abuse. At the same time, women are often the first responders to conflict. In Ukraine, women have been essential to the effective humanitarian, political, and security efforts in the defence of their country.

In this difficult political and regional context, the OSCE has delivered some excellent initiatives during the reporting period to promote gender equality. In particular, I would like to highlight the OSCE’s work in building women’s leadership in peace processes and conflict resolution, and targeted support and lifesaving assistance to women in Ukraine. The launch of the first OSCE Women Peace Leadership Programme was an important step in strengthening meaningful participation in peacebuilding. We commend initiatives such as the OSCE WIN programme bringing together human rights defenders from Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, sharing best practice on accountability and protection of survivors.

The OSCE continues to have a key role to play in implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. We appreciate the ongoing work of the OSCE field operations in supporting participating States in developing and implementing National Action Plans, including the examples in Serbia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan highlighted in the Report. The UK will continue to make efforts to improve our own record on WPS – including through increasing representation of women in our diplomatic, development, security and defence fields. As we know from hard-earned experience, the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women – in all their diversity, and at all levels of decision-making and leadership – leads to better outcomes during and after conflicts.

The UK is also pleased to note the progress made towards achieving gender parity in some – though not all – staff categories across the OSCE, and the launch of new initiatives focused on recruitment practices and standards of conduct. We were pleased to be able to support, through extrabudgetary funding, the development of staff training modules on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), supporting the Staff Instruction on PSEA issued last year.

Secretary General, I would like to thank once again all those who contributed to advancing gender equality and the WPS agenda in the OSCE over the reporting period. In particular, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the Gender Equality Champions of 2022. This recognition of your key roles in promoting gender equality across the OSCE region is well-deserved.

Mr Chair, on behalf of the UK I would like to thank North Macedonia for your continued focus on gender equality as Chair this year, as well as Poland for their efforts during 2022. It is essential that gender continues to be fully integrated into this organisation’s work.

Thank you, Mr Chair.