Post - Press Release
Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), the premier think tank on national security established under the Ministry of Defence with the School of Behavioural Forensics (NFSU), India and the European Counter-Terrorism and Security Research Institute (EUCTER), Brussels organized a joint webinar on “The Challenges and opportunities for women in security and peacekeeping”, in which the first day out of two was held on Thursday, the 25th of April 2024, and Friday, the 26th of April 2024 from 1400hrs to 1830hrs (IST) via Cisco Webex. The webinar featured seven sessions on seven distinctive themes under the main topic of discussion, along with three keynote lectures. The inauguration of the webinar was conducted by the School of Behavioural Forensics (NFSU), which was followed by seven sessions across two days. The first session discussed on inclusion in peacekeeping missions, while the second session saw remarks on Challenges, backlashes and examples. Session three and four focused on the relevance of WPS in Nonviolent movements vis-à-vis Violent Movements and research on women’s participation and impact. The second day featured special addresses and keynote lectures, while the fifth session commenced on policy frameworks in order to craft inclusive counter-terrorism strategies. The final two sessions dealt and conversed with The UN’s call for Action and Community Engagement and on Preventive Forensic to Create Peace and Harmony Among Cultures Around the Globe. The audience comprised of ministry officials, academics, researchers, policymakers, representatives from Sri Lanka Armed Forces and Police, and also international participants.
The esteemed chairs and panelists from all parties highlighted the challenges and the way forward with regards to the main topic of discussion. The importance of a feminine touch to the collective culture that military brings, with the percentage of female peacekeepers being below 7.8% is a challenge that must be addressed. The effectivity of women peacekeepers with their high level of skills in negotiation and mediation was highlighted emphasizing on the better understanding and empathy of women towards victims of conflict, creating and leading way to more counter-terrorism strategies in global peacekeeping efforts. The significance of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was brought forward, with the resolution addressing the impact of war on women and the importance of inclusive participation in conflict resolution. The gravity of taking measures to ensure the safety of women from conflict-related sexual violence was also highlighted. Enhancing technology and innovation in peacekeeping operations and the recent developments of Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with the intent of solidifying legal loopholes was also taken into account during the sessions, as a special aid in creating an effective space in peacekeeping. Moreover, webinar highlighted that the modern climate change issues related to the women peacekeeping. The speakers representing their respective countries brought examples of local events and issues related to the main topic, where the discussion of maritime security and human smuggling in the Indian Ocean region and the experiences of women peacekeepers in UN Peacekeeping missions could be taken as examples, which added value to the webinar.