On October 02, 2014 at the premises of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service within the framework of NATO-Ukraine Programme on Professional Development of the Civilian Personnel of the Sector of Security and Defense the international roundtable “Gender Equality and Equal Treatment in Defense and Security Sector of Ukraine – Current and Future” took place. The event was organized upon an initiative of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine in cooperation with the National Agency and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The main objective of the international roundtable was to consider the mechanism of gender policy realization in Ukraine and the EU countries. All the participants of the event had the opportunity to examine the issue of men and women’s equal rights in the area of public administration of Ukraine in particular in the area of security and defense as well as to learn the best EU practices regarding gender policy implementation.
The Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service Kostiantyn Vashchenko in his welcome speech underlined the importance of the roundtable discussion above mentioned and admitted that gender implementation in the activities of state and local governments will contribute to the adaptation of European standards ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all areas of public life.
The Head of the Main Department of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Igor Zhovkva; Deputy Head of the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Head of Subcommittee on Gender Equality Iryna Lutsenko; Professional Development Programme manager of the NATO Liaison office in Ukraine Kersti Kelder and the representative of Personnel Policy Department of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Oleksandr Nikitchenko welcomed all the participants of the roundtable.
Representatives of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the embassies of the EU member states, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), ), the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine, representatives of central authorities, universities and international organizations took part in the event.
For reference: NATO–Ukraine Programme for the professional development of the civilian personnel of the sector of security and defense was founded in October, 2005 during the Consultation of high level between NATO and Ukraine (Vilnius, Lithuania). NATO–Ukraine Programme presupposes practical professional training as well as definite financial inputs from the member states of the Alliance. According to the resolution of the sixth meeting of the Commission on cooperation between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service was established as the national coordinator and the main performer of the actions regarding the realization of NATO–Ukraine Programme.
