Address by the Commissioner for Gender Equality of the Republic of Cyprus, Ms Josie Christodoulou, at the opening of the ESDC training course titled “Integration of a Gender Perspective in CSDP – Focusing on Women, Peace and Security (WPS)”

From:

Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality

21/10/25 14:59 | Speech / Address | Commissioners

I welcome you to Cyprus and to this training course on the Integration of a Gender Perspective in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), with a specific focus on Women, Peace and Security. I would like to specifically thank Colonel Zambas, as today’s training course is the result of our common vision towards more inclusive security and defence, and of our collaboration which started a few years ago. Special thanks to the Security and Defence Academy of Cyprus, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, of course, to the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), for their collaboration in organising this course.

Dear guests,

Your presence here today reflects our common commitment to advancing gender equality, not just as a value, but as a practical necessity in our shared work toward peace, security, and sustainable development. The world is experiencing increasing instability, from armed conflicts and humanitarian crises to climate change and forced displacement. Within these challenges, it is clearer than ever that peace and security are not sustainable if women are absent from the discussions on protection during conflict and on shaping peace.

As we mark 25 years since United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325, Women Peace and Security, a significant milestone, founded on the multilateral system’s firm belief that peace is stronger and security more sustainable when women are actively involved in all stages of the process, we must ask: how far have we truly come?

Over the past 25 years, progress has been uneven. While there have been courageous and commendable commitments, they have frequently been followed by weak implementation and chronic underinvestment. Today, according to the UN Women Executive Director, Ms Sima Bahous,676 million women and girls live in conflict-affected areas, the highest number since the 1990s.

At a time when military spending is rising, when unilateralism is growing and therefore the threat to multilateralism and democracy is growing, these trends pose a serious threat to the core pillars of global peace and security. Women remain significantly underrepresented in formal peace negotiations, in security institutions, and in political leadership. According to UN data, in 2023, women made up about 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators, and 26.6% of signatories in over 50 peace and ceasefire agreements. In the same year, women’s participation in peace processes led or co‑led by the UN was about 16% of total participants in those processes. The “Women in Peace Processes Monitor”, by UN Women, indicates that women remain starkly underrepresented in formal negotiation roles.

These figures reflect not a lack of will or talent among women, but rather the persistence of traditional masculine and patriarchal structural barriers, social norms, and institutional cultures that marginalise them. This must change. We must move from acknowledging the importance of women’s participation to safeguarding it through policy, practice, and political will. In doing so we must first recognise that conflict affects women and men differently. Women and girls are often disproportionately impacted – through gender-based and sexual violence, displacement, loss of education, forced recruitment, or increased care burdens within families and communities. The trauma, both physical and psychological, lasts for generations. Yet too often, the gendered dimension of conflict is overlooked in traditional security responses.

This is why mainstreaming gender in the European Common Security and Defence Policy is not a side issue. It is central to the effectiveness and legitimacy of our security policies. A gender perspective helps us to better understand local, national and international contexts, respond more effectively to the needs of the entire population, and build trust with communities.

As security professionals, policy-makers, and civil society actors, we need to include a gender lens and apply gender analysis at every stage: before, during, and after conflict. This includes everything from mission planning and training, to recruitment and post-conflict peacebuilding efforts.

We must also move beyond protection, and into empowerment. Women must not only be seen as victims in need of protection. They are agents of change, community leaders reconciliators, the core of stability, peacemakers and peacebuilders. This is why we advocate for gender parity also in decision-making bodies.

Women belong at the negotiating table, in defence ministries, in foreign affairs, in peacekeeping missions, and in conflict mediation teams. Indeed, research has shown time and again that when women are included in peace processes, agreements are more likely to be reached and more likely to last. This is not just good for gender equality; it is good for global security.

Dear friends,

Here in Cyprus, the question of peace and reconciliation is not theoretical, it is deeply personal. Cyprus has lived through division, following Turkey’s invasion in 1974, and 36,2% of its territory is still occupied and our country continues to strive toward a future of unity and shared prosperity. We know from our own experience that the voices of women must be heard in these processes –not as an afterthought, but as an essential part of the dialogue.

In this spirit and context, our Office has been working tirelessly to mainstream gender into national and foreign policy, promote women’s participation in public life, dismantle gender stereotypes, and ensure that the principles of equality are upheld in all sectors, including defence and security.

During this training course, we will present to you the steps that have been taken in Cyprus through the use of the tool of gender mainstreaming horizontally and the specific actions that have already been implemented in the context of our National Plan on WPS 2021-2025. These include actions promoting gender equality in security and defence, in civil defence, in foreign affairs and in competent government departments as well as public awareness actions regarding Resolution 1325.

Examples of the commitment of President Christodoulides’ Government to the inclusion of women in peace and security building include the decision to allow voluntary military service for women in the National Guard, and the fact that for the first time in our diplomatic history, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a woman, while 10 women lead key directorates and departments and eight lead diplomatic missions abroad.

We will also highlight a few pillars and actions of the new WPS national plan.

Dear friends,

This training course is an opportunity to learn from one another, to reflect critically on our practices, and to renew our commitment to a shared vision for a safer, more just, and more inclusive Europe.

I encourage you to engage fully in the discussions, to challenge assumptions, and to think creatively about how gender can be better mainstreamed into your institutions and missions. We do not need token representation or symbolic gestures. We need to achieve real transformation: of systems, of mindsets, and of practical outcomes.

In closing I would like to leave you with this thought: peace is not only the absence of war; it is the presence of justice, dignity, and equality. And if half the population is excluded, then peace will always be incomplete. The world made a promise to women 25 years ago. It is past time to deliver.

Thank you.

(AA/MS/IA)

Address by the Commissioner for Gender Equality of the Republic of Cyprus, Ms Josie Christodoulou, at the opening of the ESDC training course titled “Integration of a Gender Perspective in CSDP – Focusing on Women, Peace and Security (WPS)”

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