About the project

NATO and its partners are taking action to promote the role of women in peace and security. This demonstrates their commitment to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and related Resolutions (1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122 and 2422). These Resolutions recognise the disproportionate impact that war and conflict has on women and children and highlight the fact that historically women have been left out of peace processes and stabilisation efforts. They call for full and equal participation of women at all levels ranging from conflict prevention to post-conflict reconstruction, peace and security. They call for the prevention of sexual violence and accountability to end impunity for incidents of sexual violence in conflict. Together, these resolutions frame the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Project “Female Leaders in Security and Defence” (FLSD) of NATO’s Smart Defence Initiative is on Leadership, Personnel and Training, which should be looked at as critical components of defence capabilities in their complexity. The right build-up and development of the Armed Forces is essential for the accomplishment of their missions and tasks. Besides the importance of a stronger civilian-military expertise, different kinds of qualifications, knowledge and skills are indispensable to meet current and future security challenges. In order to have a pool of talent, it is necessary to foster the development of the right human capital in its diversity5 and to fully integrate it into the process of defence planning, capabilities development and forces preparedness with a view to enhancing the operational effectiveness of NATO and its Allies and Partners.

The FLSD White Paper is an open and living document. It is a multinational effort as a result of a series of activities organised within the framework of the NATO Smart Defence project 1.12 “Female Leaders in Security and Defence”. Based on FLSD Analysis Report6 from the Sofia Conference 2012, the FLSD White Paper has been elaborated by all participating and interested countries on Chatham House rules and thus encompasses national and international experience, views and ideas shared by NATO and Partner countries.