Annex B
How long is the Gender training for HMG Armed
forces being sent to conflict areas?
First of all, it is important to stress that
the MOD is an equal opportunities employer, and that throughout
their military career, service personnel are taught, and held
to, the highest standards of professional and personal morality
and integrity. This, in itself, creates an environment conducive
to the respect of diversity, equality, and dignity of other human
beings, and particularly women.
Prior to deployment on operations, including
UN peace support operations, UK personnel—whether as individuals,
part of a small team, or part of a larger formed unit—receive
training tailored to the operation/mission. This is administered
by our Operational Training Advisory Group (OPTAG).
OPTAG training does not currently focus on SCR1325
and gender issues specifically but the latter are addressed within
a package of briefings aimed at sensitizing military personnel
to the particular societies in which they will deploy. For example,
all soldiers deployed to Iraq are given briefing on Islam which
includes the position and treatment of women in Muslim societies.
We have given consideration to how we could
strengthen the delivery of our commitment to 1325 and concluded
that introducing a mandatory module on 1325 in every OPTAG training
would be difficult given the range of issues that have to be covered
during the 2-3 weeks of the training.
There are, however two avenues to raise the
profile of gender issues, including those of Sexual Exploitation
and Abuse (SEA), which we intend to pursue:
(i) taking advantage of the ongoing audits
and development of PSO pre-deployment training being undertaken
by the Land Warfare Centre (OPTAG's parent organisation). We will
request that they raise the profile of gender issues, and;
(ii) the production by Directorate Policy
International Organisations of a basic PowerPoint briefing, with
relevant hyperlinks, for use by OPTAG and our Permanent Joint
Headquarters (PJHQ), which could also be used in distance learning
(as this becomes an increasingly common method of training). This
briefing would draw on existing UN standards and material (eg
UN Gender Resource Package for peacekeeping operations; UN compendium
of disciplinary Rules on SEA).
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