NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. NATO has, at the moment, 30 member countries, mostly based in Europe plus Canada and the United States.
According to NATO: “NATO is committed to implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1820 on sexual violence in conflict. In 2015, NATO developed military guidelines on the prevention of, and response to, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. These provide strategic direction with the aim of reducing the risk of CRSV and improving responsive measures for the protection of vulnerable populations. NATO personnel are obliged to prevent, act and stop CRSV; to develop the analytical tools necessary to understand the level of risk of CRSV for information collection and reporting; and to cooperate with relevant international or local actors, including the UN. In 2019, NATO outlined its work in this area and reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating CRSV in a statement to the UN Security Council. NATO is alert to the new and emerging challenges of CRSV and its security implications, now and into the future. The Alliance regularly works with a range of international organisations and civil society actors to contribute to the elimination of sexual violence in conflict. In June 2020, NATO hosted a Digital Dialogue on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, where a new NATO policy was proposed to provide the foundation for the Alliance’s continued commitment to the fight against CRSV. The policy was adopted by Allied Defence Ministers in early June 2021 and, later that month, it was endorsed by NATO Leaders at the Brussels Summit. It outlines the actions that NATO will take to prevent and respond to CRSV in all operations, missions and Council-mandated activities.”
According to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the ICGLR “is an inter-governmental organization of the countries in the African Great Lakes Region. Its establishment was based on the recognition that political instability and conflicts in these countries have a considerable regional dimension and thus require a concerted effort in order to promote sustainable peace and development. (…) The organization is composed of twelve member states, namely: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Its founding history began in 2000 when the United Nations Security Council, as stated in its resolutions 1291 and 1304, called for an International Conference on peace, security, democracy and development in the Great Lakes region.”
The ICGLR runs a program on “Gender, Women and Children”: “The Heads of State and Government of Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region during the signing of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, committed to ensure the observance of the standards and principles of international humanitarian law particularly those related to the protection of women and children by implementing the Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Violence against Women and Children in order to:
- Combat Sexual violence against women and children through prevention, criminalization and punishment of acts of sexual violence in accordance with national laws and international criminal law
Ensure the implementation of gender projects in the area of strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention, resolution and peace building as well as political processes.”