Small, Fragile, and Unequal: Reporting on Women, Peace and Security in Cyprus and Kosovo

The report examines the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Cyprus and Kosovo, highlighting a gap in 'hard' security integration in Cyprus compared to the more comprehensive approach in Kosovo. It analyzes the roles of UNFICYP, UNMIK, EULEX, and KFOR, arguing that while participation of women in peacekeeping is high in both regions, the integration of gender perspectives into core security and defence policy remains underdeveloped, particularly in the Republic of Cyprus.

• The Republic of Cyprus's 2021 National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP-WPS) lacks detailed guidelines on 'hard' security and defence, focusing primarily on the Participation pillar while omitting specific security practices.
• In Cyprus, the lack of international recognition for the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC) excludes the Turkish Cypriot community from the UN-level WPS framework and inhibits the development of gender-sensitive security policies in the north.
• UNFICYP demonstrates strong quantitative gender representation, with female police personnel (UNPOL) comprising 40-48% of the force and military personnel remaining permanently above 10%.
• Implementing the WPS agenda within UNFICYP's military component is more challenging than in the police component due to strict Command and Control structures and the difficulty of translating broad principles into tactical operational orders.
• Peacekeeping in Kosovo is characterized by a multi-organizational approach involving UNMIK, EULEX, and KFOR, which coordinate through regular meetings between gender advisors to integrate gender perspectives into security sector reform.
• EULEX Kosovo is considered a flagship EU mission for WPS implementation, utilizing a Gender Resource Centre and specific monitoring mechanisms for judicial cases involving sexual violence.
• KFOR integrates gender perspectives through a mandatory gender training for its Commander and the establishment of the Office of the Gender Advisor (GENAD) in 2011 to improve operational effectiveness.
• The implementation of the WPS agenda in Kosovo is more balanced across all four pillars (Protection, Participation, Prevention, and Relief and Recovery) compared to Cyprus, largely due to the history of conflict-related sexual violence in the Balkans.

APA

Hornyák, V., & Petrikkos, P. (2022). Small, Fragile, and Unequal: Reporting on Women, Peace and Security in Cyprus and Kosovo. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/0e230e7b-fad1-48e3-a4b0-7d64fede3d7f/2 2022 Small Fragile and Unequal.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Hornyák, Veronika, and Petros Petrikkos. Small, Fragile, and Unequal: Reporting on Women, Peace and Security in Cyprus and Kosovo. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2022. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/0e230e7b-fad1-48e3-a4b0-7d64fede3d7f/2 2022 Small Fragile and Unequal.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hornyák |first1=Veronika |last2=Petrikkos |first2=Petros |title=Small, Fragile, and Unequal: Reporting on Women, Peace and Security in Cyprus and Kosovo |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2022 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/0e230e7b-fad1-48e3-a4b0-7d64fede3d7f/2 2022 Small Fragile and Unequal.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hornyk2022small, author = {Hornyák, Veronika and Petrikkos, Petros}, title = {{Small, Fragile, and Unequal: Reporting on Women, Peace and Security in Cyprus and Kosovo}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2022}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/0e230e7b-fad1-48e3-a4b0-7d64fede3d7f/2 2022 Small Fragile and Unequal.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }