Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE

The OSCE has struggled to implement its 2004 Gender Action Plan due to increased political polarisation, a consensus-based decision-making rule that grants all 57 participating States veto power, and budget constraints. While conservative states and the Holy See have resisted the 'gender' agenda, the document argues that the OSCE's field missions provide a critical opportunity to implement gender-oriented policies on the ground, provided their autonomy is protected from political turmoil.

• The OSCE has failed to fully meet the commitments established in its 2004 Gender Action Plan, which covers gender equality, women's inclusion, and gender mainstreaming both internally and in external activities.
• Increased political polarisation, particularly following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, has created a 'backlash' against the progressive gender equality agenda, with the issue of gender becoming a 'symbolic battlefield' for competing worldviews.
• The OSCE's consensus rule is a primary obstacle to gender policy development because it allows any of the 57 participating States to veto decisions, enabling even small actors like the Holy See to obstruct progress.
• Budgetary processes in the OSCE are susceptible to micro-management by participating States, which can hamper the funding of gender-related positions or programmes and limit long-term planning due to one-year budget cycles.
• The annual Chairmanship holds significant power over the gender agenda, as the Chair determines political priorities and appoints representatives to conflict resolution processes, meaning gender balance in senior roles depends on the Chair's willingness.
• The OSCE's field missions and executive structures represent the most effective avenue for implementing gender policies because they can adapt the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda to local contexts independently of the political paralysis at the decision-making level.

APA

Reklev, L. M. (2018). Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d0e95214-87a3-4f57-8623-a70b0860fb53/Reklev Linn Marie - Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE GPS Policy Brief 4-2018.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Reklev, Linn Marie. Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2018. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d0e95214-87a3-4f57-8623-a70b0860fb53/Reklev Linn Marie - Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE GPS Policy Brief 4-2018.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Reklev |first1=Linn Marie |title=Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=April 2018 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d0e95214-87a3-4f57-8623-a70b0860fb53/Reklev Linn Marie - Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE GPS Policy Brief 4-2018.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reklev2018developing, author = {Reklev, Linn Marie}, title = {{Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d0e95214-87a3-4f57-8623-a70b0860fb53/Reklev Linn Marie - Developing and Implementing Gender Policies in the OSCE GPS Policy Brief 4-2018.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }