Gender and SSR Toolkit: Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender: Tool 7

Parliaments play an essential role in security sector reform. As representatives of the interests of citizens, parliamentarians play a crucial legislative and oversight role, holding the executive accountable. Parliaments approve budgets, review and implement legislation related to the security sector, and exercise a crucial bridging function between government and the citizens in shaping national dialogue on security. They are the only nationally elected bodies that can speak for all citizens and defend their security interests. When parliamentarians take gender issues into account – which includes an understanding of the different security needs of men, women, girls and boys – they strengthen their oversight of the security sector. Gender-responsive oversight can ensure inclusive, needs-based security policies; strengthen the operational effectiveness of security sector institutions; and hold them accountable for equitable budgeting.

This tool seeks to highlight the importance of parliamentary oversight of the security sector and the benefits parliamentarians derive from integrating a gender perspective into their work. The main audiences at the national level include parliamentarians, parliamentary staffers and political parties. Members and staff of regional parliamentary bodies, such as the Pan African Parliament, the Central American Parliament, the European Parliament and the OSCE and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies are also a target audience; as are institutions and groups of parliamentarians, such as the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa, which undertake parliamentary assistance activities. Government security sector reform and governance project officers, civil society organisations, researchers and academics working on the intersection of security, parliaments and gender will also find this tool useful.

Following a brief discussion of the nature of parliamentary oversight of the security sector, this tool lays out the importance and benefits of integrating gender into parliamentarians' work on security issues. It gives suggestions on how to integrate gender into parliamentary oversight, and includes a section that addresses gender and parliamentary oversight in specific contexts of post-conflict and developed countries. The tool concludes with key recommendations and provides a list of additional resources for the practitioner.