Slovakia adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2020 for the period 2021-2025. The NAP was developed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in cooperation with the Ministries of Labour, Social Affairs and Family; Defence of the Slovak Republic, and the Interior along with the Presidium of the Police Force. The NAP does not identify civil society actors in its development process. The NAP has four strategic goals: increasing women’s participation in peace and security; taking into account and protecting women’s human rights and their specific needs in line with the Women, Peace and Security agenda; raising awareness and deepening expertise on the Women, Peace and Security agenda; and international cooperation. Each of these strategic goals have operational objectives, a method of evaluation, timeline and the respective ministry that will carry out the activity. The NAP lacks clarity on the implementation structure and monitoring and evaluation framework. It also does not allocate a specific budget, nor does it state the cost of activities expected to be carried out by the various ministries.
Slovakia became an independent state in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The country does not have a recent history of armed conflict, but contributes to overseas military operations and peacekeeping missions.
In 2019, Slovakia was among the top 5 countries in the world with the biggest increase in their military expenditure, with a 48% increase in its military spending.
Most recently, in 2019, the Slovak Parliament passed a resolution to stop the ratification process of the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty to prevent domestic violence and violence against women, as well as calling on the government to block the European Union’s accession to the Convention.
At the multilateral level, Slovakia most recently served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2006-2007.