The Czech Republic adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2017 for the period 2017-2020. The NAP was developed through a participatory process that involved the Government Council for Gender Equality, which consisted of representatives from the government, academia and civil society, and several ministries, including the Ministries of Defense; Foreign Affairs; and Interior. The NAP has seven overarching goals that address balanced representation of women and men in decision-making positions; reconciliation between work and private life; education and training; international cooperation for the promotion of the WPS Agenda; dignity and integrity of women; current challenges for the implementation of the WPS Agenda; and institutional support for gender equality. Each objective has corresponding actions, indicators, and coordinating entities. Nevertheless, the NAP does not include an allocated budget.
The Czech Republic reported on the implementation of its NAP, as well as WPS commitments, in its national reporting for Beijing+25 and in preparation for CSW64 (2020). Specifically, the country provided the following updates, among others:
- The Action Plan on the Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, on Women, Peace, and Security for 2017 – 202034 was adopted under the Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic No. 12 of 9 January 2017. The Resolution 1325 Action Plan 2017 – 2020 is closely linked with the Government Strategy and is considered to be its implementation document. To oversee the implementation of Resolution 1325 Action Plan 2017 – 2020, the Working Group on the WPS Agenda was established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (p. 22).
- The Resolution 1325 Action Plan 2017 – 2020 is not the only document on the WPS agenda that was adopted in the Czech Republic during the monitored period. In 2016, the Command of the Minister of Defence on Promoting Gender Equality within the Ministry of Defence (hereinafter also the “Command of the Minister of Defence”)35 was adopted. The Command of the Minister of Defence sets various orders to bodies of the Ministry of Defence with the purpose to advance gender equality. The orders include reviewing internal procedures and regulations to ensure that they are in compliance with gender equality, holding training on gender equality for the Ministry of Defence personnel, and collecting sex-segregated data (p. 23).
The Czech Republic 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. The Czech Republic is also a contributor to humanitarian aid, including as a partner of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies, a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to mitigate and provide accountability for gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies. In 2019, the Czech Republic was among the top 25 arms exporters in the world.