Romania adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2014 for the period 2014-2024. The NAP was developed by the Ministry of Defense and focuses on implementation of the WPS agenda in the context of defense policy. The NAP does not identify civil society inclusion in the NAP development process. Romania’s NAP contextualizes the WPS agenda by providing an overview of legislative landmarks pertaining to the advancement of women’s rights at the domestic level. The NAP focuses heavily on increasing the number of women within the military and its scope focuses on this and related objectives. Furthermore, the NAP does not include an allocated budget.
In 2020, Romania adopted a more holistic National Action Plan for the period 2020-2023. Analysis of this plan is forthcoming.
Romania transitioned into a democratic regime in 1989, after an extensive period under communist rule. Romania does not have a recent history of armed conflict. However, the country has had a tense relationship with its ethnic Hungarian population, which resulted in violent clashes between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians in the Transylvanian city of Târgu Mureș in 1990. A former member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program, Romania officially joined NATO in 2004.
At the multilateral level, Romania most recently served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2004-2005.