NATO: New Tasks and Responsibilities

This conference was sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

On Monday, July 11, 2005, WIIS and NATO held a joint conference on the evolving role of NATO in the 21st century. The conference, held at the Residence Palace in Brussels, Belgium, was attended by 120 people, and tackled an extensive agenda covering issues from transatlantic relationships to post-confl ict reconstruction. The conference began with a welcome from Dr. Stefanie Babst, Head, NATO Countries, Division of Public Diplomacy, NATO, and Ms. Valerie Gilpin, Executive Director, WIIS. Dr. Babst discussed the role of NATO in enhancing international and transatlantic relations, and through those relationships bringing the world more security. Dr. Babst enumerated how NATO has enabled the international community to “come together in terms of fi ghting international terrorism to start establishing security partnerships… [and] to modernize our military capabilities” while remaining fully engaged in “peacekeeping and where necessary even in peacemaking.” She added that while partnerships, counter-terrorism efforts, peacekeeping, and security were the central themes for the conference, the focus was not exclusively about transatlantic relations and about NATO. The proceedings also focused on “women professionals in international security policy and in foreign affairs.”

Ms. Gilpin dovetailed Dr. Babst’s remarks by introducing WIIS and its mission. “WIIS has a dual mission: to increase the infl uence of women in the fi elds of foreign and defense affairs by raising their numbers and visibility while enhancing dialogue on international security issues,” she said. While WIIS is focused on women in the international security fi eld, Ms. Gilpin emphasized that its focus “is not on bringing the socalled feminine or woman’s perspective to the dialogue on international security but rather to demonstrate that women can enhance thinking and debate on key non-gender-specifi c issues in the fi eld whether as policymakers, academics, or diplomats. Indeed, dealing successfully with security challenges requires the collaborative effort of both women and men, a fact underscored by the involvement of women and men in today’s event as panelists and participants.” In that framework, the conference focused on the challenges facing transatlantic relationships, NATO’s role in global relationships, and peacekeeping.