Toespraak Commandant der Strijdkrachten Generaal Onno Eichelsheim bij conferentie Women, Peace & Security – Navigating 1325 in a New Security Reality
Deze toespraak is alleen beschikbaar in het Engels.
Colleagues, friends, partners,
The opening of this conference that we watched a few minutes ago reminds us of something essential.
Resolution 1325 was never solely about the treatment of women as a separate issue.
In a deeper sense, it is about changing our understanding of security,
about who gets a seat at the table when decisions are made,
and about who is most affected by those decisions.
25 years later, the world around us has changed profoundly.
We are facing hybrid threats, disinformation, cyberattacks, and a full-scale war on European soil.
Security is no longer defined by a clear divide between peace and conflict.
It exists in a grey zone where the physical, digital and human dimensions converge.
And that makes our first core task – the defence of our own and allied territory – more relevant than ever.
But even on the most high-tech battlefields, success still depends on understanding the human terrain as well as the military terrain.
Because while technology may change, people remain at the heart of everything we do.
That is the power of the gender perspective:
It lets us see the whole picture,
makes our planning smarter,
our actions fairer,
and our presence more credible.
Our new Defence Action Plan 1325 states:
'If you want a complete picture of the theatre, you must be willing to take the whole of the terrain that lies before you seriously.'
And that terrain is society itself.
Women and men, girls and boys, soldiers and civilians.
Our Defence Action Plan is not a social project.
It is a matter of operational effectiveness.
You cannot protect what you do not understand.
And you cannot understand a population if you only see half of it.
We learned that lesson in the field.
In Afghanistan, mixed-gender teams were able to reach families and neighbourhoods that male-only patrols could not.
Female soldiers built trust, gathered information, and made missions safer for everyone involved.
A few years later, when the Taliban returned to power, we saw how quickly progress can evaporate once women are pushed out of public life.
When that happens, a society loses its balance.
And peace becomes fragile.
Today, in Ukraine, over sixty thousand women are serving in uniform.
Many of them are serving in combat roles, in medical units, or in cyber and intelligence.
Every day, they demonstrate that courage and professionalism are not related to gender.
But they also remind us how difficult it still is to combine equality with warfighting.
For example, some women still face a lack of proper equipment or facilities.
Nevertheless, they push on,
With the strength and resilience that inspires us all.
In our own armed forces, we have taken several steps forward.
But progress is still too slow.
More women are joining the armed forces and taking on leadership roles.
Yet cultural and practical barriers remain.
We are working to adapt training programmes, equipment and facilities to the reality of those who serve.
It is not about special treatment.
It is about removing obstacles so that everyone can perform to their full potential.
And yes, I hope that one day, the Netherlands will have a female Chief of Defence.
Not as a symbolic gesture, but as a natural result of equal opportunity.
I speak from a defence perspective, but what we are seeing goes beyond our own field.
The Women, Peace & Security agenda is facing headwinds in several parts of the world.
In some places, civil society is being silenced.
In others, people still believe that equality is secondary to security.
As if the two were not related.
We know that this is a dangerous illusion.
Because inequality breeds instability.
And instability always finds its way across borders.
That is why gatherings such as this are so important.
They remind us that peace and security cannot be built by one organisation alone.
Our gathering today brings together diplomats, soldiers, and policymakers who work in unique cooperation with civil society.
That embodies the original spirit of Resolution 1325: cooperation between defence and society.
It was women from civil society who first pushed this agenda onto the global stage.
And it remains our shared responsibility to keep their voices alive.
Because the progress they fought for cannot be taken for granted.
It demands our attention and, now more than ever, our concrete action.
Resolution 1325 is not a chapter in a history book.
It is a mission for the future.
One we can only achieve together.
I wish you all a very inspiring conference.
Thank you.