Canadian Armed Forces Gender Aide-mémoire: Integrating Gender Perspectives in Operations

2 May 2006 - Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, Afghanistan Corporal Venessa Larter and members of the Canadian Forces are conducting a presence patrol in the Village of Spin Kalacheh. The Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT) located at Camp Nathan Smith in the heart of Kandahar City is comprised of approximately 250 soldiers, drawn largely from Land Forces Western Area (LFWA) and 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) based in Shilo, Manitoba and Edmonton, Alberta. Task Force Afghanistan is part of Canadas contribution to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Canadians and their international partners are helping Afghan people to rebuild their lives, their families, their communities and their nation. The mission is to improve the quality of life of Afghan people by providing a secure environment in which Afghan society can recover from more than 25 years of conflict. Photo by Sergeant Carole Morissette Task Force Afghanistan Roto Imagery Technician. ***Le 2 mai 2006 - La caporale afghane Venessa Larter et des membres des Forces canadiennes effectuent une patrouille de présence dans le village de Spin Kalacheh, dans l’équipe de reconstruction de la province de Kandahar. L’équipe de reconstruction de la province de Kandahar (ERPK) située au Camp Nathan Smith, au cœur de la ville de Kandahar, est composée d’environ 250 soldats, principalement issus de la Zone de l’ouest de la Force terrestre (SOFT) et du 1 er Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada (1 GBMC) basé à Shilo. Manitoba et Edmonton, Alberta. La Force opérationnelle en Afghanistan fait partie de la contribution du Canada à la République islamique d’Afghanistan. Les Canadiens et leurs partenaires internationaux aident les Afghans à reconstruire leur vie, leur famille, leur communauté et leur pays. La mission consiste à améliorer la qualité de vie des Afghans en créant un environnement sûr dans lequel la société afghane peut se remettre de plus de 25 ans de conflit. Photo par le Sergent Carole Morissette, Roto 1 de la Force opérationnelle en Afghanistan, Technicien en imagerie.

The Integrating Gender Perspective in Operations Aide-mémoire was officially launched during the United Nations Women, Peace and Security Chiefs of Defence (CHoDs) Network meeting in New York on 10 July 2019 when General Vance became Chair. The aim of the Aide-mémoire is to help Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members consider and use gender perspectives during the operational planning process. In addition, this product is a practical resource available to the Defence Team, and indeed NATO and the UN.

Canada’s knowledge and understanding of the role of gender perspectives in planning missions and conducting operations, at home and abroad is constantly evolving. This is a a valuable tool now available in that continuum.

The Aide-mémoire will be integrated into leadership and operational planning training for officers and non-commissioned members and further shared with international partners.

The Aide-mémoire has been in development for over two years and we thank those who contributed significant time and effort towards achieving this product.

The booklet is available online in both English and French:

(https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/integrating-gender-perspectives-operations.html

https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/organisation/rapports-publications/integrer-perspective-genres-operations.html.

I am issuing this Gender Aide-mémoire to assist all members of the CAF to integrate gender perspectives and the principles of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) into operations. I want to be clear that GBA+ is not only about gender—this approach can be applied to situations relating to children, fighting-age males, or any other specific group experiencing salient threats in an operational area.

J.H. Vance

General, Chief of the Defence Staff