RBEC Gender Equality SEAL Hub functions within the auspices of UNDP Country Office Montenegro as a centre of excellence, knowledge sharing and expertise dissemination in the field of Gender Equality. The Hub supports 18 Country offices and 3 subregions in RBEC region in their everyday work around SEAL programme, but also in other areas of Gender Equality, such as Women in STEM, Women’s economic empowerment and political participation of women. 

SEAL represents specific programme of UNDP which shows commitment to develop an organizational culture of equality, aimed at endorsement of accelerated Gold track for Gender Equality Seal for RBEC. The purpose of the programme is to meet high standards by integrating gender equality into all aspects of UNDP’s organizational and development work. The Seal serves as a learning platform to help Country Offices to establish baselines, fine-tune strategies, address gender gaps, document innovations and showcase the impacts of interventions for gender equality. It is UNDP’s flagship initiative to build capacities and support transformational gender equality results through creating inclusive and open space for free thinking and stimulates out-of-the-box thinking. The Gender Equality Seal benchmarking exercise proposes three levels of certification: Gold, Silver and Bronze. Country Offices are certified based on a review of their gender equality accomplishments. 

SEAL currently conducts its fifth certification cycle during which Country Office Montenegro was once again reassessed towards global standards. This extensive exercise results in reconfirmation of the golden status of CO, scoring 100% of established criteria. This position once again emphasised the existing expertise within the office which is capable not only to lead gender equality processes in CO or in Montenegrin society, but also to expand its support throughout the region of RBEC. 

RBEC SEAL Hub currently supports the process of certification for 12 Country Offices among which 2 have gone through reapplicant programme (Kazakhstan and Armenia), while 10 are considered as new applicants (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). In addition, 2 COs have recently gone through renewal SEAL process: Montenegro and Moldova. 

Among 18 COs in RBEC, currently 2 COs hold gold performance certificate (Montenegro and Kirgizstan), and three silver (Armenia, Turkey and Kazakhstan).

* References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)