As a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, the OSCE is a key instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its region. The OSCE recognizes that equal rights of women and men and the protection of their human rights are essential to peace, sustainable democracy, economic development and therefore to security and stability in the OSCE region. It further recognizes that achievement of gender equality through gender mainstreaming contributes to comprehensive security, which is a goal of all OSCE activities. The consultative meeting of 8 December 2005 has been formed in line with the OSCE/ODIHR aim of strengthening the understanding of implications of gender and violations of women’s rights on security matters in general, and on conflict prevention and early warning in particular. The consultative meeting is the first of its kind in the OSCE and is the first initiative to consolidate practical experiences and knowledge of the links between women’s rights and early warning with other relevant actors.