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25 Years of the WPS Agenda: Feminists Resisting and Advancing Alternatives 

Updates from Women, Peace and Security Month in New York and around the world.

A woman wearing sunglasses holds a sign that reads WOMENS RIGHTS: WE WONT GO BACK! against a pink background, with illustrated images of a megaphone and a white dove beside her.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 6 min
WILPF International Secretariat
3 December 2025

This October 2025 marked 25 years since the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1325 – the first of ten resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).  

For over two decades, feminist and peace organisations – including WILPF – have worked tirelessly to advance this agenda, increase its visibility, and hold decisionmakers accountable for implementing it. WILPF was among the civil society groups that first pushed for the WPS agenda 25 years ago, and we have remained active ever since – from the International Secretariat’s Women, Peace and Security (PeaceWomen) Programme in New York to work in all six regions of our membership – promoting a feminist vision of peace through WPS and beyond.  

Our advocacy has focused on issues such as women’s meaningful participation and redesigning the peace table; protecting feminist civil society and women human rights defenders from threats and reprisals; and conflict prevention by addressing the root causes of conflict and resisting militarism in all its forms. We have also constantly critiqued the the securitisation of the WPS agenda – warning against approaches that focus on integrating women into armed structures rather than building nonviolent, inclusive peace.  

At a time where the consequences of exclusionary, patriarchal, violent male leadership are on full display, with war and genocide raging and countries rearming instead of disarming, the vision of the WPS agenda is deeply relevant and urgent. 

Advancing feminist conversations on WPS 

Since early in 2025, WILPF staff, members, and partners have been active across the world commemorating the WPS anniversary — from Oslo to New York, to WPS convening spaces in Amman and Nairobi, to Geneva Peace Week and the Feminist Foreign Policy Conference in Paris, France. In the face of ever-more restrictive travel and entry policies to the United States, as well as defunding of feminist movements and organizations, more events than usual took place outside of the typical New York spaces. WILPF consistently brought to these conversations our feminist priorities around confronting militarism, ending impunity, preventing conflict and violence, and shifting power – not just adding women.  

In London, Amrita’s conversation with Palestinian and Colombian feminist peace actors highlighted the importance of different sources of expertise to ground what peace means across different communities. In the regional WPS convening in Amman, a civil society manifesto articulated a decolonialised regional conception of the Agenda; and during Geneva Peace week activists from Ukraine and Colombia deconstructed current approaches to conflict resolution. 

On 28 October, WILPF, LIMPAL Colombia, WILPF España, and Centro de Educación e Investigación para la Paz – CEIPAZ co-hosted an in-person event in New York, entitled Feminist Conversations on WPS, Anti-Militarism, and International Solidarity. The panel consisted of Diana María Salcedo López (LIMPAL Colombia), Sophia Close, PhD (WILPF UK and European Institute of Peace – EIP), and Manuela Mesa (WILPF España and CEIPAZ), and was moderated by Genevieve Riccoboni from WILPF International Secretariat. At the event, panelists shared on recent research they have conducted on barriers and promising practices for advancing women’s participation, the work of feminists in Colombia, and the links between the WPS agenda and the humanitarian-peace-development nexus, including the often deprioritised peace pillar. Panelists also reflected on the importance of antimilitarism to advancing feminist visions of peace. 

WILPF was also proud to cosponsor the 28 October event of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement entitled Towards Equality, Justice, and Democracy in Syria. The session addressed several main themes, including: Political transition from a feminist perspective; Inclusive peace processes and combating hate speech: Reviving dialogue while confronting violence and polarization; Protection of civilians: Upholding international law to safeguard women and vulnerable groups; and Combating gender-based violence: Advancing justice and supporting survivors, and the essential role of women in peacebuilding. 

On 30 October, WILPF participated in a closed-door roundtable at the Permanent Mission of Sweden on the topic of WPS, men, and masculinities. Genevieve Riccoboni, WPS Programme Coordinator, shared some of the highlights and findings of WILPF’s 2024 research on the incorporation of men and masculinities into global as well as regional and national policies on peace, security, and gender in Africa. 

Continuing to hold the line on WPS in the Security Council 

Ahead of the WPS open debate, our coalition, the NGO Working Group on WPS, co-drafted an open letter (available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian) with key demands from civil society on the implementation of WPS. Over 600 civil society organizations from 106 countries — including WILPF International Secretariat and 20 WILPF Sections — sent this open letter to members of the UN Security Council and other Member States. The open letter calls for states to: 

  • Stop arming violence against civilians  
  • Uphold international law  
  • Defend women’s rights and gender equality  
  • Support the civil society movements that sustain the WPS agenda 

The annual UN Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security took place on 6 October 2025 under the presidency of Russia. Ms. Noura Erakat, Palestinian American human rights attorney and author, delivered a statement about the situation of Palestinian women and girls living under dispossession, removal, apartheid, occupation, and genocide. The briefing focused on how Israel’s ongoing Nakba in Gaza violates the Genocide Convention. It detailed how attacks on the reproductive capacity of Palestinian women and girls collectively aim to eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian future, in four stages: attacks on survival and intimacy, pregnancy and gestation, labor and delivery, and childrearing and parenting. As a member of the NGO Working Group on WPS, WILPF stands in solidarity with Ms. Erakat and was proud to support her briefing. 

On 31 October, the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, along with UN Women, Slovenia, and Guyana, hosted a civil society forum on WPS in the United Nations. The event was entitled “Commemorating 25 years of Resolution 1325: Women civil society and the transformative potential of the Women, Peace and Security agenda”. It brought together member states, UN agencies, and civil society who are at the frontlines of implementing the WPS agenda in Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. Kefaya Khraim of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) in Palestine spoke at the forum on the gendered violations that WCLAC has been documenting in the context of Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and genocide. She underscored that the WPS agenda demands protection for women and girls as well as prevention and accountability for those who violate international law. 

Currently, reflecting broader anti-gender backlash, language on gender is facing well-coordinated attacks in the Security Council, notably from several permanent members. There have been efforts in different Security Council negotiations (including on countries such as South Sudan, Sudan, Colombia, Libya, and more) to eliminate language on the WPS agenda or weaken language on gender and other intersectional issues. At the same time, other Council actions – such as its endorsement of some of the US-Israeli colonial plan for Gaza through UNSCR 2803 – are undermining prospects for truly lasting peace. 

This plan for Gaza enshrines impunity for Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid regime, and genocide, and authorises a colonial protectorate administration over Gaza that would enable Israel, with the support of the United States and other actors, to continue its plans for ethnic cleansing. This transactional, exclusionary dealmaking model also risks being replicated around the world, with reporting of similar approaches being pursued with regards to Ukraine and beyond. As feminists who consistently advocate for a transformation of peace and security, including through instruments such as the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, we must challenge this brazen manipulation of the word “peace” to legitimise aggression and imperialism.  

Looking ahead to the next five years  

Beyond this anniversary year, WILPF will continue our collective activism and advocacy for the holistic implementation of the WPS agenda – in Afghanistan, Colombia, Palestine, and beyond. The coming period will contain many challenges: well-funded anti-gender and anti-rights backlash; states re-arming and militarising; impunity for violations of international law; and an evolving conflict, peace, and mediation landscape that continues to sideline the priorities of feminists and of impacted communities. As we look ahead to these challenges, the need for a powerful, coordinated, and strategic anti-militarist feminist movement is vital.  

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.