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Dispatches from UNGA80 High-Level Week 

This past week, government leaders from around the world traveled to New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). During High-Level Week, WILPF was present at different events in New York, advocating for key actions such as reducing military spending and #MoveTheMoney, a two-way arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, nuclear abolition, and accountability for gender persecution and gender apartheid in Afghanistan.  

Large white hashtag sign reading #UNGA stands outdoors in front of tall office buildings, with a streetlamp and green trees in the background.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 5 min
WILPF International Secretariat
1 October 2025

“Peace Is…” Summit: Intergenerational Dialogue on WPS 

On 23 September, we co-hosted a “Peace Is…” Summit with the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), the NYU Center for International Cooperation, and the UN Foundation. The event, entitled “Peace Is All of Us” brought together an intergenerational and interdisciplinary dialogue on peace and the WPS agenda. Some of the speakers reflected on the intertwined histories of WILPF and the United Nations, given the advocacy of WILPF founders around the UN’s predecessor, the League of Nations.  

A woman speaks at a podium during an event promoting global peace, with banners behind her displaying messages about the Womens Peace & Humanitarian Fund and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
WILPF Secretary-General Amrita Kapur delivered closing remarks at the event. Photo by NYU CIC

“Over the past 25 years, we have seen what’s worked, but we have also seen the WPS agenda being securitised. Efforts towards peace are being framed in a militarised lens rather than in a feminist peace lens. This prioritisation means that the essential work to understand and dismantle the root causes of conflict is not being done. WPS has been reduced to a tool of national security policy rather than a tool for peace and justice. There is a disconnect between what’s worked, and the militarised priorities of who is making the decisions. Every dollar spent on weapons is a dollar stolen from peace, human rights, and from our collective future.” 

Participation in High-Level WPS Events 

Throughout the week, we participated in other high-level events relating to the WPS Agenda. These included the 24 September ministerial-level side event of the WPS Focal Points Network, “Deepening WPS Commitments for Action: Innovating and adapting to deliver on peace and security”, and a ministerial-level event on 25 September that brought together members of the Feminist Foreign Policy Plus Group, “Women Building Peace in an Age of Crises and Armed Conflicts: How Feminist Approaches to Foreign Policy Can Advance Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding” . 

Three women sit at a conference table with nameplates and country flags. One wears a blue headscarf and types on a laptop, another wears glasses, and the third has dark hair and a blue scarf. People are seated behind them.

Negina Yari, Afghan human rights activist, Executive Director of Window for Hope, WILPF’s Alternate South Asia Regional Representative, and founding member of the Afghan Women Coordination Umbrella (AFWCU) spoke at the 25 September event. Her remarks focused on the need to create an international accountability mechanism to investigate all crimes and violations and end the cycles of impunity that have fueled decades of conflict and repression in Afghanistan. She urged states and the UN to not normalise the Taliban’s institutionalised system of gender persecution and apartheid through unprincipled engagement, including in the ongoing Doha and Mosaic processes. 

At both meetings, states outlined different commitments they are making to implement the WPS agenda for the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 in October. Although the political commitment to WPS was important to see during this moment of severe backlash on gender equality, many of the priorities that member states shared focused heavily on adding women to militarised structures such as militaries and police. This is something WILPF has long called out as being disconnected from the peace roots of the agenda and is something we will continue to highlight and challenge in this WPS anniversary year. Instead, we are calling for more investment in grassroots feminist peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and for a transformation away from exclusionary peace processes that sideline human rights and justice. 

WILPF Calls for Feminist Peacebuilding Over Militarisation 

Three women sit at a conference table with nameplates and country flags. One wears a blue headscarf and types on a laptop, another wears glasses, and the third has dark hair and a blue scarf. People are seated behind them.

On Thursday 25 September, we participated in the Goals Lounge event, “The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future“. This event discussed the new report of the Secretary-General, which highlighted the different ways in which military spending has a negative impact on sustainable development and peace. Read more about WILPF’s reaction to this report. 

Disarmament Efforts at the UN 

On Friday, 26 September, WILPF’s disarmament team Reaching Critical Will (RCW) participated in two high-level events on nuclear weapons: the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and a conference to promote the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. RCW will report on both meetings this week so be sure to subscribe to its mailing list. RCW has also been monitoring the UN General Assembly high-level debate for references to war and weapons, so be sure to check out its Disarmament Index to find out what your country said. 

Public Action and Advocacy in NYC 

A large crowd protests in a city with skyscrapers, holding Palestinian flags and signs, including one that reads, Sanction Israel Arms Embargo Now. The sky is clear and blue.
Arrest Netanyahu March
A person holds a flyer reading “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians,” with a small Palestinian flag, at an indoor event with various international flags and a presentation screen in the background.
The event of The Hague Group on the sidelines of UNGA80

Also on Friday 26 September, as many diplomats walked out of the General Assembly to protest the speech of Benjamin Netanyahu, New Yorkers took to the streets and marched to the UN. They called for a two-way arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, and for the enforcement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Netanyahu for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Later that evening, The Hague Group held an event in NYC to discuss their collective efforts to end the genocide in Gaza. This was a key call to action to close out a week marked by so much political posturing and rhetoric, but where true concrete action is needed more than ever. 

Advocacy for Accountability in Afghanistan 

Image description here

Mirroring WILPF’s advocacy at the HRC60 on Afghanistan, we co-sponsored an event on 29 September in New York entitled “Erased but Not Forgotten: Voices for Justice and Accountability in Afghanistan”. This event brought together Afghan human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, legal experts, and member states to present survivor-centered perspectives on justice and accountability in Afghanistan. Negina Yari also spoke at this event to advocate for the international accountability mechanism. She urged the international community to turn their promises into action, and work alongside Afghan women in their struggle for gender justice, peace, and accountability. 

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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.