The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom is publishing a Security Council Scorecard on Women, Peace and Security. This research brief maps trends on compliance with relevant international standards around Women, Peace and Security by the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council (the Permanent Five) in the period between 2010 and 2016, demonstrating the key gaps in the Women, Peace and Security implementation efforts.
The research report shows that, despite the normative support for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, commitments on paper do not match practice: from poorly planned and underfunded provisions of services in conflict-affected situations to the impunity for acts of sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual and gender-based violence, to the lack of support for women’s civil society participation in peace processes, the Permanent Five – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China – continue to demonstrate disconnected, fragmented and siloed approaches to the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
The Permanent Five are also some of the top contributors to the global arms trade, which exacerbates sexual, gender-based and other forms of violence. They contribute to the shrinking space for civil society organisations, especially for women’s organisations, support militarism as a way of thought and consequently undermine long-term conflict prevention essential for achieving feminist peace.
“Crisis response is not a long-term solution,” stated Abigail Ruane, Director of WILPF’s Women, Peace and Security programme and continiues: “Preventing conflict is critical for peace. Investing in women’s rights is the key to conflict prevention and also a human rights obligation.”
WILPF’s thirty-page analysis is divided into several sections, including international action (Security Council Action, WPS Financing, Human Rights Indicators, Peacekeeping operations), national action (Prevention, Participation, Protection, Recovery Support) and recommendations for the Permanent Five. The report features several graphs visually depicting the progress or lack thereof achieved by the Permanent Five under each category.
The analysis conducted for this project aims to inform state action on specific areas of focus in order to close gender gaps and strengthen impact of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. This report also provides a tool for civil society to strengthen implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and for academia to strengthen the existing body of research on Women, Peace and Security and improve existing tracking mechanisms.
Download the research report: Security Council Scorecard on Women, Peace and Security: Lessons Learned from 2010-2016
Download the Press Release as PDF: WILPF Releases its Security Council Scorecard on Women, Peace and Security
For more information please contact: Abigail Ruane, WILPF’s Women, Peace and Security Programme Director, tel: 1.212.682.1265, email: abigail (a) peacewomen.org