Rooted in legally binding resolutions, the Women, Peace and Security Agenda forms the basis for plans and actions at the local, regional and global levels. And while it is clear that the UN Security Council and Member States consider gendered perspectives to be central to international peace and security, accountability, implementation and action on the ground remain seriously lacking.
On this page, we invite you to explore progress that has been made and who is responsible for implementation of the WPS Agenda.
Despite a lack of consistent progress toward implementation of the WPS Agenda, there have been some concrete steps forward over the years.
The UN Security Council, Member States, United Nations entities and civil society organisations are all responsible for the holistic implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
As the body responsible for maintenance of international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council has an obligation to implement and fulfill its own commitments.
The Council has adopted ten resolutions on Women, Peace and Security: SCR 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2008), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019), and 2493 (2019), as well as a resolution on women and peacekeeping. The global implementation of these resolutions is reviewed annually in Open Debates and at milestone dates such as the 20th anniversary.
In recent years, a number of working methods have been developed — often through the leadership of Elected Members of the Security Council working with women civil society — to innovate and move forward accountability on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Yet it is commonly recognised that the Security Council still has far to go to live up to its mandate and engage in effective action.
WILPF and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security monitor and analyse WPS language in all Security Council actions on thematic issues and, where appropriate, on country-specific issues.
In the multilateral system, Member States hold the primary responsibility for the achievement of gender equality and fulfillment of human rights. This includes national level implementation of UNSCR 1325 through National Action Plans (NAPs) to implement the four pillars of the resolution. Member States are also encouraged to collaborate with civil society, particularly with local women’s networks and organisations, on the implementation of UNSCR 1325.
National Action Plans for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 are national-level strategy documents that outline a government’s approach and course of action for localising action on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. These documents outline objectives and activities that countries take, both on a domestic and international level, to secure the human rights of women and girls in conflict settings; prevent armed conflict and violence, including against women and girls; and ensure the meaningful participation of women in peace and security.
Learn more about NAPs and explore Member States’ progress on our dedicated page.
All United Nations entities must act to uphold the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Whether through commitments to gender equality and women’s rights, disarmament, peace and security, sustainable development or otherwise, this commitment has wide-ranging implications.
WILPF’s Women, Peace and Security Programme amplifies the voices of grassroots women in conflict-affected countries, and engages in advocacy and monitoring of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda with key UN entities.
For example, we actively engage with the work of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), General Assembly, Post-2015 Sustainable Development processes, Disarmament and Arms Trade Treaty, CEDAW and the Human Rights Council. We also monitor other UN entities on Women, Peace and Security issues.
Women’s civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations play a critical role in advancing progress toward the goals of the WPS Agenda. They implement conflict resolutions; they struggle to make decision-making inclusive; they document; they respond; they organise; and they make a difference in the lives of those affected by conflict.
Civil society, particularly feminist peace groups like WILPF, advocated for the creation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 and continue to play a significant role in implementing the holistic aims of the WPS Agenda.
Women’s organisations, in contexts of conflict and post-conflict situations, are often subject to specific security threats. Concerted attention must be paid to the protection of women’s groups and women human rights defenders to ensure that threats to their security do not impede their participation in conflict resolution and political processes, including transitions.
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 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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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 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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
