Women, Peace and Security
Expected Council Action
In October, the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on women, peace and security (WPS). UN Secretary-General António Guterres and one or more civil society representatives are the anticipated briefers.
Key Recent Developments
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325, the first of ten Security Council resolutions on WPS. This resolution stressed the importance of women’s equal participation in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. It called for the adoption of a gender perspective in peace agreements and for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence. It also expressed the Council’s “willingness to incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations” and emphasised the responsibility of all states “to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes including those relating to sexual and other violence against women and girls”.
The Secretary-General’s annual report on WPS is expected to provide an update on the implementation of the agenda over the past year. In light of the agenda’s 25th anniversary, the report is likely to take stock of positive change achieved since the adoption of resolution 1325 and highlight negative trends—such as rising authoritarianism and militarisation, growing number of armed conflicts, and disregard for international law—that undermine women’s rights and gender equality. It may identify situations of particular concern for women’s rights, such as Afghanistan, as well as crisis or conflict-affected situations where women face high level of violence, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Among other issues, the report is likely to identify the growing pushback on gender-related terminology as a concerning trend in light of the risk that it poses to long-established legal protections for women.
In addition, the Secretary-General’s report is expected to include a focus on how to bring about “a gender data revolution” on WPS, which was one of the five goals for the decade set out in the Secretary-General’s 2020 WPS annual report. In this context, it may highlight data gaps and call for greater access to, and use of, gender data as key tools to help break patterns of stagnation and regression in the implementation of the WPS agenda.
The 2025 NGO Working Group on WPS’ open letter to UN permanent representatives in advance of this year’s open debate notes that the world is “a long way” from fully realising the WPS principles, norms and commitments established during the past 25 years. It warns about an “alarming backlash against women’s autonomy and rights, and against those who advocate for them”, noting that “[t]he very term gender” is being “blatantly undermined”. The letter calls on UN member states to take a series of actions, including stopping arms transfers in several circumstances, including when weapons may be used to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence, or if they risk being used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. It calls on member states to uphold international law “consistently across all conflict situations on the Security Council’s agenda”, to integrate women’s rights, gender equality and respect for international law in all decisions of the Security Council, and “firmly reject any outcomes that damage or fail to advance the core tenets of the WPS agenda”.
The negative impact of cuts to humanitarian funding on women and girls is an issue that has been increasingly highlighted by the UN. For instance, during his 6 March Security Council briefing on Yemen, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said that funding suspensions had led to the closure of twenty-two safe spaces “denying services and support to over 11,000 women and girls in high-risk areas”. During his 21 May briefing on Syria, OCHA Director of Coordination Ramesh Rajasingham highlighted a similar situation concerning the closure of safe spaces due to funding shortfalls.
On 19 August, the Security Council convened for its annual open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), which this year was titled “Identifying innovative strategies to ensure access to life-saving services and protection to survivors of sexual violence in conflict zones”. This was the latest in the year that the annual open debate on CRSV has been held in over a decade. It seems that this was due to a combination of factors—including UN resource constraints, decisions on politically sensitive listings in the annex to the Secretary-General’s annual report on CRSV, and reluctance from some Council members to host the meeting. (For more information, see our 18 August What’s in Blue story on the annual open debate on CRSV.)
Council members were able to retain or include WPS language in several resolutions, including resolution 2771, which in January extended the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. In June, resolution 2783, which extended the 1533 DRC sanctions regime, included a new reference to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) despite opposition from some Council members. It reaffirmed the Council’s concern over the suffering that armed groups impose in eastern DRC and over violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights, including those involving SGBV.
Language on WPS was a key point of contention during the negotiations of resolution 2779, which renewed the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Negotiations resulted in largely preserved WPS language, while some previously agreed references were replaced with less robust ones. The US, as the penholder on South Sudan, put forward changes and deletions on a wide range of issues—including WPS—which, for different reasons, proved contentious among many members. It seems that, following opposition to the deletion of WPS language from Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Slovenia, and the UK, and in order to secure sufficient votes for the draft to be adopted, the US reinstated most of those references. At the same time, some previously agreed references to gender-sensitive and gender-responsive conflict analysis were replaced with analysis responsive to the needs of “women, men, girls, and boys”.
Some negotiations resulted in the dilution of previously agreed WPS language or missed opportunities to include such language altogether. In resolution 2781, which extended the South Sudan sanctions regime and the mandate of the Panel of Experts of the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee, a reference to “gender expertise” in the Panel of Experts was replaced with a reference to expertise on “WPS”. It appears that this was a compromise struck in response to an initial edit by the US, which replaced gender expertise with expertise on CRSV—which some members had argued was an inadequate substitute.
During the negotiation of resolution 2788 on strengthening mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes, while France and Slovenia, together with other European members, advocated for stronger language on WPS and civil society participation, the US and others expressed reservations. The final text emphasised the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, but references to “safe” participation—which were put forward by the proponents and have become a standard WPS formulation regarding women’s participation—were dropped in an apparent compromise.
Resolution 2790, which extended the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a final time and called on the mission to start its drawdown from 31 December 2026, does not include any WPS language.
According to figures cited by the NGO Working Group on WPS on 25 September, the percentage of Security Council resolutions that reference women’s rights adopted thus far in 2025 has fallen by 21 percent since 2020.
Since January, the Informal Experts Group (IEG) on WPS has met six times, with recent meetings focusing on Haiti, “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”, and the Sahel region. The IEG’s next meeting is expected to take place on 1 October and focus on the situation in the Central African Republic.
In recent months, women civil society representatives have briefed Council members on several situations on the Council’s agenda, including Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan and Yemen. Among other things, women briefers called for ceasefires; unhindered humanitarian access; protection of civilians; an end to SGBV, including CRSV; an increase in humanitarian and development funding; and to guarantee women’s full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in peace, political and decision-making processes.
Key Issues and Options
The pivotal issue for the Security Council remains the full implementation of the WPS agenda and its impact on the ground.
The Council’s failure to address and facilitate a peaceful resolution to several conflict situations on its agenda has had devastating consequences for women in those contexts, with some Council members being directly involved in these conflicts or supporting the conflict parties.
Council Members could lead by example and stop transferring arms when there is a risk that weapons are used to commit serious violations of IHL and acts of SGBV. The Council could also impose and enforce arms embargoes in these situations. If Council dynamics do not allow a collective decision on these measures, a group of Council members supportive of international law and the WPS agenda could issue a joint statement announcing their decision to stop arms transfers and specifying that the decision was taken in response to serious violations of IHL and acts of SGBV.
An important issue for Council members supportive of the agenda is to preserve effective WPS language in thematic and country-specific outcomes and to follow up on the implementation of these decisions, in line with resolution 2242 of 2015, in which the Council decided to integrate WPS concerns “across all country-specific situations on the Security Council’s agenda”.
To guide their work, Council members can use the recommendations put forward by UN Women as the IEG secretariat, as well as the recommendations presented by women civil society representatives who have briefed the Council. Council members could also ask UN briefers to provide substantive updates to the Council on specific WPS issues, such as women’s participation in peace processes.
A recent Secretary-General’s report on “Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights” says that seven women civil society representatives reported reprisals in connection with their briefings to the Council in 2024. In line with resolution 2242 and the 1 December 2021 Statement of Shared Commitments on WPS, members should continue to invite diverse women civil society representatives to brief the Council regularly and follow up on their information and recommendations. It is essential that Member States and the UN take all possible measures to keep briefers safe, in consultation with the briefer, including carrying out risk assessments, developing protection plans, and responding to any reprisals. Planning well in advance of the start of a presidency could help members facilitate the safe and meaningful participation of women civil society briefers in Council meetings.
Against the backdrop of the UN80 initiative, a reform agenda aimed at streamlining the UN in response to funding constraints, which is expected to result in consolidation and austerity measures, Council members could continue to support the deployment of women’s protection advisers and gender advisers in peace operations, as well as in transition processes from peacekeeping operations to special political missions and country teams.
Council Dynamics
There have been notable changes to the US position on WPS since the start of President Donald Trump’s term on 20 January, with Washington often seeking the deletion of references to gender in Council products.
This position has converged with Russia’s long-held oppositional stance regarding the inclusion of WPS language in Council outcomes. For instance, Russia and the US did not include a reference to “gender” in a presidential statement on Syria they co-authored in March, in which the Council called on the interim authorities to protect all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion. The addition was proposed by Denmark and Slovenia.
Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, the ROK, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the UK have given continuity to some aspect of the Shared Commitments on the WPS initiative, which was started in 2021 by Ireland, Kenya, and Mexico. Denmark, Greece and Panama encouraged Council members to focus on WPS issues in a mandated country-specific meeting during their presidencies in 2025; that is, Afghanistan in March, Yemen in May, and West Africa and the Sahel in August, respectively. Participants in this initiative have also held regular WPS-focused press stakeouts, most recently on Afghanistan. Although the US signed on to the Shared Commitments in 2023, it has not thus far participated in any of the joint press stakeouts held by the Council members who are part of this initiative this year.
The UK is the penholder on WPS and the US is the penholder on CRSV. Denmark and Sierra Leone are the co-chairs of the IEG on WPS. Slovenia is the coordinator of the Shared Commitments initiative.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 31 October 2000S/RES/1325 | This was the first Security Council resolution on women, peace and security. Reaffirming women’s key role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, this text calls for the adoption of a gender perspective in peace agreements and for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence. |
| 13 October 2015S/RES/2242 | The resolution expressed the Council’s intention to convene an Informal Experts Group on Women, Peace and Security and to invite women civil society briefers to country-specific and thematic meetings of the Security Council. It also called for greater integration of the agendas on WPS and counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism. |
