Annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security
Tomorrow (24 October), the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on women, peace and security (WPS), which this year is titled “Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment”. One of the signature events of Switzerland’s October Council presidency, the open debate will be chaired by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd. The expected briefers are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed; UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous; and Effie Owuor, Chair of the AU Panel of the Wise and Co-Chair of the Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (FemWise-Africa), which serves as the Secretariat for the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks for 2023-2024. A civil society representative is also expected to brief.
The 11 Council members that have signed on to the Shared Commitments on WPS—Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK, and the US—are scheduled to read a joint statement ahead of the meeting.
A concept note prepared by Switzerland ahead of tomorrow’s meeting says that in the almost quarter century since the adoption of the first Security Council resolution on WPS—resolution 1325—subsequent Council resolutions and programmes on WPS have consolidated a robust international normative framework on this issue. These developments have strengthened the understanding that women’s participation and leadership in peace processes, the promotion of their rights, and protection from all forms of violence are “essential to building lasting peace”. The concept note observes that women have played many roles in formal peace processes—including as negotiators, civil society representatives, technical experts, mediators, and guarantors—as well as in broader efforts to build and sustain peace, such as in the context of informal and alternative peace initiatives and dialogues. It notes that these “diverse roles, the collaboration among such actors and groups, and the range of topics brought to the negotiation table all improve the quality and durability of peace agreements”.
At the same time, the concept note says that in recent years “there has been a widening gap” between the WPS normative framework and its implementation on the ground. In this respect, it stresses that, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325, which will be marked in October 2025, UN member states “must reverse” these trends and implement the WPS framework “with renewed vigour”. The concept note invites participants in tomorrow’s open debate to share best practices on supporting women’s leadership and participation, to identify potential areas for collective action, and to highlight innovative tools to support the enhanced implementation of the WPS normative framework.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Mohammed is likely to spotlight the UN’s work to support the implementation of the WPS agenda in an increasingly difficult environment for the organisation, in light of such challenges as the accelerated drawdowns of UN peace operations and the killing and detention of UN staff in unprecedented numbers. She may stress, among other issues, that women remain underrepresented in, or altogether excluded from, peace processes and call for concerted action to promote positive change in this respect. Specifically, Mohammed is expected to launch an initiative, on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, which targets mediating entities—such as UN member states, regional organisations, and other actors active in mediation—and invites them to commit to concrete actions on women’s participation in their mediation activities and efforts. Several Council members are expected to announce their participation in this initiative at tomorrow’s meeting.
Bahous is likely to highlight key findings from the Secretary-General’s annual report on WPS, which was issued on 24 September. The report shows that the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts in 2023 doubled compared with 2022, while the number of UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) increased by 50 percent. Bahous may also note the report’s conclusions about the lack of progress in guaranteeing women’s meaningful participation in peace processes and, more generally, in political decision-making. The Secretary-General’s report also registered a reduction in the number of Security Council decisions featuring gender-related provisions in recent years, while the NGO Working Group on WPS has reported a decrease in the number of women civil society representatives invited to brief the Security Council since 2021.
Bahous may also note that while military spending continues to rise, bilateral aid with gender equality objectives has dropped, with the Secretary-General’s report recording a decrease for the third year in funding reaching women’s civil society organisations in conflict and crisis settings. She might also express concern at the pushback against women’s rights and gender equality in many parts of the world.
Civil society organisations have highlighted similar concerns in the lead-up to tomorrow’s open debate. For instance, the 2024 open letter of the NGO Working Group on WPS to UN permanent representatives on behalf of 628 civil society signatories warns that “[t]he WPS agenda’s vision of peace and equality has never been so important—or so under threat”. The letter urges the Security Council to undertake a series of actions, including committing to reform itself, and stopping arms transfers in several circumstances, including when weapons may be used to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence, or when member states “have knowledge or should have known” that the arms may be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.
Briefing the Council on behalf of the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks, Owuor is likely to highlight recent activities of women mediator networks across several regions, drawing attention to the innovative ways in which they have sought to foster durable and sustainable peace. She is expected to focus on the continued exclusion of women’s leadership and expertise from formal mediation processes and may call for demonstrable commitments on supporting and funding women mediators.
At tomorrow’s meeting, several Council members are likely to frame their remarks in the context of next year’s 25th anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 and call for accelerated action towards the full implementation of the WPS agenda. Several participants are expected to underscore the importance of women’s full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation in all peace and political processes—including in negotiation and mediation roles—as well as in post-conflict recovery and reconstruction. Members may also underscore the importance of women’s participation in UN peace operations, including in peacekeeping, and some may call for giving continuity to WPS and gender equality objectives during and after UN peace operations transitions. Participants are likely to underscore the need to increase funding for the full implementation of the WPS agenda in all these settings.
Several members may reference specific initiatives and tools to support women’s meaningful participation. These might include National Action Plans on WPS, the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s (CEDAW Committee) upcoming General Recommendation 40, which will focus on reaching equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems.
Many participants are expected to refer to specific country situations where women face acute protection and participation challenges, such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen. Members may call for enhanced protection of women and girls in conflict situations and humanitarian crises, including through the strict compliance by all relevant parties with international human rights and humanitarian law.
Members are also likely to condemn all forms of CRSV and underscore the need for accountability. In this respect, some participants may reference the recent commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict through the adoption of resolution 1888 in 2009. Some participants might also condemn attacks against women peacebuilders and civil society representatives and underscore the importance of preventing and responding to reprisals against them. Some members may reference transnational threats and challenges, such as terrorism and climate change, and their adverse effects on women and girls.
On 17 October, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) sent a written advice to the Security Council in connection with tomorrow’s open debate (S/2024/757). Among other issues, the PBC called for the revitalisation of “existing tools and mechanisms” for the pacific settlement of disputes, confidence-building, and conflict prevention and encouraged the Security Council to “add the perspectives” of women peacebuilders from regional organisations to its discussions at meetings, including through inviting briefers to “share best practices and solutions for supporting inclusive, comprehensive and transformative peace processes”.
