UN WOMEN - In Focus: Women, Peace and Security

Community Peacebuilding Discussions held on Madura island, East Java, Indonesia. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown


To create lasting peace, we need women’s voices and leadership.

When diverse women participate in peace negotiations, the quality and durability of peace agreements increases, and when women are signatories of peace agreements, they are more likely to be implemented.

Women are often the first to notice the rising tensions that can escalate to violence. They are also the first responders in the aftermath of conflict, taking on the lion’s share of care work for families and stepping in to repair shattered economies.

Yet, women around the world continue to be excluded from peace and political processes because of discriminatory laws, social stereotypes and institutional obstacles. Even when they are instrumental in brokering and sustaining peace, their contribution is rarely visible.

This year's UN Security Council Open Debate on 29 October and a host of high-level events held on its margins will take stock of the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda. The theme for this year’s debate is, “Towards the successful implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Moving from the commitments to accomplishments in preparation for the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325”.

The United Nations has identified six priority action areas to accelerate progress in the lead up to October 2020:

• make leadership accountable for the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, through improved data and gender analysis;
• ensure women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, the implementation of peace agreements and related decision-making;
• protect women’s human rights defenders and women’s organizations;
• ensure women’s participation in economic decision-making in post-conflict situations;
• Increase the number of women in uniformed services in peacekeeping missions and national security services;
• finance the women, peace and security agenda and invest in women peacebuilders.

As world leaders and women peacebuilders gather at the UN Security Council this week, read and share stories from women who are working hard every day to forge and keep the peace.

UN Women has just released a dashboard on women, peace and security as part of the Women Count data hub. The dashboard enables visualizations of data on the UN system’s and Member States’ commitment to women, peace, and security.

Source: UN WOMEN