Launching “1325@25” in October 2024
On October 9th, WIIS launched its “1325@25” programming with the event, “The WPS Agenda – Shaping the Next 25 Years”, hosted in partnership with the Embassy of Liechtenstein. This event, moderated by WIIS President & CEO Ariela Blätter, featured Under Secretary Dr. Bonnie Jenkins of the US Department of State, Dr. Carolyn Washington of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security, Dr. Shirley Graham of the Elliott School of International Affairs, and Dr. Marisa Ensor of Georgetown University. They assessed the WPS agenda’s future.
WIIS welcomed various US government agencies (USAID, US DoS, US DoJ), civil society networks, and non-profit organizations. Additionally, we were joined by a global audience, with individuals from Venezuela, Albania, Cyprus, and Poland joining virtually.
Then on October 28th, WIIS hosted an insightful book talk on Governing the Feminist Peace: The Vitality and Failure of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda by Laura Shepherd and Paul Kirby. WIIS Research Director Dr. Karin Johnston spoke with co-author Kirby, who discussed the complexities of the WPS Agenda, focusing on its evolution, global impact, and the obstacles that hinder its full potential. In particular, he emphasized the urgency of advancing feminist peace and security.
“The Framers of UNSCR 1325” Series
As part of the “1325@25” initiative, WIIS has launched “The Framers of UNSCR 1325” Series.
Our “Framers” series compiles essays from the individuals recognized as the “initiators, drafters, and strategists” of UNSCR 1325, whose determination brought about the successful adoption of the first ever UN Security Council resolution to address WPS issues. The series highlights their visions for the future of the WPS agenda, and their thoughts on how we can overcome the challenges to advancing gender equality in the decades ahead.
At the same time, we acknowledge that the individuals featured here are not the sole “framers” of UNSCR 1325. Countless other people have worked for many years to make the WPS agenda happen and we equally celebrate their groundbreaking efforts.
Ultimately, the goal of our “Framers” series is not to look back, but to look forward. We asked our contributors to provide their unique perspective on questions such as:
- What is next for the WPS agenda?
- What observations, recommendations, and / or “lessons learned” do you have for the next generation of initiators and strategists committed to transformational change and the realization of WPS principles?
- What is your own vision for the future of the WPS agenda?
We hope that these essays will help us envision a viable future for the WPS agenda as we navigate an increasingly complex and challenging global environment.
Cora Weiss
“Civil society can make political change. When it came to the adoption of UNSCR 1325, civil society women were key; this was not a government-led movement. We have evidence that the participation of women in these collaborative movements have produced change, so keeping these movements going is of the utmost importance.”
Noeleen Heyzer
“As the Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), my journey with the formulation and implementation of UNSCR 1325 taught me some of my most critical and hardest lessons during my entire career at the UN. I learned that although the UN was founded on principles of peace and human rights, principles are not enough in a world where the politics of hatred, division, violence, and exclusion permeate many of our societies.”
Attending CSW69 in NYC
As part of its “1325@25” Initiative, WIIS participated in two high-level side events at CSW69:
- A closed-door roundtable on “Past Reflections and Future Visioning on the 25th Anniversary of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda”, co-sponsored with the International Peace Institute (IPI), and the Permanent Missions of Denmark, Luxembourg, Colombia, and Sierra Leone to the United Nations on March 13th; and
- A convening at UN Headquarters around “Women, Conflict, and Peace: A Universal Feminist Vision”, hosted by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on March 10th.
Representing WIIS at these convenings, WIIS President and CEO Ariela Blätter highlighted the goals of the “1325@25” initiative, the strength of the global WIIS network, and the organization’s leading efforts in advancing women’s leadership and participation in the peace and security sector.
Importantly, she brought WIIS expertise to both discussions by providing insight into the implementation challenges of the WPS agenda and by offering concrete solutions to these obstacles. In line with the “1325@25” initiative, Ariela’s remarks provided incisive recommendations to ensure the viability of the WPS agenda for the next 25 years–and beyond.
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The IPI side event was organized as an interactive workshop which convened 45 participants to engage in “future visioning” for the WPS agenda, allowing high-level government and UN officials, alongside women’s civil society and academics, to develop bold and creative strategies for the advancement of gender equality through WPS principles.
Ariela provided opening remarks for the event, highlighting how three fundamental barriers hinder the advancement of the WPS agenda: funding, inclusion, and implementation. Her remarks are summarized below:
Funding: As WIIS’ original research shows, private donor funding for the WPS agenda is shrinking, as major foundations continue to withdraw from the space. More so, proposed U.S. legislation seeks to further restrict support to civil society groups in fragile states. If we do not act, women-led peacebuilding efforts will be defunded precisely when they are needed most.
Inclusion: Despite their frontline efforts, women’s groups were absent from negotiations in Ethiopia, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, and Libya. Meanwhile, technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), attacks on women human rights defenders, and a shrinking civil space are threats to women’s participation in all fora of peace and security. We must therefore institutionalize women’s civil society participation by establishing permanent advisory roles, dedicated funding, and protection mechanisms, safeguarding women’s voices and leadership.
Implementation: National Action Plans (NAPs) are considered to be a key measure of WPS implementation. However, WIIS’ gender assessment tool shows that some countries without NAPs have still made progress through alternative approaches, including:
- Regional security frameworks, which embed gender equality in defense and law enforcement; and
- Gender integration in military and police forces, which can transform institutions from within.
Ultimately, the future of WPS must be adaptive, context-specific, and results-driven.
The WCJ side event highlighted the urgent need to recognize and address violence against women, while showcasing their critical role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Through expert dialogue with civil society leaders and high-level UN officials, the event aimed to advance women’s rights and promote feminist solidarity for a more peaceful and equitable future.
In this vein, Ariela spoke to the persistent under-representation of women in formal peace processes, despite their ongoing significant contributions to peace and security.
She first noted several entrenched obstacles that block women’s full participation in peace processes, including TFGBV, the exclusion of civil society from decision-making fora, and deeply rooted gender norms.
Structural barriers such as these also prevent women from receiving equal access to formal training, mentorship, and digital tools, which can enable them to engage in peace processes on equal footing with men.
As Ariela underscored, changing this reality requires deliberate action by:
- Appointing women as lead mediators early on in the peace process;
- Integrating gender expertise into mediation teams;
- Investing in Track II mediation;
- Creating formal structures for women’s civil society participation; and
- Increasing and sustaining funding for women-led peace initiatives.
She concluded by stating that women’s rights equals international peace and security, because women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in peace processes is not just about fairness–it is essential for a safer, more secure world.
WPS Resources
