Peace starts from the closest place to us - our home, then it takes us further - to our community, then our society, country and world. Men are included in peacebuilding at all of these levels, women are not. Peace, conflict and violence has an impact on us all - women and men - but only men are recognised and included. Only men are asked how conflict affects them and how peace can be built. But we women have the experience and education to tell the world that too. It is our right to be included in peacebuilding so that our homes, communities, societies and countries are free from violence.
Hasina Safi, former Director,
Afghan Women’s Network
What is Women, Peace and Security?
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda is a global framework established by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and a series of subsequent resolutions. It recognises that gender equality, women’s rights and women’s meaningful participation are essential to preventing conflict, building peace and creating security in every context.
WPS is not limited to conflict or post-conflict situations. It applies domestically and internationally, across all areas where peace, security, human rights and gender equality intersect - including, but not limited to, diplomacy, development, defence, humanitarian action, migration, justice, climate security and national security policy.
The WPS agenda aligns with and reinforces a wide range of global and regional commitments on gender equality, human rights and sustainable peace. These include, for example, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Sustainable Development Goals. Together, these commitments support efforts to advance women’s and girls’ rights and promote inclusive, gender-responsive peace and security.Women in Peacebuilding
Despite the severity of the underrepresentation of women and girls in peacebuilding processes, progress has continued to remain slow. Data from the Council on Foreign Affairs shows that between 1992 and 2019, women constituted on average only 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators, and 6% of signatories in major peace processes worldwide. Additionally, roughly seven out of every ten peace processes did not include women mediators or women signatories (Council for Foreign Relations).As women and girls make up half of the population, the involvement of women in peacebuilding is key to ending conflict and to creating long-term, sustainable peace and to the fulfilment of women and girls’ rights. The full participation of women and girls in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery processes and recognition of their gendered experiences leads to a more stable and sustainable peace, where their experiences of conflict and the aftermath of conflict can be heard, and needs can be prioritised and funded.
Why WPS Matters?
The WPS agenda is essential because gender inequality is a root cause of conflict and insecurity. When women, girls and marginalised groups are excluded from decision-making, their rights are undermined and their experiences overlooked - creating policies and systems that fail to achieve lasting peace.
WPS matters because:
Peace processes and political settlements are more durable and effective when women participate.
Crises, conflict, climate impacts and insecurity affect women, girls and marginalised groups differently, requiring gender-responsive approaches.
Policies on security, counter-terrorism, migration, defence and humanitarian response often have gendered impacts, including within the UK.
WPS strengthens broader commitments to gender equality, human rights, climate justice and sustainable development.
It is a framework for conflict prevention and resilience, not only response.
In short, WPS applies at all times - before, during and after conflict, and across domestic and international policy arenas.The UK National Action Plan
In 2002, and again in 2004 the UN secretary general called for UN Member States to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda through National Action Plans (NAPs). They are one way for States to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda. NAPs set out their detailed Women, Peace and Security activities that should be coordinated across Government (including domestic and international facing departments), comprehensively addressing all pillars and commitments that have been made, how they will be monitored, evaluated, funded and developed in consultation with civil society. has worked globally with a number of States and civil society organisations on their NAPs, providing consultation and shared learning. GAPS plays a key role within the UK, working with the UK Government to review and monitor the UK NAP through consultations since 2006.
The UK NAP is cross-departmental and includes the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Every two years, the UK Government publishes an Annual Report on their progress of the current NAP, this is orally presented at the Report to Parliament which the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security (APPG-WPS) host. . At the Report to Parliament, Parliamentarians and civil society monitor the UK’s work on Women, Peace and Security and its plans going forward. This annual event is also when GAPS, the secretariat for the APPG-WPS, provides the GAPS Shadow Report, a reflection and response to the progress contained in the Annual Report on Women, Peace and Security.
However, NAPs are not the only way in which Governments, multilateral agencies and INGOs should meet their Women, Peace and Security obligations. Governments, multilateral agencies and INGOs should also ensure they integrate gender into broader conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding policies and programmes across.
The Four Pillars of WPS
Participation Ensuring women’s and girls’ meaningful participation and leadership in peace processes, political life, security institutions, diplomacy, community decision-making and domestic security policies.
Protection Safeguarding rights, safety and dignity — including protection from gender-based violence, discrimination, harmful security practices and structural inequality.
Prevention Preventing conflict and violence by addressing gender inequality, militarisation, exclusion and other root causes of insecurity.
Relief & Recovery Ensuring humanitarian, stabilisation and recovery efforts are gender-responsive, rights-based and inclusive.
WPS in the UK Context
WPS is both a foreign policy and domestic agenda for the UK.
Internationally, it shapes the UK’s approach to diplomacy, development, defence, humanitarian action and peacebuilding, and is implemented through the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
Domestically, WPS principles relate to policy areas such as:
Gender-based violence
Migration and asylum
Extremism and national security
Policing and justice
Climate resilience
Equality and inclusion policies
For the first time, the Fifth UK National Action Plan (2023–2027) explicitly recognised this domestic dimension of WPS. The NAP includes a dedicated section outlining how WPS principles apply within the UK, reflecting the understanding that gender equality, women’s rights and inclusive security are interconnected across all policy contexts - not only overseas.
The UK’s obligations on WPS are reinforced by international human rights and humanitarian law - including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and other global treaties - as well as domestic gender equality frameworks such as the Equality Act 2010 (including the Public Sector Equality Duty) and the International Development Act 2002.
GAPS works as a network convener and a critical friend, coordinating collective advocacy across our membership, monitoring UK progress, influencing policy development and engaging directly with the UK Government and other governments to strengthen WPS implementation at home and abroad.