This set of Case Studies - Assessing UK Government Action on Women Peace and Security in 2024 complements GAPS’ 2024 Shadow Report by grounding its analysis in the lived experiences of women and girls in conflict-affected contexts. Focusing on Ukraine, the…

Bénédicte Aboul-Nasr, Senior Programmes Officer, Great Lakes- Peace Direct The first two months of 2025 have been bleak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following the resurgence of the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23)/Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) in 2021,…

The UK has announced cuts to the aid budget while increasing defence spending. CARE’s recent report revealed that UK aid for gender equality fell from £6.3bn in 2019 to £3.4bn in 2022—the lowest on record since reporting began in 2014. With the latest round of cuts announced today, this decline will only deepen, compounding the effects of previous reductions and contributing to a global trend where major donors are pulling back from gender equality commitments.

There has been a critical escalation of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past few weeks, with Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 seizing control of Goma. The heightened risk of sexual violence has been reported by organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières, who have said more than 1 in 10 young women in camps reported being raped between November 2023 and April 2024.

More than 30,000 Syrians have returned home since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. The UK has now paused its decision over Syrian asylum-claims. As of December 2024, 6,502 Syrians are waiting the outcome of their asylum claim in the UK. Nadia Hardman, a researcher in the Refugee and Migrants Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, outlined…

Israel strikes on Southern Lebanon The Lebanese health minister reported 569 people have been killed and 1,835 wounded since last Monday in Israeli strikes across Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed the death of its senior…

This month, the UK Government passed the callous Rwanda Safety (Asylum and Immigration) Bill- a clear abuse of the rule of law. This Bill directly undermines the UK’s commitments to Women, Peace and Security…

Read our report: Assessing UK Government Action on Women, Peace and Security in 2023.   One year on from the launch, GAPS analyses the UK Government’s implementation of the fifth National Action Plan (NAP) on Women Peace and Security (WPS) undertaken…

This month, the GAPS team was in the Hague for LEAP4Peace, of which we are a proud member. Alongside organisations from Burundi, Colombia, Myanmar, and the Netherlands, we work nationally and globally to support the…

Welcome to GAPS May wrap-up.  GAPS attended the 2023 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development organised by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This year's theme focused on ‘Seeking Solutions for Turbulent Times’ and explored lessons and experiences from past…

Assessing UK Government Action on Women, Peace and Security in 2022. In this shadow report, GAPS assesses the 2022 Annual Report to Parliament by the UK Government and considers overarching lessons learned from the 4th National Action Plan (NAP), which ran from 2018 to 2022. It also considers key recommendations for His Majesty’s Government (HMG)’s 5th NAP, which will run from 2023 to 2027.   

GAPS March Newsletter Welcome to GAPS March wrap up.  It was a very busy month for GAPS!  The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) took place in New York this month, which saw women-led civil…

GAPS February Newsletter Welcome to the GAPS February wrap up.  On the 23rd of February, GAPS attended the launch of the fifth UK National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security (NAP) at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Our…

Welcome to our December and 2022 wrap-up. It has been an eventful and busy year for the GAPS Team, and as we draw an end to 2022, GAPS is looking forward to celebrating the holidays with friends and family, and…

Welcome to our September wrap-up. This month, GAPS launched our  2021 Shadow Report at an event that brought together GAPS members, civil society, parliamentarians and other stakeholders to discuss the UK Government's implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda…

Welcome to our June wrap up. This month, GAPS met with its members to discuss Women, Peace and Security priorities for the first time in-person before the pandemic. GAPS also have been continuing  to attend meetings with the UK Government…

On 16th May, the FCDO released the anticipated International Development Strategy (IDS). The Strategy outlines the Government's key priorities in its approach to International Development. GAPS has written a response to the IDS, examining how…

GAPS has developed a briefing in response to the conflict in Ukraine as we witness the devastating developments and the increase of violence towards women and girls. The briefing lays out five priorities that the UK Government and the international…