Women, Peace, and Security: Beyond institutionalization and towards internalization

This October marked the 25™ anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. This pioneering resolution advanced the idea that women’s human rights in conflict and post-conflict reconstruction was a matter of international peace and security. Additionally, UNSCR 1325 paved the way of the social construction of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) global normative agenda.

- MA. LOURDES VENERACION

What has transpired in the last 25 years in regard to WPS?

GLOBAL INSTITUTIONALIZATION

First, at the level of the United Nations (UN), there were nine subsequent resolutions after UNSCR 1325. With a total of 10 resolutions, the discursive frames are twofold. First are the agentic-centered resolutions that focus on women’s participation; the second is oriented towards the vulnerabilities and victimization of women, particularly to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in armed conflict and post-conflict situations.

Second is the drafting of National Action Plans (NAP) WPS. NAPs are policy frames that set forth priorities on operationalizing national and international commitments. These are mostly National Government strategies that define the implementation of women’s participation and protection of their rights in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Since 2005, over 100 countries have crafted their respective NAP WPS. Additionally, Regional Action Plans (RAP) WPS have also been crafted at the level of regional organizations such as the European Union, Arab League, African Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). These are commitments on how the WPS agenda will be implemented and concretized at the regional level.