On October 31, the anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 marked twenty-four years since its entrance into the international order. UNSCR 1325 was commemorated as the long-sought resolution to ensure women’s full participation in global peace and security (broadly defined). Its existence would not have been possible without the efforts of both civil society and the United Nations member states. This resolution[1] focused on addressing the significant gap in women’s participation in all levels of peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction, including combating gender-based violence. After twenty-four years, UNSCR 1325 has brought forth subsequent resolutions, nine in total, continuing to address sexual-based violence both in the conflict and post-conflict environment and barriers to women’s participation in peace processes from the most localized level to the extent of high-level decision-making processes. Others, such as Security Council Resolution (SCR) 2242[2], sought to highlight women’s role in preventing and countering terrorism, and the most recent, SCR 2467[3] in 2019, challenged member states in their commitment to the previous resolutions. One of the primary ways in which UNSCR 1325 and the subsequent resolutions were to be implemented was through countries adopting National Action Plans focused on the 1325 agenda in the context of their state.
Today, approximately fifty-six percent of the United Nations member states have adopted[4] one or more National Action Plans (NAPs) to further the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. Despite fifty-six percent of member states adopting NAPs, many countries have not consistently or successfully implemented them. National Action Plans require significant funding, governmental capacity, and cooperation, vital for their success and sustainability. Because of the challenges of adopting NAPs, some critical questions have been raised. For example, how can NAPs be implemented during a civil war, a country that recently emerged from violent conflict, or why do many global North countries primarily focus their NAPs on the Global South rather than gaps in their own country? The WPS agenda and National Actions Plans have continuously been scrutinized for not addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict through a gendered lens and instead focusing on the security aspects of WPS rather than peace.
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