Representatives from over 50 countries and regional organizations convened in Oslo from 13 to 14 May 2025 for the Thematic Meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network (WPS-FPN), hosted by Norway and Japan, the Network’s 2025 Co-Chairs. Held under the theme “Deepening WPS Commitments for Action: Innovating and Adapting to Deliver on Peace and Security,” the meeting focused on inclusive peacemaking and peacebuilding in a milestone year commemorating the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Opening the meeting, Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, State Secretary of Norway stated, “I think what unifies this group is a commitment to multilateralism, a commitment to finding solutions based on dialogue between states, between regions, and also finding multilateral solutions based on international law and based on these values that we’re committed to, not least the UN Charter.”
Photo: Håvard Bjelland
The meeting built on outcomes from the Seventh Capital-Level Meeting in Tokyo and included the participation of national governments; regional bodies such as the African Union, ASEAN, ECOWAS, the EU, IGAD, NATO, and the OSCE; UN entities including UN Women, which serves as the Network’s Secretariat, UN DPPA, DPO and UNOAU; alongside women peacebuilders and representatives from research and academic institutions.
Katsuhiko Takahashi, Japan’s Ambassador for International Economic Affairs and Arctic Affairs, Women, Peace and Security, recalled that the Tokyo meeting communiqué emphasized the importance of women’s leadership and participation in addressing emerging issues such as disaster risk reduction, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
Sarah Hendriks, UN Women’s Director for Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division called on participants to “hold the line for the women, peace and security agenda, to harness conflict prevention, to elevate local women’s leadership and knowledge, especially young women, and above all, to choose peace.”
Photo: Håvard Bjelland
Members of the Network issued a joint communiqué reaffirming their collective commitment to the women, peace and security agenda and underscoring the need for urgent and sustained action in a global context marked by rising military expenditures, escalating conflicts, and increased polarization. They emphasized that sustainable peace and security cannot be achieved without the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women, alongside men, at all levels of decision-making.
The communiqué highlights key priorities for strengthening implementation of the WPS agenda, including:
– Leveraging the Network as a collective platform to uphold multilateralism and advance impactful implementation of WPS globally, regionally, and locally.
– Increasing dedicated and sustained funding for WPS, including direct support to local women-led and women’s rights organizations, and for WPS programming in peace and security processes.
– Adopting and fully resourcing national action plans (NAPs) that address evolving security challenges and are contextualized to local realities.
– Institutionalizing WPS across all ministries, departments, and agencies, and integrating it into performance metrics and budgetary frameworks.
– Promoting inclusive peace processes by using quotas and gender parity principles to secure a balanced and qualified team of women and men mediators and negotiators, alongside investments in leadership development and institutional transformation.
– Strengthening justice and accountability mechanisms, especially for conflict-related sexual violence, with survivor-centered approaches.
– Enhancing data systems to move beyond headcounts and capture meaningful, qualitative indicators of women’s participation and impact.
– Elevating intergenerational collaboration and co-leadership and addressing barriers such as ageism and underfunding.
– Centering women’s lived experiences in humanitarian diplomacy and ensuring local women’s organizations are treated as equal partners.
Photo: Håvard Bjelland
The Network called on all Member States and regional organizations to recommit to WPS principles in the lead-up to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly and the October 2025 UN Security Council Open Debate, which will mark the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325.
Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNOAU, reminded meeting participants of the “unequivocal commitment of the UN Security Council to the WPS agenda as reflected by the important body of norms it has adopted in key resolutions over the years.”
The WPS-FPN continues to serve as a vital platform for peer exchange, learning, and action to advance inclusive peacemaking and peacebuilding around the world.
Photo: Håvard Bjelland
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