UN Frameworks

The work of the WPS Focal Points Network is guided by 10 UN Security Council resolutions—1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122, 2242, 2467, and 2493— and is bolstered by a number of related normative frameworks, which make up the broader women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda. 

Women, Peace and Security Resolutions 

  • Resolution 1325 (2000) [S/RES/1325 (2000)] – Affirms the importance of the participation of women and the inclusion of gender perspectives in peace negotiations, humanitarian planning, peacekeeping operations, and post-conflict peacebuilding and governance. 
  • Resolution 1820 (2008) [S/RES/1820(2008)] – Recognizes sexual violence as a tactic of war and a matter of international peace and security that necessitates a security response. 
  • Resolution 1888 (2009) [S/RES/1888(2009)] – Strengthens efforts to end sexual violence in conflict by establishing a Special Representative of the Secretary-General and team of experts on rule of law and sexual violence in conflict. 
  • Resolution 1889 (2009) [S/RES/1889(2009)] – Establishes indicators for the monitoring of resolution 1325 and requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on women’s participation and inclusion in peacebuilding. 
  • Resolution 1960 (2010) [S/RES/1960(2010)] – Establishes a monitoring and reporting mechanism on sexual violence in conflict. 
  • Resolution 2106 (2013) [S/RES/2106(2013)] – Stresses accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict, as well as women’s political and economic empowerment. 
  • Resolution 2122 (2013) [S/RES/2122(2013)] – Positions gender equality and women’s empowerment as critical to international peace and security, recognizes the differential impact of all violations in conflict on women and girls, and calls for consistent application of WPS across the Security Council’s work. 
  • Resolution 2242 (2015) [S/RES/2242(2015)] – Establishes the Informal Experts Group (IEG); addresses persistent obstacles in implementing the WPS agenda, including financing and institutional reforms; focuses on greater integration of the agendas on WPS and counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism; and calls for improved Security Council working methods on women, peace, and security. 
  • Resolution 2467 (2019) [S/RES/2467(2019)] – Positions conflict-related sexual violence as firmly rooted in the broader women, peace and security agenda; stresses justice and accountability efforts; calls for support and protection to women’s civil society organizations; and calls for attention to the issues of children born of rape. 
  • Resolution 2493 (2019) [S/RES/2493(2019)] – Calls for full implementation of all previous resolutions on women, peace and security; requests the UN to develop context-specific approaches for women’s participation in all UN-supported peace processes; and urges Member States to ensure and provide timely support for the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in all stages of peace processes, including in the mechanisms set up to implement and monitor peace agreements. 

Calls upon Member States, the United Nations Secretariat and regional organisations to strengthen their collective efforts to promote the full, effective, and meaningful participation of uniformed and civilian women in peacekeeping operations at all levels and in all positions, including in senior leadership positions; and encourages Member States to develop strategies and measures to increase the deployment of uniformed women to peacekeeping operations.

Building upon commitment to the women, peace and security agenda, the Security Council has further considered women, peace and security as a cross-cutting issue in its work and adopted thematic and country-specific resolutions relevant to the agenda. 

Other key documents 

  • Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – The Beijing Platform for Action recognized that peace is inextricably linked with equality between women and men and development. It put forward a set of strategic objectives and actions to be taken. (See especially Chapter IV, Section E, which focuses on “Women and armed conflict”, starting on page 87.) 
  • The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end it. The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women adopts recommendations on any issue affecting women to which it believes the States parties should devote more attention. 
  • General recommendation no. 30 on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations strengthened and made clear the applicability of the Convention to a diverse range of settings affected by conflict and political crises. It also set out and affirmed the Convention’s linkages with the UN Security Council’s women, peace, and security agenda. 
  • The Secretary-General’s 2010 report on women’s participation in peacebuilding provided the foundation for the “Secretary-General’s seven-point action plan on gender-responsive peacebuilding”, which seeks to enhance the United Nations’ responses to women’s needs and priorities in the aftermath of conflict, and support women as equal participants in shaping their communities and societies. It sets out commitments across the following areas: conflict resolution, post-conflict planning and financing, civilian capacity, governance, rule of law, and women’s economic recovery. Notably, it commits the United Nations to allocate a minimum of 15 per cent of all UN-managed funding in support of peacebuilding projects to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.