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Regional and sub-regional organizations often choose to develop Regional Action Plans (RAPs) to implement UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions either as part of a large policy on gender or as separate strategies. Similarly to the cross-learning process, intergovernmental cooperation can provide opportunities to share economic resources and experience, although this time often in comparable cultural and historical contexts.
"In some cases, regional action plans can play an even more important role than individual NAPs in promoting peace and security, particularly given the cross-border nature of many conflicts." -- Civil Society Advisory Group to the UN on Women, Peace and Security
Yet there are drawbacks to RAPs as well. Countries belonging to the regional organization can slip through the cracks on implementation, or deliberately use the RAP as a means to avoid developing and enacting their own effective national action plans. Whereas an individually tailored NAP would address country-specific problems, a RAP's policies for gender mainstreaming or strategies to protect women's human rights may prove too general.