Integrated Approach in Action

Connect the dots for transformative change!

WILPF builds connections between Women, Peace and Security, disarmament, and human rights. WILPF's Women, Peace and Security Programme collaborates with Human Rights and Disarmament Programmes to strengthen multilateralism and promote an integrated approach to building feminist peace across the UN system for increased impact.

Learn more:

2016

  • WILPF proposals for committed policies with the women, peace and security agenda (Spain)
    Sunday, June 26, 2016 - 00:00

    Spain will be holding new elections as of June 26, 2016, after political parties failed to reached an agreement to form government after the December 20, 2015 elections. WILPF Spain is currently calling on all political parties standing for the elections to fully implement UNSCR 1325. 

    Read the original petition in Spanish in the PDF below, or at the WILPF Spain website here. You can also read the English translation below.

    España celebrará nuevas elecciones el 26 de junio, 2016, después de que los partidos políticos no lograran alcanzar un acuerdo para formar gobierno después de las elecciones el 20 de Diciembre, 2015. WILPF España está haciendo llegar a todos los partidos políticos demandas para la total implementación de la a la resolución 1325.

    Lee la petición original en español en el siguiente PDF, o en la página web de la sección de WILFP España aquí; y lee la traducción en Inglés a continuación.


    WILPF proposals for committed policies with the women, peace and security agenda

    All around the world many women are committed to working for peace, aiming to put an end to violence in their closest surroundings and working towards more just societies that respect human rights. Armed conflicts have huge impacts in people’s lives, with specific impacts on men and women: forced displacement, the breakdown of the social fabric, increase of poverty, social exclusion and sexual violence.

    In 2000, the UN Security Council passed UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in which the disproportionate impact of violence on girls and women was identified. Moreover, their key role in peacebuilding and conflict transformation worldwide was recognized. Resolution 1325 commits all Member States to take specific steps. It calls on States to listen to and support women who build peace in times of violence, to guarantee significant women’s representation in all decision-making levels, including peace processes, and to protect women and girls from the specific impact they suffer from armed conflicts.

    The women, peace and security agenda has been developed since 2000 with the approval of an additional seven UN Security Council resolutions which strengthen and complement UNSCR 1325: 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015). Furthermore, in 2007 Spain created a National Action Plan for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 (2000) and a Plan to implement it in the Spanish cooperation policies. In the European scope, in 2008 the EU Comprehensive Approach to the EU Implementation of UNSCRs 1325 and 1820 on Women, Peace, and Security was developed.

    Ultimately, peacebuilding is inextricably linked to full equality between men and women. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), a women’s organization created in 1915, has been working towards peace through nonviolent means and to promote political, economic and social justice. Thus, WILPF Spain, a national section of WILPF, is calling for political parties who stand for the 2016 general elections in Spain to commit with the full implementation of the women, peace and security agenda and to integrate in their electoral programmes the following proposals:

    Implementation of resolution 1325

    • Support women peacebuilders in the Government's diplomatic efforts;
    • Guarantee a significant presence of women in all peace processes which the Government supports directly or indirectly (through, for instance, the EU);
    • Earmark 15% of the peacebuilding budget to specifically finance the women, peace and security agenda, especially women’s organizations that work in this field, as recommended by the United Nations.
    • Revise the Spanish National Action Plan guaranteeing that substantive and effective civil society participation will be guaranteed, especially women’s organizations.
    • Strengthen the fight against impunity in international crimes, particularly the ones committed against women, in order to restore universal jurisdiction.
    • Receive and protect refugees who flee from armed conflict and persecution, in accordance with Spain’s international obligations. It must be guaranteed that the specific needs of women and girls be attended to, including psychosocial, economic and hygienic support.

    Commitment to the equal presence of women in all decision-making levels

    The Spanish Government must guarantee paritary presence of women in all political decision-making levels and in all institutional spaces from the public administration.

    Commitment to a feminist foreign policy

    The Spanish government should commit to a foreign policy that doesn't put armed conflict at its core, but instead conflict prevention, peacebuilding and human rights protection.This policy must guarantee women’s rights, their adequate representation as well as the necessary resources to implement the women, peace and security agenda.

    Disarmament and decrease of military spending

    The Spanish Government has to work actively to bring about a progressive disarmament program in a multilateral human security framework and to commit to a progressive and substantive reduction of military spending. It must strengthen preventative diplomacy and peacebuilding from a gender perspective.

    Abide by the Arms Trade Treaty

    The Spanish Government has an obligation to consider the risk that their arms exports can have on enabling or facilitating violence against women and children to be perpetrated. If that is the case, the Government should cease its arms trade. This control has to be done transparently.




2015

  • WILPF October 2015 Report
    Wednesday, November 25, 2015 - 12:00

    A report on WILPF's events and management on the 15th nniversary of UNSCR 1325.




  • Women's Major Group Response to Zero Draft Outcome Document
    Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 10:15

    The Women's Major Group, a collection of women's NGOs of which Peace Women is a member, aims to ensure effective public participation of women's non-governmental groups in the UN policy process on Sustainable Development, Post-2015 and Environmental matters. Peace Women collaborated with other members of the Women's Major Group to create a response to the Zero Draft of the Outcome Document on the Post-2015 Agenda. The Zero Draft will serve as an outline for the adoption of the SDGs at the General Assembly summit in September. The WMG response analyses the Zero Draft through a gendered lens and draws attention to the areas that need improvement regarding gender equality and women's and girl's empowerment. 




2014

  • NGO Collective Statement to UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iraq––Serious Protection & Rights Needs of Women & Girls in Iraq (Appeals & Demonstrations)
    Monday, September 1, 2014 - 15:45

    September 1, 2014

    Distinguished members of the United Nation’s Human Rights Council,

    As the Council debates the human rights implications of the violence and displacement in Iraq, MADRE, the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the IWHR Clinic, and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), urges members to consider the particular impact of the current situation on women, in particular in areas under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

    Read more here>>




2013

  • Enhancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian Region
    Tuesday, November 12, 2013 - 15:45

    WILPF PeaceWomen participated in a regional OSCE conference on Women, Peace and Security in Almaty, Kazakhstan aimed at raising awareness of participating States on international  commitments reflected in UNSCRs on Women, Peace and Security; taking stock of and review existing efforts, best practices and lessons learnt to develop, implement and monitor national action plans or other implementation strategies related to the UNSCRs; sharing voices and opinions of women peace activists in regard to challenges and perspectives of mainstreaming gender equality dimensions into peace building and post-conflict reconstruction processes, as well as to support their meaningful participation in on-going dialogues and initiatives on peace and security at all levels; and defining ways and perspectives to support and address the demand of countries for knowledge, expertise and resources available in regard of practical implementation of UNSCRs.

    Read more here>>




  • Men, Peace, and Security Symposium: Agents of Change
    Monday, October 28, 2013 - 15:45 to Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - 18:00

    Washington, DC

    From October 28 to 30, 2013, the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), The World Bank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) – North America, Women in International Security (WIIS), Promundo – US, and Sonke Gender Justice co-hosted a symposium titled Men, Peace & Security: Agents of Change at the USIP headquarters in Washington, DC. The event consisted of a two-day symposium followed by an optional one-day training course, bringing together scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and military and security personnel from around the world.

    This symposium explored how the ascribed norms of men and masculine identities contribute to, and may even help mitigate, violent conflict and post-conflict. It builds upon and complements the U.N.’s Women, Peace, and Security agenda, especially as seen through Security Council Resolution 1325. In addition, the symposium served to initiate the development of a “community of practice” and applied a gender lens to broader issues of peace and human security.

    Read more here>>




  • Gender and Arms Trade Treaty - Make It Binding!
    Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - 15:45

    On April 2, 2013 governments adopted the text of the first ever Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the United Nations in New York. The treaty, which prohibits the sale of arms if there is a risk that the weapons could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law, is the first ever treaty that recognizes the link between gender-based violence and the international arms trade.

    The Arms Trade Treaty text was adopted in the General Assembly with a vote of 154 in favor, 3 against, and 23 abstentions. The final UN negotiating conference failed to adopt the text by consensus on 28 March due to objections from Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Syria. In response, over 100 countries co-sponsored a draft General Assembly resolution calling for the adoption of the treaty text, which was successfully adopted on 2 April.

    The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) welcomes the adoption of the treaty as a first step towards regulating international transfers of arms. However, our organization cautions that the treaty is not sufficiently robust or comprehensive enough. The risk of legitimizing the international arms trade, especially irresponsible transfers, must be avoided through careful interpretation and implementation. To read more click below...

    Read WILPF press release here>>

    Read UN Women statement on ATT here>>

    Read more here>>




2012

  • WILPF and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, 2012
    Sunday, November 25, 2012 - 10:00 to Monday, December 10, 2012 - 15:45

    November 25 - December 10, 2012

    WILPF participated in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, which is an international campaign between (November 25 International Day Against Violence Against  Women) and December 10 (International  Human  Rights Day) to link action on violence against women with action on human rights and to emphasize that violence against women is a violation of human rights.  

    Read more here>>




  • Civil Society Open Letter in Advance of the 15th Anniversary of SCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security

    This is an Open Letter from the Civil Society which calls Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Representatives of the United Nations and UN Senior Leadership to recommit to the principles and transformative potential of WPS and develop effective and sustained implementation strategies. 




  • Open letter to the UN Secretary General and Ambassador of Spain

    The following is an Open Letter to the UN Secretary General and Ambassador of Spain regarding the impact and recommendations around the change of date of the 15th anniversary Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security.