25 years of the Women, Peace and Security agenda
When women lead, peace follows: Highlights and breakthrough moments with UN Women and our predecessors and partners.
Over the last 25 years, UN Women, with its partners and predecessors, has moved the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda forward, to make sure that women are seen, recognized and funded as equal participants and agents of peace. The WPS agenda, enshrined in international agreements, such as UN Security Council resolution 1325, builds on a simple truth: women’s contributions are essential to bring lasting peace for all of society. As this timeline of the WPS agenda shows, when it comes to peace, seemingly unrelated actions have often coalesced into outsized impacts. And with broader, deeper political support and adequate financing, the transformative potential of the WPS agenda can be fully realized.
With presence in 109 countries and informed by our data, research and unique local partnerships, UN Women has an intimate understanding of shifting political dynamics and the urgent needs of women and girls in conflict and crisis situations. We work holistically, amplifying the voices of women on the ground so that they echo at every level of decision-making.
With our strong Member State and civil society partnerships, UN Women has been a driving force behind breakthrough moments for peace. Here are just some of those moments.
When women lead, peace follows: 25 years of the women, peace and security agenda at the United Nations
Concern for women and girls in conflict mobilizes civil society, feminist activists and Member States to lay the groundwork for the WPS agenda: The 1969 Commission on the Status of Women; the 1975 to 1995 World Conferences on Women; the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action; the establishment of the NGO Working Group on WPS; and more.
Photo: The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing in 1995. Among many other milestones, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action commits to empowering women to lead in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and justice for sexual violence in conflict. UN Photo/Yao Da Wei
One of UN Women’s predecessors, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), convenes the All-Party Burundi Women’s Peace Conference. Nelson Mandela participates in the conference – and relays the women’s demands for justice to the Arusha Peace Process. Just months later, the UN Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 1325 under the Presidency of Namibia.
Photo: The UN Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 1325 (2000), urging an enhanced role for women in preventing conflict, promoting peace and post-conflict reconstruction. UN Photo/Milton Grant
UNFIEM’s "The Women, War and Peace" report contributes to the nascent understanding of how conflict impacts women – just as the International Criminal Court, which will become an important tool for justice, is born. That same year, UNIFEM supports the Afghan Women’s Consultation in Kabul, where women collectively demand greater participation in rebuilding the war-torn country.
Photo: Women Parliamentarians of the Afghan Lower Hous (Wolesi Jirga or “House of the People”) arrive at their inauguration ceremony, 2002. UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein
The Security Council hosts a first-ever meeting devoted exclusively to sexual violence, marking a bleak reality: rape in war is common, and too often ignored. “It is now more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in modern conflicts,” states UN peacekeeping commander Major General Patrick Cammaert. In response, resolution 1820, the first to focus on the scourge of sexual violence in conflict, is adopted.
Photo: Anne-Marie Goetz, Chief Advisor, UNIFEM and Major General Patrick Cammaert address a press conference, 2009. UN Photo/Sophia Paris
In the aftermath of horrific attacks and sexual violence, UNIFEM advocates for the inclusion of gender expertise and establishes an important precedent for UN-led investigations. In Liberia, after a brutal civil war, UNIFEM supports a network of Peace Huts, which would become an effective model for preventing conflicts. The Security Council also adopts WPS resolutions 1888 and 1889.
Photo: Members of the Bo Waterside Women’s Peace Hut, Liberia, 2022. UN Women/Gloriah Ganyani
After years of advocacy by civil society and Member States, the UN General Assembly creates UN Women, merging four gender entities of the UN, including UNIFEM, as a powerful global force for women’s empowerment and gender equality. At the same time, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon enacts the 7-Point Action Plan to increase women’s participation in peace – mobilizing concrete action on WPS and increased funding. The Security Council adopts resolution 1960.
Video: The launch of UN Women concludes with a performance of the song "One Woman" in New York, 2011. UN Women/JC McIlwaine
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer becomes the world’s first woman chief negotiator to sign a final peace accord with a non-state armed group. The Government of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace agreement ended Asia’s longest-running insurgency and included provisions on women’s rights and participation in half of its articles. Following its signing, UN Women and its partners work to strengthen women’s participation and leadership in political processes during the transition process, and in the newly formed political institutions.
Photo: "Building peace is a partnership," says Miriam Coronel-Ferrer. Credit: Joser C. Dumbrique for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
A critical year. UN Women supports a network of women mediators in Burundi to prevent conflict from reigniting; publishes the first comprehensive analysis of the WPS agenda’s implementation; and launches the Female Military Officers with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to increase the number of women deployed as peacekeepers. The Security Council adopts WPS resolution 2242 and the first ever resolution on youth, peace and security, 2250.
Photo: Local women mediators, Rumonge Province, Burundi, 2018. WPHF/Matthew Rullo
Significant actions – reflecting UN Women’s 2015 recommendations – create new possibilities for peace, including the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board; the landmark Sepur Zarco court decision in Guatemala; and a peace agreement in Colombia with historic women’s participation. Also: UN Women expertise contributes to a UN report citing sexual violence as evidence of genocide of the Yazidi in Syria; and is the first-ever woman civil society representative to brief the Security Council.
Photo: Syrian activists speak at a UN Women press conference, 2014. UN Women
Following the conflict in Kosovo** with wide-spread sexual violence, UN Women helps women receive justice through the enactment of a law providing reparations for survivors, families and communities. UN Women also publishes the first report to look specifically at young women in peace and security, informed by a global study.
Photo: Atifete Jahjaga at an art installation on conflict-related sexual violence. **References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). Photo: UN Photo/Laura Hasani via UN Women
**References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
In Sudan, UN Women supports women mediators, strengthening peace platforms and amplifying women’s voices – including through the Kampala Feminist Declaration. In Mali, UN Women rapidly steps in to fill gaps in service delivery, advocacy, and peace and security issues after the withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Photo: Hawa Games Dahab Gabjenda, gender specialist and observer in the Juba peace talks in Sudan, 2023. UN Photo/Maimana El Hassan
The WPS agenda, now 25 years on, is more important than ever. Despite negative trends and catastrophic wars in several parts of the world, peace is still possible. But lasting peace requires urgent action for women and girls, and ensuring that women are included in decision-making. In Ukraine, UN Women is pushing for an end to conflict, and recovery and reconstruction that builds a more inclusive and equal future. In Libya, where the UN-facilitated political process is led by three women, UN Women will help launch the Women’s Caucus to facilitate women’s safe, meaningful and effective participation.
Photo: Maria de Lurdes, grassroots leaders and founder of the Mozambican Association for Community Education, 2025. UN Photo/Alice Ambrucer via UN Women
