No women, no peace

According to a report by Human Rights Watch… Click to expand Image

Iklass Ahmed, projected on screen, Founder and Coordinator of the Darfur Advocacy Group, addresses the Security Council during a meeting on Women, Peace and Security focused on conflict-related sexual violence, August 19, 2025.
© 2025 Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters

This month sees the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. Adopted in October 2000, Resolution 1325 established that women should be full, safe, equal, and meaningful participants in all discussions about their country’s future, including peace talks. Resolution 1325 has never been more important than it is today, as we face a global backlash against women’s rights and escalating wars and crises around the globe.And yet, we are seeing a dangerous erosion of the basic principle 1325 stands for.Women still have to fight for a seat at the tables where key discussions take place; the UN itself sometimes excludes women.In 2020, then-UN undersecretary general Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka described 1325 as “one of the crowning achievements of the global women’s movement and one of the most inspired decisions of the United Nations Security Council.” But the Security Council members that unanimously adopted the resolution 25 years ago have often failed to uphold 1325. And the number of women’s rights defenders briefing the council has fallen dramatically, a trend worsened by the US immigration crackdown, which has blocked many potential speakers from traveling safely to New York, where the council meets.Resolution 1325 has been stress-tested over the last 25 years. Subsequent resolutions detailed what full participation by women means, and how countries and multilateral bodies should ensure women’s participation and respond to gendered impacts of conflict. Well over 100 countries developed national action plans for how they would implement Resolution 1325.All this effort helped prove what women in war zones already knew: women’s participation makes a difference. One comprehensive study found that when women are involved in peace negotiations, those processes are more likely to lead to agreement, and agreements are more likely to be implemented. In its 20 year review of Resolution 1325, UN Women wrote that research “comprehensively demonstrates that the participation of women at all levels is key to the operational effectiveness, success and sustainability of peace processes and peacebuilding efforts.”If we want a peaceful world for ourselves and future generations, we should mark this anniversary by reminding policymakers everywhere of the unofficial slogan of the women’s movement fighting to uphold Resolution 1325: “No women, no peace.” complete report is on below link. Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/08/no-women-no-peace