25 Reflections for 25 Years: Realizing the Transformative Potential of Resolution 1325

By Katrina Leclerc

As 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), the global Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda stands at a crossroads. Adopted in 2000, the resolution was a landmark moment, highlighting the importance of women’s inclusion in peace processes and recognizing the gendered impacts of conflict. Yet, in 2025, as the world grows increasingly violent and militarized, the agenda faces profound challenges. From the genocide in Gaza to the ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond, the WPS agenda must navigate a rapidly shifting and deeply fractured global landscape.

To honour this milestone, I offer 25 reflections on how the WPS agenda can evolve and strengthen its impact, ensuring it lives up to its transformative promise in the face of mounting adversity.

1. Reclaim the transformative vision of UNSCR 1325. Its radical call for structural change—addressing systemic inequalities and embedding gender equality in peace processes—must remain at the heart of WPS. This includes explicitly integrating disarmament efforts, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), into the agenda’s broader vision for a peaceful world.
2. Centre the leadership of women peacebuilders. Local women leaders, often on the front lines of crises, must be uplifted, protected, and supported to shape peace processes and policies meaningfully. Their expertise should be paired with long-term investments in protection, capacity-building, and inclusion frameworks to ensure lasting impact.
3. End the genocide in Gaza. The WPS agenda must amplify Palestinian women’s voices, demand accountability for systemic violence, and prioritize justice for those enduring and resisting oppression. This means prioritizing robust international responses that go beyond advocacy and include actionable political and humanitarian support.
4. Challenge militarization in peace and security frameworks. The prioritization of armed responses undermines sustainable peace; the WPS agenda and its allies must advocate for demilitarization and peace-first approaches. Efforts to challenge militarization must also address the role of women in security forces, ensuring accountability, equity, and a gender-sensitive approach.
5. Promote an intersectional approach to peacebuilding. Ensure that policies address the diverse experiences of women, including those of marginalized communities such as Indigenous women, racialized women, young women, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals. Intersectionality should also guide humanitarian responses, ensuring all women have access to resources and protection during crises.
6. Strengthen youth alliances. Foster greater collaboration between WPS and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) frameworks, ensuring young women’s voices are integral to intergenerational peacebuilding. Youth leadership in humanitarian response efforts must also be amplified, especially in conflict and post-conflict settings.
7. Acknowledge and address Global North-South power imbalances. Elevate the leadership of women from the Global South in shaping international WPS policy while confronting the uncomfortable truths about ongoing colonial legacies that perpetuate inequality and marginalization in peacebuilding processes. This shift must also address how the triple nexus of development, humanitarian aid, and peacebuilding impacts women disproportionately in these regions.
8. Support women in conflict zones with flexible funding. Provide sustained and accessible resources to grassroots women-led organizations responding to crises. Innovative funding mechanisms, such as pooled funds for WPS initiatives, can enhance accessibility for under-resourced groups.
9. Integrate climate security into the WPS agenda. Tackle the intersection of gender, climate and security, recognizing women’s role in addressing climate-induced conflict and displacement. Women peacebuilders must be included in international climate negotiations to ensure their voices shape global strategies.
10. Ensure accountability in National Action Plans (NAPs). Advocate for clear benchmarks and transparent monitoring to ensure NAPs translate into substantive change. NAP accountability mechanisms must also measure the inclusion of women from diverse backgrounds, especially in peacebuilding roles.
11. Reimagine peacebuilding funding models. Shift from short-term project funding to long-term investments in local peacebuilding initiatives. Investments should explicitly include support for disarmament and non-violent conflict resolution efforts.
12. Focus on reparative justice. Prioritize transitional justice mechanisms that address the impacts of conflict-related sexual violence while empowering survivors. This includes ensuring access to reparations, mental health support, and economic opportunities.
13. Combat the global anti-gender backlash. Push back against reactionary movements threatening gender equality and protect hard-won WPS gains. High-level champions, such as influential diplomats and leaders, should be mobilized to counteract backlash narratives.
14. Celebrate women’s resistance movements. Recognize and support women-led movements challenging authoritarianism and systemic oppression globally. These movements should be highlighted as key actors in global peacebuilding discourse, with dedicated platforms to amplify their stories.
15. Enhance women’s roles in mediation. Move beyond tokenism to ensure women’s participation in peace negotiations is substantive and impactful. Their involvement should include women from belligerent parties, whose participation is often overlooked despite its importance.
16. Revitalize multilateral institutions. Strengthen the UN and other bodies by holding them accountable to their commitments to gender equality and WPS. Reforms should ensure WPS principles are embedded in all security, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution discussions.
17. Protect digital spaces for women peacebuilders. Address the rise in cyber-harassment and ensure safe online environments for collaboration and advocacy. Strengthened legal protections and reporting mechanisms for online abuse must complement digital security initiatives.
18. Promote localization of the WPS agenda. Support community-based peacebuilding initiatives led by women to ensure local ownership of solutions (not only capital-based or -led). Localization efforts must integrate gender-sensitive approaches into humanitarian responses to address immediate and long-term needs.
19. Combat weaponized rape in conflict. Strengthen international mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable and provide comprehensive support to survivors. This requires integrating survivor-centred approaches in peacekeeping operations and post-conflict justice systems.
20. Strengthen solidarity across movements. Build bridges between the WPS agenda, environmental activism, 2SLGBTQI+ rights, and broader justice movements. Cross-movement collaboration must include shared advocacy goals and coordinated funding strategies.
21. Support refugee women. Address the unique challenges faced by displaced women, including gender-based violence and lack of representation in decision-making. Their contributions to peacebuilding in host communities should also be recognized and supported.
22. Challenge patriarchal norms in peace processes. Deliberately dismantle norms that exclude women and replicate systemic inequalities in governance and negotiations. This includes addressing discriminatory practices within peacekeeping and conflict resolution institutions.
23. Adopt feminist approaches to monitoring and evaluation. Capture the nuanced impacts of WPS initiatives using feminist methodologies. Evaluations must also measure the broader links between gender equality and long-term security outcomes.
24. Inspire the next generation of peacebuilders. Pass the baton to young women, creating enabling environments for their meaningful participation and leadership. Femtorship (feminist mentorship) programs and leadership pipelines should actively connect seasoned leaders with emerging voices, with an emphasis on reciprocal learning.
25. Recommit to UNSCR 1325’s core principles. In an increasingly fragmented world, reaffirming the resolution’s foundational goals of justice, inclusion, and peace is more critical than ever. This recommitment requires investments, courageous alliances, and concrete actions to make these principles a reality.

These reflections are a call to action for the global WPS community. The 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 is not just a moment to celebrate achievements but an opportunity to address gaps and revitalize efforts. From grassroots movements to international policy spaces, the agenda’s success hinges on the collective will to centre women’s voices, challenge oppressive systems, and build a more peaceful and equitable world. Let these 25 reflections guide our collective advocacy, pushing for the transformative potential of UNSCR 1325 to be fully realized.

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The views in this blog are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the WPSN-C or its membership.

Katrina Leclerc is a PhD Candidate in Conflict Studies at Saint-Paul University. Her research explores the intersections of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) policy frameworks. Katrina currently serves as the Chair of the Women, Peace and Security Network – Canada (WPSN-C).