2025 marks the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and amid proliferating militarization and armed conflicts, a global rise in anti-rights movements, and political uncertainties, the role of civil society in protecting and advancing the WPS agenda remains critical. WPS National Action Plans (NAPs) are a means by which to advance accountability for States’ commitments, and have been adopted by over 110 countries. Yet obstacles persist in ensuring meaningful civil society involvement in their development and implementation, and in ensuring that they are responsive to emergent challenges at national, regional and global levels.
Grassroots organizations are key to reflecting the realities of women and marginalized groups affected by conflict and ensuring that WPS processes – including the development of NAPs – are inclusive, actionable and relevant to the needs and realities of local communities.
Between September 2024 and January 2025 the Women, Peace and Security Network-Canada (WPSN-C), with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) through the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, carried out a series of dialogues with civil society partners in Canada, partner networks in five other countries, and with activists and practitioners in the WPS space. A number of activities took place in October 2024, during the WPS Week at the UN in New York, where representatives from WPSN-C came together with counterparts from Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lebanon, Nigeria, and Rwanda.
A briefing note summarizing the key themes and findings of these dialogues was launched in March 2025.
The launch event recording is available here. Please note that you can click on the globe icon in the bottom toolbar to select interpretation in English, French, Spanish, or Arabic, as well as sign language. A transcript is also available.
It highlights the important insights and knowledge that civil society actors from diverse global contexts offer in shaping responsive policies, and amplifies their perspectives to inform broader policy discussions on WPS at national and international levels.
English