by Jacky Ehombe
WPSN-Canada’s latest publication, WPS at 25 and Canada’s CNAP3: Feminist Reflections on Progress and Gaps, is now available. We will highlight each of the chapters in turn during the 16 Days, and we start with Jacky Ehombe, current practicum student with WPSN-C, offering an overview.
Adopted in 2000, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 marked a historic turning point: it finally recognized that lasting peace cannot be achieved without the full and equal participation of women. Twenty-five years later, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda remains essential but fragile. Humanitarian crises, authoritarian regimes, and rising militarization are eroding its foundations, reminding us how many of its original promises remain unfulfilled.
Canada, long portrayed as a global feminist champion, released its third National Action Plan (CNAP3) in 2023. The plan presents itself as ambitious, promising to strengthen conflict prevention, women’s participation, and coherence among diplomacy, development, and defence. Yet the question persists: is Canada truly living up to its commitments?
According to Bénédicte Santoire and Beth Woroniuk, implementation of CNAP3 is hindered by a leadership vacuum. Since March 2025, the position of Canada’s Ambassador for WPS, first created and held by Jacqueline O’Neill, has remained vacant. This role is crucial for coordinating government action and maintaining dialogue with civil society; leaving it unfilled undermines Canada’s credibility. The authors call for the rapid appointment of an experienced individual capable of defending a coherent feminist approach and preventing the WPS agenda from being reduced to a mere defence policy tool.
Beth Woroniuk also highlights structural flaws in the plan: no clear budget, few monitoring indicators, and insufficient funding for women’s organizations. Without dedicated resources or transparent accountability mechanisms, CNAP3 risks remaining purely symbolic. To be credible, Canada’s strategy must rely on stable funding, independent evaluations, and sustained political commitment.
Ellen Woodsworth and Tamara Lorincz point out another major contradiction: the gap between Canada’s feminist ambitions and the increases in its military spending. Every dollar invested in weapons is one less for diplomacy, prevention, and social justice. They argue that this logic of armed security directly undermines the WPS agenda, which is grounded in cooperation, solidarity, and the reduction of violence.
From a climate perspective, Nahid Azad, and Chloé Silvestre and Rabab Rabbani remind us that environmental crises and conflicts are deeply intertwined. Women, often responsible for managing natural resources, bear the brunt of ecological disasters without being able to participate in decision-making. The authors call for climate justice to be placed at the heart of the WPS agenda by supporting women-led initiatives and recognizing their key role in community resilience.
Wazhma Frogh offers moving testimony from Afghanistan, where women continue to resist under Taliban rule. Teachers, activists, and mothers gather secretly to preserve education and dignity. Frogh denounces the international silence and calls on Canada to act concretely: support local women’s networks, fund organizations in exile, amplify Afghan women’s voices in multilateral forums, and create safe resettlement pathways. For her, the true test of WPS lies in solidarity with Afghan women.
In the same vein, Tamara Lorincz warns that Canada’s 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy represents a setback: it aligns the country with the military interests of the United States and NATO at the expense of feminist diplomacy. Lorincz advocates for an approach based on demilitarization, regional cooperation, and women’s rights.
Mary Bridger situates the war in Gaza as a decisive test of Canada’s feminist diplomacy. Women and girls there face displacement, hunger, and violence amid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. She calls for gender-sensitive humanitarian interventions, direct funding for women-led organizations, and real accountability for violations of international law. Together, Bridger and Lorincz remind us that feminist peace cannot coexist with militarization.
Rita Morbia turns to Sudan, where the hopes born of the 2019 revolution led by women and youth were shattered by the 2023 civil war. The country is mired in a major humanitarian crisis marked by sexual violence and impunity. Yet amid the chaos, Sudanese women persist. Through community “emergency rooms,” they provide food, care, and psychological support. Morbia calls for support to these women’s networks, for women’s participation in peace negotiations, and for the redirection of international aid toward local, gender-sensitive approaches that can sustain a lasting ceasefire.
According to these authors, Canada must align its foreign policy with feminist principles of justice, care, and inclusive participation if it truly wishes to embody the leadership it claims.
Anne Delorme and Sarah Keeler highlight another largely ignored angle: women with disabilities. They face double marginalization; more exposed to violence during conflict, and often excluded from peace processes. Humanitarian responses neglect their specific needs, perpetuating invisibility. The authors advocate adopting a social model of disability that recognizes institutional and structural barriers rather than viewing disability as weakness. Funding and strengthening organizations led by women with disabilities is essential to building genuinely inclusive peace.
From a similar inclusion perspective, Alexandria Bohémier, Kim Vance-Mubanga, and Sarah Clifford stress the need to fully integrate 2SLGBTQI+ people into the WPS agenda. They denounce the lack of funding, indicators, and real representation, and call for a shift from symbolism to transformation: supporting organizations led by queer and trans people, including their voices in policy design, and building sustainable, co-created partnerships.
Shayne Wong draws attention to another often-marginalized group: youth. She believes Canada stands at a decisive moment. CNAP3 and the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) framework offer a unique opportunity to rethink the role of young people in peace processes. She advocates for their participation to be compensated, structured, and recognized, with dedicated funding and intergenerational leadership. Wong also warns that recent federal budget cuts risk weakening Canada’s feminist commitments. To build lasting peace, she says, Canada must move from symbolism to shared responsibility.
Esra Bengizi discusses how both Canada’s domestic and foreign policy continue to ignore the ongoing and systemic inequities that have such a negative impact on racialized women and the need for an intersectional and decolonial approach towards WPS. She also recommends reassessing the role of the armed forces within the WPS agenda, holding Canada’s allies to account, and shifting to a proactive approach to conflict prevention.
Finally, Denise Koh broadens the reflection by reminding us that peace is more than the absence of war; it also depends on health and care. Workers in these sectors: nurses, caregivers, and health professionals play a vital role in social cohesion. Recognizing their contribution, improving their working conditions, and protecting their rights means investing in peace grounded in dignity and solidarity.
Members of the Women, Peace and Security Network – Canada (WPSN-C) share a common conclusion: inclusion is not a luxury, but a condition of credibility.
For Canada, the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325 must not be a symbolic celebration but a call to action. Restoring strong leadership, ensuring transparent funding, reducing dependence on militarization, and guaranteeing equitable representation of women in all their diversity are essential steps to transform promises into lasting policy and make feminist peace a reality.
Jacqueline (Jacky) Ehombe is an experienced administrative and event project manager at the University of Ottawa’s Office of the Vice-Provost, International. She specializes in high-level event coordination, budget and office administration, and bilingual (English/French) communications, with a strong track record planning summits, conferences, and official visits. Her background spans government, associations, and entrepreneurship, including founding and managing a catering business in Côte d’Ivoire.
The views in this blog are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the WPSN-C or its membership.
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