This 31st October marks 25 years since the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) – a key commitment articulating how the international community plans to pursue gender equality in war. Feminist movements, mainstream civil society organisations, and allies had long campaigned for a framework, bringing together wide-ranging equality agendas, aspiring to shift norms and mandates of established institutions, and foreign policy agendas.
Despite shortcomings highlighted by feminist movements, this Resolution demonstrated states’ formal commitments to inclusion and participation, conflict prevention, protection from gender-based violence, and gender-sensitive relief and recovery efforts. 25 years later, the international community is marking this milestone against a backdrop of widespread backsliding in gender equality, democracy, and the rules-based international order.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the penholder for the WPS agenda, the UK has been an important champion, engaging not only states but also civil society and academia in a robust policy effort to protect gains in securing gender rights in peace and security, and investing significant political capital and public resources.
Looking ahead to 2030, what can the UK do to mitigate risks to this long track record? As the US, a key UK ally in peace and security, takes a sharp turn to the right and intentionally moves away from gender, peace and security, and the wider inclusion agenda, can the UK avoid a scenario where gender equality is sacrificed in foreign policy terms, falling behind other national security priorities such as economic and military objectives?
Gender in peace and security – domestic and foreign policy contexts
There has been a general assumption that the liberal norms underpinning much of the international rules-based order align with human development trajectories and are generally linear. However, to better understand violence and conflict, it is important to see societies as complex systems following nonlinear trajectories generated by the interactions, decisions, and actions of multiple actors.[1] The Sustainable Development Goals themselves have come under criticism for applying causal assumptions and anticipating human development trajectories to remain broadly linear.[2] Yet, as with the societies in which they unfold, the pathways to peace seldom are straightforward.[3] Similarly, the humanitarian and human rights communities have cautioned against the belief that advances in gender equality and human rights will automatically continue.[4] Many rights-based institutions now assess that civic space is shrinking, and gender equality is backsliding and facing a wider backlash.[5]
As economic pressures loom, the international community, including traditional donor champions of gender-responsive aid funding (like the UK), is reducing aid budgets. Women’s rights organisations have been raising concerns that cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) will undermine gender equality gains in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.[6] In considering how the UK ties its foreign aid to returns on investments, the UK should carefully consider gendered impacts of such policies, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings, where protracted violence exacerbates existing inequalities.[7] The rise in European defence spending amidst increasing global arms transfers, combined with declining ODA and other negative global trends impacting equality, runs the risk of bringing about a more securitised and militarised approach to domestic and foreign policy-making – relegating gender equality in peace and security to second-tier priorities.[8]
Evaluating the UK’s work as the UNSC penholder on WPS
In foreign policy and international development circles, the UK is often seen as an important soft power stakeholder. Through its cross-Government support to women’s rights organisations, the UK has contributed to strengthening the status of women in institutions from Somalia to Yemen.[9] The UK has helped shaped global narratives around survivor-centred and justice-focused approaches on issues of conflict-related sexual violence.[10] From public broadcasting, to active civil society and academic thought leadership, British soft power has traditionally been considered an asset for influencing, building collective goodwill and finding non-military solutions to conflicts, therefore reducing reliance on aggressive coercive or military measures.[11]
As penholder of the WPS agenda, civil society stakeholders hold the UK domestic and foreign policies to a particularly high standard. Critics expressed dismay that the UK co-sponsored a UN Resolution with a key ally in the Gulf, the UAE, which some viewed as a setback on issues of human rights and security, at risk of implicitly endorsing a growing global reactionary movement.[12] Given the WPS agenda is often criticised for failing to fully address root causes of militarism and violence, the UK’s record on arms control record and historical foreign policy should prompt some self-reflection.[13]
With the 2024 change in Government, many civil society stakeholders anticipated a policy shift toward a more progressive approach to gender and inclusion. However, the ODA cuts, combined and implicitly linked to a sharp increase in defence spending, surprised many, with some viewing these changes as strongly reactionary to the sea-change in the US and serving as a test for the new UK Government.
WPS advocates criticised the Government for missed opportunities in transformative change, with commitment to “progressive realism” appearing mainly “realist.”[14] Recent Parliamentary inquiries continued to recognise the historical track record and rhetorical commitments of the UK to the WPS agenda at the UNSC, but pressed the UK to go further. The Government has been encouraged to strengthen its UN Security Council statements, resolutions and mandates by including measurable and concrete commitments which protect language around women’s inclusion and health.[15]
How can the UK advance the WPS agenda at the UN
In addition to thematic UN Security Council penholding (WPS and Protection of Civilians), the UK also leads on key geographic files (e.g. Myanmar and Yemen). This uniquely positions the UK to ensure that gender dimensions are integrated in high-level peace and security dialogues for these conflict-affected states.[16] For instance, the UK has been recognised by some for its progressive leadership on gender and inclusion in Yemen’s political settlements and peace processes, and for maintaining attention on a complex and often forgotten conflict and ensuing humanitarian crisis.[17] With regard to Myanmar, the UK has convened UN Security Council meetings, managed to put forward diplomatically significant UN resolutions and joined international legal actions[18] that continue to shed light on the injustice of conflict and suffering. However, has also been criticised for at times shying away from facilitating important debates for fears it may undermine future consensus, as well as inconsistent follow-up to these diplomatic initiatives.[19]
As it faces a potential reduction in soft power due to cuts to ODA, the UK should consider how to improve synergies between its geographic and thematic files in the Security Council in ways that address national, regional and global challenges in gender, peace and security.
Humanitarian agencies, peacebuilding and research institutions have raised alarms over the changing nature of conflict, with implications for gender inequalities, forced displacement and the protracted nature of violence.[20] For example, in an increasingly digital world, gendered cyber threats disproportionately impact women and the LGBTQI+ community.[21]
The UN’s WPS thematic Resolutions are credited with increased reflection of gender perspectives in peace agreements, grounded in evidence that more inclusive peace agreements tend to be more long-lasting and sustainable.[22] Evidence demonstrates that multilateral (e.g. UN) leadership and provisions for inclusion of women in post-conflict societies significantly reduces conflict recurrence (outweighing other factors such as geopolitics).[23] As the world grows more unequal and the gender rollback takes hold, it is safe to assume that the gendered nature of conflict (in digital and physical spaces) will need to remain in focus.[24]
Given critical and rapid negative shifts in US foreign policy on gender and conflict, some experts have called for greater multi-lateral engagement among middle powers (e.g. through mini-lateralism) of like-minded states to lend new impetus to the WPS agenda.[25] Given the UK’s strong track record in penholding the international community on gender, peace and security, the next few years will be a key test of the UK’s commitment to upholding these values within its foreign policy.[26]
In addition to championing issues of gender and human security, the UK is often perceived (Brexit aside) as a strategic partner in collective security and wider regional cooperation. As a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the UK’s approach to human security and stabilisation continues to be important to the wider European security architecture.[27] Amid geopolitical shifts, the UK is well placed to ensure that its UNSC WPS penholding role goes beyond rhetoric, and is also reflected in national defence and security strategies, as well as forms part of strategic US, NATO, and EU security policy dialogues.[28] The concepts of human security, peace and gender strongly intersect to mutually benefit foreign policy while also boosting domestic legitimacy through civilian harm mitigation and a more holistic approach to national and collective defence.[29]
Domesticating the WPS Agenda
To be a credible leader on WPS there are also key steps that need to be taken domestically. Beyond the important areas identified by the UK National Plan for Women, Peace and Security, HMG must ensure their whole-of- society approach to defence and societal resilience is gender-responsive, acknowledging the different ways violence can affect women and youth.[30] The UK’s historical approach of viewing human development and defence through the human security prism allows for a deeper, context-specific, gender-sensitive, and more anticipatory analysis of transnational threats and the trends that drive them.[31] Exploring intersectional drivers of inequalities, including gender inequalities (e.g. exclusion) as threats to national and global peace and security should remain a key focus of UK policy and form part of its UN Security Council role as WPS penholder.[32] The cohesion of asylum and migration policies (bridging the divide between foreign policy and its domestic implications) and the violence against women and girls agenda (VAWG) must also be addressed to strengthen our leadership on gender equality.[33]
In marking the 25th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security, the UK reiterated its commitment to this Agenda, noting that the gendered impacts of conflict and reproductive violence exacerbate humanitarian and health crises – building the case for greater engagement of human development agendas in peace and conflict efforts.[34] Building on evidence in domestic and foreign policy, the UK is well- placed to champion gender, peace and security efforts in multi-lateral spaces – making the case that inclusion contributes to global peace, prosperity and stability.
Anna Chernova is a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre. She has a background in human rights, democracy, conflict resolution and humanitarian issues. She served as Programme Director for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, where she led the work of the General Committee for human rights and democracy. Specialising in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Anna directed the work of the OSCE PA on the Human Dimension – including numerous election observation missions, as well as freedom of the media, association and assembly, and INTERPOL reform. She advised on the establishment of the Kyrgyzstan International Inquiry Commission and lead work on democratisation in Belarus and parliamentary diplomacy around the Transdniestrian conflict. Prior to joining the OSCE PA, Anna managed large-scale humanitarian programmes in Russia’s North Caucasus at the close of the second Chechen war, and worked on refugee issues with UNHCR in Bulgaria. Since 2014, she has been advising Oxfam on working in fragile and conflict affected contexts, developing policy and programmes on inclusive peace, rights-based global campaigning, civic space, active citizenship, humanitarian access and comprehensive human security in the Middle East, Eurasia and beyond.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the individual author and do not reflect the views of The Foreign Policy Centre.
[1] World Bank, Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, 2018, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/4c36fca6-c7e0-5927-b171-468b0b236b59
[2] Elvind Engebretsen, Trisha Greenhalgh, Missed SDG targets: from ‘trying harder’ to engaging critically with paradox and conflict, Critical Public Health, Vol. 35, February 2025, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09581596.2025.2463465#d1e138
[3] World Bank, Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, 2018, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/4c36fca6-c7e0-5927-b171-468b0b236b59
[4] Amnesty International, Annual Report Warns of Global Human Rights Crisis as ‘Trump Effect’ Accelerates Destructive Trends, April 2025, https://www.amnesty.ie/annual-report-launch/
[5] United Nations Office of the High commissioner for Human Rights, Protecting and expanding civic space, https://www.ohchr.org/en/civic-space; Saskia Brechenmacher, The New Global Struggle Over Gender, Rights, and Family Values, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 2025, https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/06/the-new-global-struggle-over-gender-rights-and-family-values
[6] The Fabian Society, Promising Development: the Future of Aid in an Uncertain World, September 2025, https://fabians.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/International-development-ll.pdf
[7] UK Parliament, Women, Peace and Security Bill Volume 840, November 2024 https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2024-11-15/debates/2194D3EA-9FA2-43CA-9386-CB03A7650D72/WomenPeaceAndSecurityBill(HL)
[8] Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Trends in International Arms Transfers, March 2025, https://www.sipri.org/publications/2025/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-international-arms-transfers-2024; NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, 2025 Open letter to Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in advance of the annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, September 2025, https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/open-letter-un-wps-2025/; Gender Action for Peace and Security UK, Assessing UK Government Action on Women, Peace and Security in 2024, 2025, https://gaps-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Assessing-UK-Government-Action-of-Women-Peace-and-Security-in-2024.pdf
[9] UK FCDO and MoD, Corporate Report: Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan, report to Parliament 2024-2025,https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/women-peace-and-security-national-action-plan-report-to-parliament-2024-to-2025/women-peace-and-security-national-action-plan-report-to-parliament-2024-to-2025
[10] Gender Action for Peace and Security UK, Assessing UK Government Action on Women, Peace and Security in 2024, https://gaps-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Assessing-UK-Government-Action-of-Women-Peace-and-Security-in-2024.pdf
[11] Poppy Ogier, The future of the UK’s soft power in foreign policy, The Foreign Policy Centre, Spetember 2025, https://fpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FPC-report-Playing-to-our-strengths-September-2025.pdf
[12] Saskia Brechenmacher, New UN Security Council Resolution on ‘Human fraternity’ Raises Human Rights Concerns, Just Security, June 2023, https://www.justsecurity.org/86993/new-un-security-council-resolution-on-human-fraternity-raises-human-rights-concerns/
[13] GAPS et al, Putting Women’s Rights into the Arms Trade Treaty, June 2012, https://gaps-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GAPS-Putting-Womens-Rights-into-the-Arms-Trade-Treaty-June-2012.pdf; Oxfam, Researchers without Borders, Beyond Rhetoric: Feminist Leadership for a Transformative Women, Peace and Security Agenda at 25, October 2025, https://oi-files-d8-prod.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2025-10/Beyond%20Rhetoric%20WPS%20at%2025.pdf and Oxfam, Veoting Humanity: How a few powerful nations hijacked global peace and why reform is needed at the UN Security Counci, September 2024, https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621621/bp-vetoing-humanity-190924-en.pdf;jsessionid=2664AFEB2F8EF483AAE882C400E44539
[14] GAPS UK, Written Evidence Submission, Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry into the UK at the United Nations Security Council, https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9001/the-uk-at-the-united-nations-security-council/publications/
[15] UK House of Commons, The write to protect: Britain’s pen on the world stage, Foreign Affairs Committee Second Report of Session 2024-2026 HC 930, September 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49593/documents/264116/default/
[16] GAPS UK, Written Evidence Submission, Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry into the UK at the United Nations Security Council, 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9001/the-uk-at-the-united-nations-security-council/publications/
[17] UK House of Commons, The write to protect: Britain’s pen on the world stage, Foreign Affairs Committee Second Report of Session 2024-2026 HC 930, September 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49593/documents/264116/default/; UK FCDO Statement, The United Kingdom condemns the detentions of at least 22 United Nations personnel by the Houthis: UK statement at the UN Security Council, September 2025, https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-united-kingdom-condemns-the-detentions-of-at-least-22-united-nations-personnel-by-the-houthis-uk-statement-at-the-un-security-council
[18] Burma Campaign, UK Welcomes British Government Joining ICJ Rohingya Genocide Case, August 2022, https://burmacampaign.org.uk/burma-campaign-uk-welcomes-british-government-joining-icj-rohingya-genocide-case/; UK House of Commons, The write to protect: Britain’s pen on the world stage, Foreign Affairs Committee Second Report of Session 2024-2026 HC 930, September 2025,
[19] UK House of Commons, The write to protect: Britain’s pen on the world stage, Foreign Affairs Committee Second Report of Session 2024-2026 HC 930, September 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49593/documents/264116/default/
[20] PRIO, New data shows conflict at historic high as US signals retreat from world stage, June 2025, https://www.prio.org/news/3616
[21] Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, “Gendering Cybersecurity through Women, Peace and Security: Gender and Human Rights in National-level Approaches to Cybersecurity, March 2023, https://ict4peace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Gendering-Cybersecurity-through-WPS-Final-Report_March-2023.pdf
[22] Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s, Written evidence to the International Development Committee enquiry on women, peace and security, May 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/141896/pdf/
[23] University of Birmingham, Learning from Failure: How to Prevent Civil War Recurrence, https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/about/college-of-social-sciences/policy-engagement/learning-from-failure-how-to-prevent-civil-war-recurrence
[24] Kristina Wilfore, The Digital War on Women Peacemakers: Why This Moment Calls for Doubling Down on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, Council on Foreign Relations, July 2025, https://www.cfr.org/blog/digital-war-women-peacemakers-why-moment-calls-doubling-down-women-peace-and-security-agenda
[25] Cristal Downing, The WPS Agenda Needs Strong Wills to Counter Rough Headwinds, October 2025, https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/wps-agenda-needs-strong-wills-counter-rough-headwinds
[26] Paul Kirby, Hannah Wright and Aisling Swaine, The Future of the UK’s Women, Peace and Security Policy, LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security, July 2022, https://www.lse.ac.uk/women-peace-security/assets/documents/2022/W922-0167-WPS-Policy-Paper-7-V4-SINGLES.pdf
[27] NATO, NATO 2022 Strategic Concept, June 2022, https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2022/6/pdf/290622-strategic-concept.pdf
[28] UK House of Commons, The write to protect: Britain’s pen on the world stage, Foreign Affairs Committee Second Report of Session 2024-2026 HC 930, September 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49593/documents/264116/default/
[29] Alexander Gilder, Human Security Must Remain on the NATO Agenda, Rethinking Security, July 2025, https://rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/2025/07/15/human-security-must-remain-on-the-nato-agenda/
[30] Katharine A.M. Wright, Realising Societal Resilience for a Whole of Society Approach to Defence, Royal United Services Institute, October 2025, https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/realising-societal-resilience-whole-society-approach-defence
[31] Ministry of Defence, Global Strategic Trends Out to 2055, 2024, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68dba439dadf7616351e4bf8/GST_7_Final_post_pic_change_WEB.pdf
[32] Jessica White, Isabella Vogel and Balazs Gyimesi, The Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Today’s Geopolitical Environment, Royal United Services Institute, March 2025, https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/women-peace-and-security-agenda-todays-geopolitical-environment
[33] Gender Action for Peace and Security UK, Assessing UK Government Action on Women, Peace and Security in 2024, https://gaps-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Assessing-UK-Government-Action-of-Women-Peace-and-Security-in-2024.pdf
[34] UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, The UK remains steadfast in our commitment to advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda globally, UK at the UN Security Council, October 2025, https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-uk-remains-steadfast-in-our-commitment-to-advancing-the-women-peace-and-security-agenda-globally-uk-statement-at-the-un-security-council