On Monday 10th February, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security (APPG-WPS) organised a briefing to Parliamentarians on advancing women’s rights in conflict through the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The event welcomed Professor Christine Chinkin, Professor in International Law from the LSE; Joanna Crouch, Policy Lead on Human Security for the Ministry of Defence; Tess Phippen, Head of WPS at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and Eva Tabbasam, Director for Gender Action for Peace and Security.

The discussion was facilitated by Baroness Fiona Hodgson, co-chair of the APPG on WPS. Baroness Hodgson welcomed the panellists and participants to this briefing, noting the importance of this discussion in light of the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 and the 30^th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform.   She observed that at this time sadly women’s rights are rolling back, as seen in Afghanistan with women being banned from education. Iraq is now passing a law to permit girls as young as 9 years old to be married. She also commented that Holding this event with experts on WPSprovides an opportunity for collective  consideration in light of these global challenges.

Professor Christine Chinkin provided a comprehensive overview of the WPS agenda. Since its establishment by passing of UNSCR 1325, a further nine resolutions have been adopted by the UN Security Council. In light of the gendered impacts of conflict, this agenda seeks to ensure women’s experiences are included in policy and law-making throughout the conflict continuum.. The agenda was meant to ‘build on, and work in tandem with existing law obligations’ as provided under International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law and International Criminal Law. Professor Chinkin noted the importance of the prevention pillar as a wider remit that encompasses all elements of crisis, not just conflict. The proceeding resolutions have emphasised survivor-centred, women’s empowerment and the importance of building the capacity and financial sustainability of women’s rights organisations and women-led organisations, challenging the ‘top-down, security council led approach’. Professor Chinkin challenged the linear logic to the WPS resolution which assumes a pre, during and post-conflict stages; for example, post-conflict planning must begin at the ‘pre’ and participation must be implemented from the outset of conflict. Professor Chinkin identified the main problem with advancing the WPS agenda as non-implementation- reports show that there fails to be ‘actionable commitments through structural shifts by powerful actors, such as the security council, the UN and member states’. WPS could be, should, be a comprehensive and overriding agenda for women and those who do not conform to the gender binary; ‘We need champions to counter the very real backlash we are seeing’, Professor Chinkin concludes.

Tess Phippen from the FCDO then followed with an overview of the UK’s commitments to Women, Peace and Security, particularly through the establishment of the National Action Plan since 2006.  In 2023-2027, the UK introduced its first NAP with domestic and international implementation, in partnership between the FCDO and the MOD. The NAP is centred around 5 strategic objectives-

• Decision-making: delivered through policy and programmatic support to women’s peacebuilders and NGOs.
• Gender-based violence: domestic and international action. Halving VAWG and knife crime and responding to CRSV- Lord Collins.
• Crisis response: women and girls disproportionately impacted by violence yet their specific needs are overlooked in conflict.
• Security and Justice: committed to increase accountability
• Transnational threats: ensuring response to the needs of women and girls. Introduced new measures to tackle online violence against women and girls.

Ms Phippen informed MPs that the UK is working with its global partners in the UN, UNSC and NATO to support countries to develop and implement NAPS, such as Colombia. The UK is also focused on building HMG capability on WPS through initiatives such as the ISF-funded WPS Helpdesk. Tess concluded by looking ahead to this year’s 25th anniversary on WPS and urged parliamentarians to engage with the agenda as we navigate a challenging global picture ahead of us.

Joanne Crouch provided a comprehensive overview of the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) role as a co-owner of the NAP, one of the few countries with specific defence commitments. Joanne identified that defence is not a sideline actor- it owns the levers on the use of force and a role in the conduct of both war and peace operations. ‘There is a ‘moral, legal and strategic imperative’ to ensure a values-based agenda, Ms Crouch explained. The MOD has a 12-year change programme to deliver its commitments, to ensure that women have access to the right tools and policies to operate on equal terms as men within defence. This strategy also includes conducting work to enhance responsiveness to gender-based violence in the conflict arena.

Eva Tabbasam provided a background to GAPS’s work and thinking about the crucial role of NGOs/CSOs as part of the agenda. GAPS is a network of 19 NGOs with civil society organizations working in-country, acting as the critical friend of the government and supporting the implementation of the National Action Plan. Ms Tabbasam outlined how GAPS supported the development of the recent iteration through language support, hosting roundtables. The agenda is a civil society agenda- its roots are grounded in CSO activism and a pacifist approach. GAPS tries to ensure that CSO perspectives are included at the national, regional and grassroots levels. In recognition of the 25th anniversary, GAPS is facilitating conversations about what WPS currently looks like and considering security for whom? CSOs and NGOs working at the frontline of communities hold expertise on their own contexts, Ms Tabbasam underlined. Parliamentary support is critical, acting as an accountability mechanism; Ms Tabbasam urged parliamentarians to ask critical questions about implementation, where ODA goes, and how much the UK is truly supporting women and girls.

Baroness Fiona Hodgson concluded the discussion by providing an overview of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on WPS. As a co-chair with Alicia Kearns and GAPS as secretariat, the APPG-WPS organises events to keep engaged on the issues of WPS.. Baroness Hodgson asked participants to continue putting down questions in parliament to ensure WPS is centred in discussions. Providing an update on the WPS Bill, this has now cleared the Lords and will be brought by Sarah Champion MP to the House of Commons.

After an open discussion with participants on topics of gender champions and the current landscape of backlash against women’s rights, Baroness Hodgson thanked the speakers and participants for a fruitful event.