In this shadow report, GAPS assesses the 2021 Annual Report to Parliament by the UK Government and focuses on how the UK Government has used, and could have used, the penultimate year of implementation for this National Action Plan (NAP) to lay a strong foundation for the final year.

This report reflects on 2021 as a difficult year for women and girls. 2021 was an opportunity to build upon reflections made in the 20^th anniversary year of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, but instead saw a rollback on women and girls rights. The shadow report provides a case study of Afghanistan, analyses the impact of UK aid cuts on programming for women and girls, and stresses the importance of domesticating the women, peace and security agenda to ensure that the rights, needs and experiences of women and girls globally are met.

This report builds on previous GAPS publications (including previous annual shadow reports) which include analysis of, and recommendations for, the UK Government’s work on WPS.