GAPS Newsletter 2025: February
Welcome to the GAPS February Wrap-Up
The UK has announced cuts to the aid budget while increasing defence spending. CARE’s recent report revealed that UK aid for gender equality fell from £6.3bn in 2019 to £3.4bn in 2022—the lowest on record since reporting began in 2014. With the latest round of cuts announced today, this decline will only deepen, compounding the effects of previous reductions and contributing to a global trend where major donors are pulling back from gender equality commitments. Read GAPS’s full statement here. Anneliese Dodds has resigned from her post as international development minister in response to these aid cuts, with Baroness Chapman elected in her place. ActionAid UK has published a response to these ODA cuts, ‘there is no justification for abandoning the world’s most marginalised time and time again to navigate geopolitical developments.”
At least 8,500 people have been killed in the DRC since fighting escalated in January, according to the Congolese authorities. At least 11 people have been killed and 65 wounded when explosions rocked the city of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a rally for the M23 rebel group and their supporters. Our new episode of Mind the GAPS: A Women Peace and Security podcast is dedicated to the DRC, exploring the impact of violence on Congolese women. and what is needed from the international community to genuinely invest in the prevention of further conflict.
Thousands fleeing violence in Sudan have crossed the border into South Sudan. The freeze on funds imposed by Donald Trump is a ‘fresh blow to the situation in South Sudan’ as more than half of South Sudan’s humanitarian budget comes from USAID. On February 8, Sudanese women and their allies held a silent march in London, from Parliament Square to 10 Downing Street. A letter addressed to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was read to the protesters, calling on the British government to exert pressure on the warring parties in Sudan to stop the war and establish humanitarian corridors for the delivery of essential aid.
Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid into Gaza after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement ends. Countries, including Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, and the EU have criticised Israel for this decision. This new US proposal calls for extending the ceasefire’s first phase through Ramadan — the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend — and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20. This push for an extension is coupled with violations to the ceasefire terms- 116 people have been killed over the past 42 days, including those who are attempting to return to their homes. The recent Israeli offensive on the West Bank “sees the most Palestinians displaced there since 1967“.
According to UN Women, the three years of war in Ukraine have reversed decades of progress for women and girls, ‘leaving millions in urgent need of support’. Read the full report here. Britain and France have announced their leadership in the ‘coalition of the willing’ to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and enable peace negotiations with Russia. US and Ukrainian president’s meeting on Friday to discuss a controversial mineral resources deal that Trump has said is the first step towards a ceasefire agreement was cut short after disagreements.
Feburary Reads
No man’s land? Focusing on men to reduce global armed violence
This report is about reducing men’s illegal armed violence. Globally, some 90 percent of firearms homicides are committed by men, and men also make up the vast majority of the victims. The highest rates of homicide are found in the Americas, including the Caribbean, and southern Africa, mainly in cities. “Men killing men” disproportionately affects young people in the Global South who live in precarious economic circumstances. This has been the consistent demographic of lethal armed violence for decades. Read here.
British Collaboration with Israel
This report sets out the depth of British military collaboration with Israel, in the context of the UK’s legal obligations with regard to Israel’s egregious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The evidence below, compiled from publicly available information, highlights the fact that the UK is not simply failing in its third party responsibilities to uphold international law, but is actively complicit in genocidal acts perpetrated against the Palestinian people. The thresholds of material contribution and knowledge have clearly been met. Read here.
Fixing UK ODA’s Gender Gap: Bold Choices, Real Change
Driving a more equal world has been a part of the UK’s DNA for more than 30 years. The UK was a key signatory to the landmark Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, the most progressive and comprehensive global policy framework for advancing women’s rights. Under a Labour Government, the UK helped to pioneer the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and ratified the Women, Peace and Security framework to advance women’s leadership in conflict. Read here.
Sexual Violence against Girls in Guatemala
Sexual violence remains a pervasive and systemic issue in Guatemala, disproportionately affecting girls ages 14 and under, which is the age of consent in the country. Different government institutions report vastly different numbers of cases of sexual violence in girls, reflecting important gaps in data collection and monitoring. According to the National Registry of Persons (RENAP), between 2018 and 2024, 14,696 girls ages 14 and under gave birth and became mothers, often against their will. Read here.
Militainment, the Arms Industry and the Marketing of Militarized Masculinities
This report lays out the highlights and findings from the meeting, which sought to “understand and explore strategies to counter widely used marketing practices that exploit ideas about manhood and masculinities to increase demand for weapons and normalized their misuse.” Read here.
In case you missed it
The Equalities Resource Hub has been developed to help policy makers and practitioners access a curated collection of best practice resources dedicated to gender and equalities. You will have access to a range of strategies and policy papers, evidence synthesis and how to guides on a wide range of equality and social inclusion issues, including from various national and local contexts. Access the Hub here.
Saferworld are working with their partners in Yemen to Build the Peace from the Ground Up. Watch their video to find out how Yemeni-led projects are helping to create safer and more resilient communities, bringing people together in the process.
The Government of Mongolia has announced its priority to develop the country’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security through a collaborative process. Read UN Women’s statement on this call to action here.
Read Saferworld’s reflection on: What does working for peace mean in 2025? “2025 is a big year for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, with the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, as well as the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action.”
The UK Government issued a joint statement following a meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. On Women, Peace and Security, PM Starmer welcomed Iraq’s plans to launch its third National Action Plan and a network of Iraqi women peacebuilders in March 2025. Read the full statement here.
Job Board
Amnesty International
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer (Dakar), 4 March.
ActionAid UK
Trusts Manager (London-Hybrid), 6 March.