GAPS Newsletter 2025: January
Welcome to the GAPS January Wrap-Up
There has been a critical escalation of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past few weeks, with Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 seizing control of Goma. The heightened risk of sexual violence has been reported by organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières, who have said more than 1 in 10 young women in camps reported being raped between November 2023 and April 2024. The UN Security Council has made a statement, pointing to the heightened vulnerability of women and children due to the “mass influx of IDPs, separation of families, and escape of prisoners from Goma prison” Read Peace Direct’s call on the international community to “use all tools at its disposal to advance peace, justice, and accountability in eastern DRC”.
The UK has announced a £17 million aid package for Gaza, with the Development Minister, Anneliese Dodds, reiterating the need for “much more aid to enter Gaza with the support of UN agencies including UNRWA”. Read ActionAid’s statement urging the UK to channel its funding through Palestinian-led organisations, particularly women’s rights and women-led organisations, “in order to ensure the needs of women and girls, who have been particularly impacted and whose needs are often overlooked, are met”.
The Trump administration has ordered a three-month pause on almost all foreign development assistance pending a review. Ukraine receives the most from USAID at $14.4bn with the second highest recipient, Jordan, at $770m. This decision has a disproportionate gender impacts, particularly on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,. The World Health Organisation has warned that this will raise the risk of HIV for millions. Experts have warned that this pause on US foreign aid programmes could exacerbate violence in Latin America, driving more migration from the region. This comes in a moment where Colombia is facing an influx of internal refugees in the border city of Cúcuta due to an outbreak of fighting between rival rebel factions.
NATO held its first talks on the update of its Women, Peace and Security policy with Civil Society representatives. The talks were carried out as part of the first meeting of the new Civil Society Advisory Panel (CSAP) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) under the leadership of NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for WPS Irene Fellin.
January Reads
The number of conflicts continues to rise and these are increasingly protracted, internationalised and affected by the climate crisis. This briefing shows that UK spending on conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding has fallen from four per cent of its aid budget in 2016 to just over one per cent in 2023. It highlights that the proportion of climate finance spent in fragile parts of the world is also very low. The briefing gives recommendations on how the UK Government can rebuild the UK’s former leadership in preventing and resolving conflicts. Read here.
In a pivotal two-day workshop held in Maroua on October 11-12, 2024, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) and the Common Action for Gender and Development (COMAGEND) catalysed transformative learning for 40 community leaders from Cameroon’s Far North region. Coinciding with the 24th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the workshop strategically addressed critical peace and security challenges through an intensive, participatory approach. Read here.
In case you missed it
Listen to Episode 4 of Mind the GAPS: a Women Peace and Security Podcast– out now! How can the needs and experiences of women and marginalised groups be integrated into peace processes? We are joined by two experts of inclusive peace processes, Giuditta Fontana and Fatiha Serour. Listen to Women Negotiating Inclusive Peace here.
Amnesty International have released a training course, Gender Justice and Human Rights: Tackling the rise of the anti-gender movement. This course will examine the motivations and impacts of anti-gender movements and discover strategies to support and advance gender justice. Find out more here.
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition have released a new strategic framework, adapting to the everchanging context in which WHRDs, feminists, trans and non-binary defenders are defending rights.
The new Routledge Handbook of Masculinities, Conflict, and Peacebuilding has been published. This handbook combines feminist, intersectional, relational, decolonial, and queer perspectives on the conceptualisation of masculinities in conflict and peacebuilding. Read here.
Job Board
Womankind Worldwide
Philanthropy Manager, (London), 10 February.
Policy and Advocacy Consultant- Middle East and North Africa Region (multiple locations), 1 February.
Plan International
Child Marriage in Humanitarian Settings Technical Lead (Multiple Locations), 3 February.
Mercy Corps
GESI Capacity Building Advisor (Ukraine)
GAPS
Website and design developer (global), 20 February.