[High-level Global Event] Strengthening Women’s Role in Building and Sustaining Peace: from Commitments to Results

In 2020, the international community will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and the establishment of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. 2020 will also mark the 75th anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 5th anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2020 review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture.

In 2020, Viet Nam will also commence its latest term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Noting its long-standing leadership on the UN Security Council’s WPS agenda, including adoption of resolution 1889 (2009) under its Presidency, the Government of Viet Nam proposes to host a high-level event to accelerate the role of women in building sustaining peace. The event will be supported by the UN and include a specific focus on:

1. Women’s meaningful participation in building and sustaining peace; and,
2. Conditions and the resources necessary for gender-responsive peacebuilding and women’s empowerment as an integral part of peacebuilding.

Viet Nam’s leadership in securing resolution 1889 (2009) highlighted the need to strengthen the implementation and monitoring of resolution 1325 (2000) and the overall WPS agenda, calling for a better response to the needs of women in post-conflict/war situations and mainstreaming gender perspectives in all decision-making processes, especially in the early stages of recovery and peacebuilding. The resolution further addresses the lack of adequate funding for gender equality in conflict-affected and peacebuilding settings and calls for the tracking of funds allocated to address women’s needs during peacebuilding.

The General Assembly and Security Council’s twin resolutions on sustaining peace, as well as the Secretary-General’s Seven-Point Action Plan on Gender Responsive Peacebuilding (being reviewed in 2020) are also critical to the WPS agenda. In these resolutions, the Secretary-General commits the UN system to allocating at least 15 per cent of UN-managed funds to support peacebuilding through projects which “address women’s specific needs, advance gender equality or empower women” as their principle objective.

The 2019 Secretary-General’s Report on Women, Peace and Security (S/2019/800) highlights the participation of women in planning and decision making on post-conflict reconstruction and recovery financing, management and monitoring as an ongoing priority in the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the WPS agenda in 2020.

Given the critical gaps that remain in advancing gender-responsive peacebuilding, realizing women’s full and equal participation in peacebuilding, and the limited progress in the mobilization of resources for gender-responsive peacebuilding, the International Conference is organized to discuss the implementation of the WPS agenda and reflect on opportunities, gaps and challenges for women’s leadership and participation in peacebuilding on the ground. The event will also identify good practices and collaborative approaches, as well as discuss policy-level action and the dedicated expertise and resources needed to accelerate women’s participation in peacebuilding.

Discussion highlights will include:

• Assessment of the implementation of the WPS Agenda on the role of women in peacebuilding
• Moving forward the WPS agenda, advancing gender-responsive peacebuilding and accelerating women’s participation in peacebuilding