IDC Inquiry on WPS

October 2025

 

 

The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda responds to the impact of conflict on women and girls and acknowledges the crucial role women play in conflict prevention, resolution, mediation and peacebuilding. Since 2000, when the UK worked alongside civil society and other member states to secure landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the UK has played a leading role in advancing the WPS agenda.

The UK Government has implemented the WPS agenda through National Action Plans since 2006 and launched its fifth WPS National Action Plan (NAP) in February 2023. This is jointly led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with input from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland Executive and Scottish Government.

The Government supports the approach and ambition of the fifth WPS NAP and intends to build on this ambition during the 25th anniversary year, advancing implementation and focusing on new priorities. In line with the NAP’s and this Government's commitment to accountability, a written Annual Report on NAP implementation was published in June 2025.

Questions:

1)      To what extent does the UK Government integrate Women, Peace and Security principles across its ODA-funded programming?

This Government remains fully committed to playing a significant role in international development. It is in our national interest and in the interests of our partners across the globe to do so. This Government is clear, too, that we will work to advance gender equality, tackle VAWG and empower women and girls through our international action.

The Integrated Security Fund (ISF, previously the CSSF) also supports implementation of the WPS agenda. As a fund designed to work on security and stability issues, it provides a mix of ODA and non-ODA funding. Work is delivered through both a dedicated Gender and National Security Portfolio for FY2025-26 (which succeeds the previous Gender Peace and Security Portfolio) and work embedded in other geographically and thematically focused portfolios supporting delivery by FCDO and other government departments.

Gender equality figures for 2024 are due to be published in December 2025 through the DAC’s Creditor Reporting System. We are in the process of revising 2023 figures as some corrections to gender equality policy markers data are underway. Therefore, any figures previously reported should be treated with caution whilst these are resolved, and new data is issued.

2)      What financial resources has the UK allocated towards advancing the WPS agenda? Are these resources appropriately distributed across programmes and regions?


The Government uses a range of diplomatic, development and defence levers to implement the agenda, supported by financial resources that are distributed across departments, programmes and regions.

Internationally, this includes a broad range of resources where the WPS agenda is integrated but also includes resources that directly support the agenda.

In FY 2024/25, the ISF Gender Peace and Security Portfolio spent £5.5 million of ODA and non-ODA funding and delivered two programmes: Women Peace and Security: Women’s Leadership and UK Capabilities Programme, and the Gender and Integrated Review Programme.

Under this and its successor portfolio, we fund the ISF WPS Helpdesk, a free-to-user, cross-Government facility. The Helpdesk, run by a consortium of NGOs, civil society and thinktanks provides a valuable service in supporting gender analysis and the integration of gender and WPS issues into policy, programming, training and capacity building. A number of these products are available to the public at The WPS Helpdesk1. The Helpdesk has tracked tangible improvements in WPS integration, and a recent evaluation showed that it has increased commitments to gender-sensitivity and changed attitudes on the importance of gender sensitivity. 91% of staff using the Helpdesk reported that the advice and products they received resulted in tangible changes in policy or programmes.

Since 2020, the CSSF/ISF has funded 180 upstream and grassroots Women’s Rights Organisations through 23 projects across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, MENA and the Western Balkans. In addition to providing flexible funding to WROs on the frontline of conflict and security challenges, these projects also provided opportunities for WROs to share learning and best practice, and benefit from diplomatic support, capacity building and tailored mentorship. The evidence from the evaluation shows that WROs have significantly contributed to UK security and stability outcomes.

The UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Strategy (2022-25) is backed by up to £16.2 million of funding over four years and directly supports the WPS agenda.

Through the UK’s partnership with the Equality Fund, our £33 million funding has supported over 1000 women’s right’s organisations, including those operating in conflict zones, since 2019.

Through humanitarian assistance, the Government is committed to ensuring the needs of women and girls are prioritised. Current crises provide some specific examples:

 

Secretary announced a £100 million package of humanitarian support for FY 2025/26 in her first visit to Kyiv.


1 WPS Helpdesk - Women Peace and Security Helpdesk


 

 

lactating women and children under five with nutrition related interventions. Afghanistan remains one of the FCDO’s largest bilateral aid programmes with £151 million allocated for this financial year.

 

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) also implements targeted initiatives that support and

strengthen WPS. This includes activities with partners and Allies, whether advancing gender capabilities with the Nigerian Armed Forces or supporting the Bosnian Herzegovinian military to establish their own military experts on gender and a centre of excellence on Human Security. The MOD also provided a military expert to the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict to provide practical guidance and support global efforts.

The MOD has also invested significantly in strengthening and advancing women’s inclusion in our own armed forces and civilian personnel at all levels – from troop recruitment and retention, through to senior leadership and strategic decision making. The integration of

WPS principles and gender perspectives into military operations and activities forms part of a broader initiative to institutionalise Human Security across all the MOD’s work. This includes investment in dedicated policy and operational personnel, specialised training teams and technical experts to make sure these priorities are embedded.

Domestically, the Government is treating violence against women and girls (VAWG) as a national emergency and has set out an unprecedented mission to halve VAWG in a decade, including through a comprehensive VAWG Strategy covering England and Wales to be published later this year.

3)      How does the UK’s current WPS National Action Plan compare to its previous iterations? To what extent is the UK successfully achieving the strategic outcomes it set out within the 2023 National Action Plan?

For the first time in 2023, the UK’s WPS NAP included domestic commitments in recognition that foreign and domestic policy did not operate in isolation, and cross-government working would improve our impact on transnational issues.

This current NAP reflects the changing global context, addressing the impact on women of transnational threats, such as terrorism and violent extremism, climate security, weapons


proliferation, and cyber security. It is vital that as security threats emerge, we consider their impact on women and girls and develop a gender-sensitive response, as well as responding to the knowledge gap on how gender can drive and exacerbate key threats.

The UK NAP utilises a focus country model to prioritise efforts and ensure we can target support to where it is most needed. The current NAP has 13 focus countries, adding Ukraine, Ethiopia, Yemen and Colombia, and retaining Afghanistan as a priority. This model is agile to ensure that when crises emerge, the Government can respond quickly to new areas of concern, as has been the case in responding to the situations in Gaza and Sudan.

The FCDO and MOD work closely across HMG, and with civil society, to ensure accountability on the delivery of the commitments in the NAP. As of December 2024, 94% of the commitments in the NAP were in progress. FCDO and MOD are working with relevant teams to support the implementation of the remaining 6%. We will use baseline data, where appropriate, to contribute to assessing progress towards the strategic objectives in future.

The Government supports the approach and ambition of the UK’s WPS NAP and intends to build on this, advancing implementation and focusing on priorities.

4)      Are women’s voices, particularly those from conflict-affected communities and marginalised groups, sufficiently included within the UK’s approach to the WPS agenda?

The Government is committed to supporting full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women at all levels of decision making on peace and security. This means bringing in women and engaging women at every level, in every context.

Ministers regularly engage women from conflict affected countries, to ensure UK policy and programming reflect their views and needs. Recent examples include visits to Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan, the Philippines, South Sudan and the Sudan-Chad border, where Ministers met women and girls, including civil society, to hear directly about the challenges they face and solutions they need, whether in addressing conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) or reaching sustainable and lasting peaceful solutions.

The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers are committed to empowering women and girls. The previous Foreign Secretary announced £20m in additional funding while visiting Adré on the Chad-Sudan border, for refugees fleeing war-torn Sudan to receive further UK support to increase food production and lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services. During the UK’s UN Security Council (UNSC) presidency in November 2024, the previous Foreign

Secretary chaired the session on the UK-Sierra Leone co-penned Protection of Civilians resolution. This received unanimous Council support, apart from Russia who chose to veto it. During his visit to Ukraine in February 2025, the previous Foreign Secretary announced a further £25m of UK funding will support Ukraine to strengthen more inclusive, effective and efficient social systems and services. We will work with Ukraine to revitalise family and community-based services that meet the needs of women, children, people with disabilities and marginalised groups.

In her role as WPS and PSVI champion at the request of HMG, over the last two years HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh visited Ukraine, Chad and the DRC, alongside numerous domestic engagements, to demonstrate solidarity with the women, men and children

impacted by conflict, and encourage the voices of women leaders. In November 2024, the FCDO hosted the Farida Global Organisation’s photo exhibition ‘The Women who Beat


ISIS’, which tells the stories of survivors of the acts of genocide the Yazidi community

suffered. HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh and Minister for the Middle East spoke at a panel event, reflecting on the ongoing impact of CRSV and the pathways to justice and recovery for survivors.

As a specific country example, in Syria the UK Government has increased our engagement with women civic actors to explore opportunities for increased participation of women in political and public spheres. In engagement with the Interim Authorities, we have pressed for an inclusive and consultative political process, and the UK Special Representative for Syria has travelled to Damascus where she met the Head of the Women’s Affairs Department to discuss ways to empower and support women in Syria and build their capacities to take on an active and influential role in society.

In Yemen, the UK Government continues to promote WPS and, in November 2024, hosted a WPS event with Yemeni women leaders, which included a meeting with Lord Collins (previous FCDO Minister responsible for WPS) and representatives from the Yemen President’s office – which contributed to the Government of Yemen mainstreaming WPS language in their political vision.

CRSV survivors are at the centre of our approach to PSVI. We have appointed a Survivor Champions and a Survivor Advisory Group (SAG), made up of 18 members including survivors and children born of conflict-related sexual violence (CBoCRSV) from across the world to shape our priorities and challenge our policies to ensure meaningful engagement and participation. In November 2024, Lord Collins, in his role as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for PSVI, joined members of the SAG, and other survivors, at the annual High-Level Meeting of the International Alliance on PSVI in Colombia, where he reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to a survivor-centred approach. On 28 March 2025, he met children born of CRSV as part of an FCDO-hosted workshop discussing the legal and policy barriers they face.

The UK has also utilised its role as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to ensure women civil society representatives regularly brief the Council, working to follow up on their recommendations in Council business. During the last UK Presidency of the UNSC, Lord Collins chaired a roundtable on how we can improve the response to CRSV in eastern DRC, bringing together women’s voices alongside NGO, civil society and Member States. In March 2025, Baroness Harman KC, hosted a meeting with HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh, spotlighting the voices of women human rights defenders from Afghanistan, DRC, Sudan and Syria.

5)      Are there appropriate accountability mechanisms in place to ensure that the Government is meeting its WPS commitments, and that these commitments are translated into substantive outcomes?

The Government is committed to transparency on NAP implementation and will continue to work closely with the WPS All-Party Parliamentary Group and civil society to ensure accountability. We have provided oral updates to Parliament on NAP activity, as well as a written update in June 2025. We have established a regular meeting with cross-Government WPS policy leads, civil society and academics, for external scrutiny.


Following the General Election in July 2024 and a review of the commitments in the NAP, the decision was taken that the NAP’s year one baseline study should remain an internal

document, given it pertains to former government policies. The baseline study has been completed and, where appropriate, will be used to demonstrate progress against the NAP’s commitments in future.

The Government’s agenda is delivered by a number of Ministers. Following a ministerial reshuffle in September 2025, Minister Elmore is responsible for the WPS brief in the FCDO, and Minister Carns is responsible as the Minister for the Armed Forces in MOD. In addition, Lord Coaker, who leads Defence international relations and diplomacy, is also active on this agenda.

The FCDO aims to meaningfully mainstream WPS and PSVI across Ministerial portfolios, and so other Ministers also engage on WPS through their geographic or parliamentary portfolios. On 8 March 2025, the previous Foreign Secretary appointed Baroness Harriet Harman KC as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls. Baroness Harman will help champion gender equality worldwide and her appointment underlines the UK’s ongoing commitment to empowering women and girls around the world. Baroness Chapman, Minister of State for International Development, is also responsible for violence against women and girls.

6)      Can you provide examples of successful programmes or initiatives where the UK’s WPS framework has led to measurable improvements in women’s security and participation in peace processes?

The Government’s programmes and initiatives in support of the WPS agenda are wide-ranging in scope and geography and include work to improve women’s participation in peace processes and tackling gender-based violence.

On participation, the UK Government has funded women peacebuilders and grassroots women’s organisations and movements globally, championing their full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in peace processes. Examples include:

 


support capacity-building of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) ahead of further steps in Syria’s political transition.

 

 

The ISF has also been instrumental in supporting the WPS agenda through highly impactful programmes. Some highlights:

 

 

On tacking gender-based violence (GBV), we have made progress through our PSVI work. Examples include:

 

 

 


 

Victims of War. In Ukraine, UK support through the Global Survivors Fund contributed to the development of a survivors’ law, Ukraine is the first country to implement such a law during an ongoing conflict.

 

 

 

The CSSF/ISF also contributed to a wide range of GBV initiatives, including through the following examples:

 

- moving services close to where they are needed. Remote assistance was provided via phone consultations, teleconferencing or texting and an app developed for safe case reporting to the National Police. Over 32,000 GBV survivors and people at risk of GBV accessed services last year, as well as 91 survivors of CRSV. In addition, funding led to 5 CRSV cases being prosecuted, with 115 CRSV crimes registered by government prosecutors by the end of January 2023.


7)      What are the current trends that can be observed in respect of adherence of the international WPS agenda? What role does the UK play on an international scale, and how can this be improved?

Although the WPS agenda has gained strong support globally, as seen by over 100 member states having adopted NAPs, effecting change is slow. Peace processes and agreements are still not inclusive, the proportion of women killed in conflict has doubled compared to 2022 due to rising conflicts, and UN-verified cases of CRSV increased by 50%. Globally, we are seeing a rollback on women and girls’ rights.

We continue to pursue the agenda on the international stage in a range of ways, including many mentioned in previous answers. To add to efforts in a range of countries, we also pursue the WPS agenda in multilateral fora.

 

At the UN, we participate in the cross-regional “Shared Commitments” group of WPS – which includes countries that have championed WPS whilst on the UN Security Council. Through this group, the UK has ensured women’s civil society representatives regularly brief the Council and secured positive language in new resolutions, such as on Colombia (on women’s participation) and Haiti (on gender-based violence).

 

The UK works closely with likeminded partners to drive forward international action and consensus on the rights and equality of women and girls. Minister Elmore led the UK delegation to France’s Feminist Foreign Policy Conference in Paris last month, where we reiterated the UK’s commitment to ensuring that the international system remains a powerful force for gender equality and our determination to resist rollback.

 

The UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls also attended the FFP Conference, engaging with her counterparts and allies from around the world. She signed the Paris Political

Declaration on behalf of the UK alongside other member states, reiterating our commitment to putting women and girls at the heart of our foreign policy.

 

The UK is a leading voice on WPS in NATO, helping shape NATO’s WPS policy refresh. The UK has a dedicated Human Security Adviser situated in NATOs Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Gloucestershire, who advises on improvements to operational plans, exercises and

operational modals. The UK has also supported NATO’s efforts to deliver its WPS and Human Security commitments, including seconding a UK official in the office of the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for WPS.

 

The UK also contributes to peace and security in regional fora, for example through supporting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) adoption of the WPS agenda, providing the capacity to adopt and implement the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on WPS which provides a framework for further WPS adoption at the national and local levels. Similarly, the UK has supported new interest from Caribbean countries to develop National Action Plans in looking to address varied security situations across the region, leading to Trinidad and Tobago’s recent adoption of its first NAP, and the first in the Caribbean region.


The UK remains committed to driving international action to prevent and respond to conflict related sexual violence through our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI). Recent activity includes:

 

 

Our advocacy is backed by support on the ground, from providing safe spaces and medical support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, to helping survivors in the DRC to access justice and remain safe from reprisals.

 

The UK also remains committed to driving international action to tackle CRSV through the UK-founded International Alliance on PSVI; the only group that brings together states, civil society, survivors and multilateral actors to drive global action on CRSV.

 

8)      What can the UK Government do to ensure that its WPS efforts are sustainable long-term, particularly in light of global political shifts?

The UK is proud of its standing as a global leader on the WPS agenda. From championing women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership in decision-making, to our commitment to halve violence against women. This Government is unwavering in its commitment to the agenda, as outlined by Minister Elmore at UNGA this September and during his address at the high-level launch of the Elsie Initiative Fund’s programming round launch in October.

At the United Nations General Assembly in September, the Foreign Secretary gave a clear commitment to women and girls, including tackling violence against women and girls. At the WPS Focal Points Network event during UNGA, Minister Elmore paid tribute to the women’s rights organisations and activists driving forward the agenda with courage and determination and highlighted how the WPS agenda and women leaders “matter more than ever.”

To reverse the current downward trend on women’s participation, and enable success, the UK will focus on advocating for women’s meaningful and safe inclusion at all levels of decision-making on peace and security. That includes: providing safe opportunities for women’s peacebuilders to advocate; strengthening support to grassroots and women-led organisations; tackling violence against women, including CRSV, and reprisals against activists, through ending impunity and strengthening the global response.

A WPS approach is also crucial to tackle the complex, overlapping and evolving security challenges that are not confined to a particular country or region. It is vital that as security threats emerge, we understand how UK adversaries are weaponising gender to undermine social cohesion and democracy to gain strategic advantage as well as consider the impact on women and girls and develop a gender-sensitive response.


We also know that women’s inclusion at all levels in the security sector is critical for effective security strategies, whether in overseas peacebuilding, diplomacy, military operations or for national security.

Accelerating gender equality is vital to delivering the global economic growth we need, as well as a safer, more secure world. Lord Collins’ attendance, alongside Baroness Harriet Harman (Special Envoy for Women and Girls) and Minister Seema Malhotra (Minister for Equalities), at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2025 was an opportunity for the UK to signal its commitment to gender equality against the backdrop of an increasingly challenging geopolitical context and the growing threat from gender equality rollback. The UK supported the adoption of the 2025 CSW Political Declaration, which reaffirms commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the blueprint for advancing women and girls' rights - 30 years on from its signing.