United Nations, October 7 (IPS) – We meet on the eve of the twenty -five birthday of Resolution of the UN Security Council 1325- A milestone born out of the conviction of the multilateral system that is more robust, safety is more sustainable when women stand at the table.
Nevertheless, the record of the past 25 years has been mixed: daring, admirable obligations are too often followed by weak implementation and chronic sub -investment. Nowadays, 676 million women and girls live within the reach of fatal conflict, the highest [number] Since the 1990s.
It is therefore regrettable that today we see rising military editions and renewed pushback against gender equality and multilateralism. These threaten the basis of global peace and safety.
This birthday must be more than a memorial. Women and girls who live in the conflict deserve more than commemoration. Instead, it must be a time to concentrate, restore and ensure that the previous 25 years will deliver much more than the previous one.
A belief in the core principles of resolution 1325 is shared everywhere by women and men. Whether because of our work at land level, also in conflicts, or in The recent commitments of the Member States for the 30th anniversary of the Declaration and Platform for Action in BeijingWe know that our women, peace and security agenda, our conviction for equality, enjoy the support of an overwhelming majority of women and men, and also of the Member States.
Even in Afghanistan, the continuous monitoring of the UN women shows that 92 percent of Afghans, men and women both think that girls should be able to follow secondary education. It is also striking that a majority of Afghan women say they will remain hopeful that they will reach their ambitions one day.
This, despite everything they suppress under the Taliban suppression. Their hope is not inactive and it is more than a coping mechanism. It is a political statement. A conviction. An inspiration.
As we meet to discuss the women, peace and safety agendaThe painful situation in the middle, especially for women and girls, remains in our thoughts and in our hearts. Two years after the devastating Gaza war, in the midst of the murder, the pain and the loss, a spark of hope arises.
I become a member of the Secretary-General when welcoming the positive reactions to President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Gaza War, to implement an immediate and sustainable ceasefire to guarantee the unconditional release of all hostages and to guarantee unhindered humanitarian access.
We hope that this will lead to a just and lasting peace for both Palestinians and Israelis, where all women and girls live with dignity, safety and opportunities.
The trends documented in the report of the Secretary General must alert us. It is understandable that some could conclude that the rise and standardization of misogynia that is currently poisoning our politics and refueling conflicts cannot be stopped. It is not. Those who oppose equality do not have the future, we do.
The reality is that worldwide suffering and relocation are likely to increase in the face of seemingly unmanageable conflicts and growing instability. And it is a painful fact that we must be prepared for the situation to get worse before things get better for women and girls.
This remains exacerbated by short -sighted financing reductions that already undermine teaching opportunities for Afghan girls; Life -saving medical attention limited to tens of thousands of survivors of rape and sexual violence in Sudan, Haiti and beyond; Shutter clinics in conflict zones; Limit access to food for malnourished and starving mothers and their children in Gaza, Mali, Somalia and elsewhere; And will fundamentally run the chance of peace.
Despite the horrors of wars and conflicts, women continue to build up peace.
- Women reduce community violence in Abyei and the Central African Republic and mobilize for peace in Yemen, in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- In Haiti, women have succeeded in almost achieving parity in the new provisional election council and the quota for women in the draft constitutional increased.
- In Chad, the representation of women in the national meeting has doubled.
- In Syria, the Interim Constitution has ratified this Mars the government to guarantee the social, economic and political rights of women and to protect them against all forms of oppression, injustice and violence.
- In Ukraine, women have achieved codification in the law of gender-response budgeting, including national auxiliary efforts.
Whether it is about mediating, access to services, stimulating reconstruction and more leadership of women is the face of resilience – a force for peace.
The Secretary General has just spoken with the recent survey findings of the UN women, who emphasize how the current financing trends endanger the viability and safety of organizations led by women in the countries of countries affected by conflicts.
We believe that there is no alternative, but to change course and to invest considerably in female organizations in the frontlines of conflicts.
Over the past 25 years, the emphasis has placed on investing in transnational safety and international legal institutions. This is not matched by attention to investments in national capacities and social movements.
And although the attention for women, peace and security agenda is aimed in worldwide capitals and in large cities of countries affected by conflicts, it must also be located and reach the remote areas that are the most struck and where it makes the biggest difference. This applies to information, financing, policy implementation, services and more.
In recent years, a much needed increased level of attention to conflict -related sexual violence has seen than ever before. We have made enormous progress when ending the silence, chipping the impunity that encourages perpetrators and enables.
These efforts must be doubled, so that more attention is paid to reproductive violence, gender -based persecution in accountability initiatives and a better understanding of atrocities that affect women and girls disproportionately in conflict.
In the next 25 years of the critical women, peace and safety agenda, it is crucial that we see the financing of intended, robust quotas, clear instructions and mandates and accountability measures that make errors visible and have consequences.
So allow me to allow you with five calls for action that need full attention in the coming years:
- First: The affiratory action to ensure that women take their rightful place on the peace -shaped table and consistent support for them as peace poets, peace builders and human rights defenders. This must be a hardwired characteristic of the way we conduct the company of Vrede.
- Second: Measures the impact of this agenda by the number of women who participate directly in peace and safety processes, and by the help that women receive in the form of justice, recovery, services or asylum.
- Third: End of violence against women and girls, dealing with rising forms of gender -based violence facilitated on technology and disputing harmful stories both online and offline.
- Fourth: End -out impunity for atrocities and crimes against women and girls, respect and maintain international law, remain silent and ensure that peace is always in the ascendency.
- Fifth: Always close the women, peace and security agenda deeper into the hearts and spirits of ordinary people, especially young people, both boys and girls. It is they who will determine the future of our ambitions, ambitions that ultimately also have to become theirs.
Above all, the resolution of the Security Council 1325 should be fully implemented in all contexts in the coming years.
When women lead, peace follows. We made them a promise 25 years ago. It is beyond time to deliver.
This article is based on comments by UN Under-Secretary General and Un Women Executive Director Sima Bahous during the Security Council meeting on “Women and Peace and Security” on October 6, 2025.
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