- Foreign Secretary and Minister of State for
the Armed Forces launch the UK's new
National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
- Five-year plan aims to reduce the
impact on woman of conflict, as well as other global threats like
climate change and cyber crime.
- The plan focuses on 12 countries
where the threats are most acute, including Ukraine, Afghanistan,
Ethiopia and Yemen
Foreign Secretary and Minister of State for
the Armed Forces are today
(Thursday 23 February)
launching the UK’s new five-year strategy for protecting women
and girls in conflict. Conflict continues to have a
disproportionate impact on women and girls. Higher rates of
sexual violence occur during conflict and more than half of
preventable maternal deaths take place in settings of conflict
and displacement.
The fifth National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security sets
out the UK Government's work to reduce the global impact of
conflicts on women and girls, by ensuring our policy, diplomatic
efforts and international development work directly addresses
their needs. It focusses on 12 countries where the threats to
women and girls are currently most acute, including Ukraine and
Afghanistan.
The plan:
- Promotes the meaningful inclusion
of women and girls in resolving conflicts. Full and equal
participation in decision-making is vital to ensure lasting
peace, and makes agreements 35% more likely to still be in place
15 years later.
- Continues to prioritise tackling
the scourge of sexual violence in conflict, building on the
international conference the UK hosted last year to strengthen
the global response. Evidence has shown that an estimated 20 to
30% of women and girls in conflict-affected settings experience
sexual violence.
- Outlines the UK’s work with women’s
rights organisations, women peacebuilders and human rights
defenders.
, the Foreign Secretary,
said:
“The scale of suffering by women and girls in conflict is
unacceptable, from the abhorrent sexual violence that wrecks
communities to the years of education lost.
“We must do more, as a united global community, to reduce the
impact of conflict on women and to ensure they are central to any
negotiations around resolving conflicts. The UK is putting women
and girls at the heart of our work on peace and security.”
For the first time, this National Action Plan tackles the impact
on women of global threats like climate change and cyber crime.
An estimated 80% of people displaced by climate change are women,
according to United Nations Environment.
The plan outlines work to strengthen the UK’s own domestic
systems, policies, military co-operation and diplomacy, including
increasing women’s meaningful participation and leadership in UK
defence, foreign and security policy.
The UK will also drive reform in the humanitarian sector to
better protect against gender-based violence, and support efforts
to train thousands of peacekeeping personnel overseas.
Minister for the Armed Forces, , said:
‘The UK is proud to champion the Women, Peace and Security
agenda and this National Action Plan takes an important step
forward. It responds to the new global context, strengthens our
ability to deliver on WPS and demonstrates that UK Defence are
committed to playing a leading role.’
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The National Action
Plan (NAP) is the UK Government’s five-year strategy
that sets out how we will meet our Women, Peace and Security
(WPS) commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
- This is the UK’s fifth NAP on
Women, Peace and Security (2023-2027) and is jointly owned by the
FCDO and MOD.
- The twelve focus countries are:
Afghanistan, DRC, Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria,
Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.
