Comment archive

Wednesday, 27 Nov 2024
Making Women Combatants Visible: Steps Towards Gender-Responsive Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration

In October the Security Council met for its annual Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Open Debate under the theme of “Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment.” Despite the WPS agenda’s goals for including women in all aspects of security and peace-making, their participation in disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), ...

Friday, 13 Oct 2023
Does the Situation in Iran Call for a Second Nobel Peace Prize?

Since the last time an Iranian woman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the situation in Iran has only got worse. This does not mean that the previous award was a failure. Friday’s Nobel Peace Prize announcement of the winner for 2023 was an astonishing occurrence. Not because this year’s ...

Tuesday, 30 Aug 2022
Is Digital Peace Mediation Here to Stay?

International peace mediation has undergone many changes in the past decade. While its fundamental principles have remained the same, the increased digitalization of peace mediation coupled with the practical challenges of peacebuilding during a global pandemic has necessitated the introduction of digital tools and virtual platforms. These developments have accelerated ...

Tuesday, 21 Jun 2022
Should We Abandon the UN Security Council as an Anchor for Women, Peace and Security? Personal Reflections from New York

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of the UN Security Council’s death have been greatly exaggerated. That does not mean to say that the legitimacy crisis is not real nor that the long-term trajectory – escalated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – might not be terminal. The consequences for ...

Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Украинские женщины участвуют в сопротивлении и должны участвовать в мирных переговорах: новые данные опросов

Женщины – “неотъемлемая часть своей страны и её сопротивления”. С таким посланием Катерина Черепаха, президент организации “Ла Страда – Україна”, обратилась к миру в своём апрельском выступлении в Совете Безопасности ООН.. В своей речи она также подчеркнула возросшую незащищённость женщин и девочек в отношении угрозы похищения, пыток и убийства. Теперь ...

Saturday, 30 Apr 2022
Українські жінки беруть участь в опорі і мають брати участь у мирних перемовинах: результати нового опитування

Жінки є «невід’ємною частиною країни та її опору» – з таким посланням звернулася до світу президент організації «Ла Страда-Україна» Kaтeринa Чeрeпaхa,  виступаючи перед Радою Безпеки ООН у квітні. У своєму виступі вона також підкреслила високу вразливість жінок і дівчат щодо загроз викрадення, катувань та вбивств. Тепер ми знаємо, що жінки ...

Friday, 29 Apr 2022
Ukrainian Women Engage in Resistance and Should Be in the Peace Talks: New Survey Evidence

Women are an “integral part of her country and its resistance.” This was the message that Kateryna Cherepakha, President of the organization La Strada-Ukraine, communicated to the world when speaking before the UN Security Council in April. Her speech also highlighted increased vulnerability of women and girls to the threat ...

Monday, 11 Apr 2022
Why Widespread Sexual Violence Is Likely in Ukraine

Sexual violence has not received much attention in the coverage of the war in Ukraine. However, reports of cases of sexual violence by Russian or pro-Russian soldiers are just starting to appear. Some human rights organizations in Ukraine have already warned about this risk. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba recently claimed ...

Friday, 1 Apr 2022
Women’s War

Soldiers, refugees, victims, mothers: we must listen to stories about the women’s war in Ukraine. Five weeks have passed since the start of the war in Ukraine. Shocking images dominate television news broadcasts. Europe is experiencing its largest refugee crisis since World War II. Men aged between 18 and 60 ...

Tuesday, 29 Mar 2022
Representation Is Not Enough: Women Briefing the UN Security Council

Inviting more women to brief the United Nations Security Council helps include them in decision-making on international peace and security. But despite progress, challenges remain. The Council must integrate recommendations from women’s voices into Council decisions. As the struggle over existing norms in multilateral systems has hardened, women’s rights have ...

Tuesday, 23 Nov 2021
Norway Promises to Increase Focus on “Women, Peace and Security”

On Thursday 21 October, the UN Security Council held its annual debate on “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS). Under Kenyan presidency, all the UN member states had the opportunity to give statements on this topic, which has been a permanent feature on the Council’s agenda ever since October 2000, when ...

Wednesday, 10 Nov 2021
What Do We Know About State-Civil Society Engagement for Women, Peace and Security in the UN Security Council?

On October 21, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held its annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) under the presidency of Kenya, one out of ten members of the UNSC that was elected to serve by the UN General Assembly (a so-called E10 state). Kenya has joined forces ...

Friday, 2 Jul 2021
Power Sharing and Gender Equality

Since the rise of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325, power sharing has been widely used as a peace-building tool after civil conflict and is also key to the institutionalization of democracy. Power sharing arrangements have been instrumental to terminating civil ...

Wednesday, 9 Jun 2021
Are Women the Solution to Violent Extremism?

Women can contribute to preventing and countering violent extremism, but the international community’s understanding of their contributions is lacking. Women are often expected to assume roles as deradicalizing councillors or informants, but depending on context, it may be unsafe and unrealistic to assume that women will take on such roles. ...

Wednesday, 3 Mar 2021
A Critical Moment for Women’s Political Rights in Intra-Afghan Negotiation and Beyond

One year ago, on February 29, 2020, the Doha Agreement was signed between the United States and the Taliban. This agreement outlines a process for a gradual withdrawal of foreign troops in Afghanistan, Taliban’s commitment to preventing the use of Afghan soil against the US and its allies security, and ...

Monday, 2 Nov 2020
Women’s Well-Being and the US Election

The PRIO – GWPS Women Peace and Security Index is now available as a US edition, with scores for each of the 50 individual states and the District of Colombia.[1] With the US election today, highlighting ongoing struggles and gender-related conflicts, we ask; what does gender have to do with ...

Tuesday, 23 Jun 2020
The COVID-19 Crisis Spotlights Criticality of Women’s Participation and UNSCR 1325: A Policy-Research Exchange

Women are often on the periphery of formal peace and political solutions with limited decision-making power. We argue that the current COVID-19 crisis has spotlighted three critical elements affecting women’s participation which need to be tackled in the upcoming 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325, the first UN Security Council Resolution ...

Tuesday, 22 Oct 2019
"We need to build bridges": Project Leader Marianne Dahl and GPS Director Torunn L. Tryggestad on the Women, Peace and Security Index

The Women, Peace and Security Index is one of the most comprehensive measures of women’s well-being around the world. This collaboration between PRIO and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) goes back to 2016. Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Index ranks countries based ...

Thursday, 23 May 2019
Pitfalls, Policy, and Promise of the UN’s approach to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and the New Resolution 2467

Since 2012, April has been the traditional month of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate to discuss the annual Secretary-General’s report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. And while for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) community it is always a major event on the calendar, with the prospect of ...

Thursday, 21 Mar 2019
This is Not Us – and Yet it is Us: Why Gendered Analysis of Terrorism is Sorely Needed

Known as one of the safest and most isolated countries in the world, New Zealand has experienced its darkest day, a terrorist attack perpetrated by a lone gunman against Muslim citizens in Christchurch in two mosques during Friday prayers. For us, in this antipodean part of the world, it is ...

Thursday, 8 Mar 2018
No Peace Without Women!

The recent #MeToo campaign was a watershed moment that has brought global attention to the issue of violence against women and has shown us how women continue to be objects of exploitation. Violence is manifested in so many different ways, from intimate partner violence, domestic violence, rape, honour killing to ...

Tuesday, 28 Nov 2017
A More Comprehensive Measure of Women’s Wellbeing

Despite major strides, women in many countries continue to face huge constraints in personal security, social and political inclusion, and legal protections that harm their wellbeing and hold back economies. The Index reflects a shared vision that countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and equal ...

Monday, 13 Jun 2016
It’s Time to Open our Eyes to Women’s Involvement in Peace Processes

Women are central contributors to peace processes. But the crucial roles that women play in transitions from war to peace are rarely acknowledged. The focus on the negotiating table and formal politics – the diplomatic aspects of conflict resolution – is a too narrow understanding of peace processes. Recent case ...

Monday, 15 Feb 2016
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda - 15 Years On

The Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. In the context of the UN and global governance, 2015 was truly ‘a year of reviews’. The Global Study on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) was one of ...