Women, Peace and Security Digest: October 2024

WPS Week 

2024 Open Letter to Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in advance of the annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security (Working Group on Women, Peace and Security) 

“In advance of the October 2024 Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, this open letter was sent to UN Member States on behalf of 628 civil society signatories from 110 countries working on issues related to gender equality and women’s rights, peace and security, human rights, humanitarian assistance, and protection of civilians. The letter calls on the Security Council and Member States to take decisive action to protect women’s rights in conflicts and crises around the world.”  

Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment - Security Council (United Nations) 

Recording of the United Nations Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security on October 24, 2024. The debate focuses on trends across conflict-affected countries and follows up on the goals articulated in the statements on Women, Peace and Security. 

Annual Meeting of The Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network (United Nations) 

Recording of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network Sixth Capital-Level Meeting on October 21-22, 2024. The meeting took place under the theme, "Reclaiming Women, Peace and Security: Defining a Path Forward.” 

Women and peace and security Report of the Secretary-General (United Nations Security Council) 

“The present report is prepared pursuant to the presidential statement dated 26 October 2010 (S/PRST/2010/22), in which the Security Council requested annual reports on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000); resolution 2122 (2013), in which the Council called for updates on progress across all areas of the women and peace and security agenda, highlighting gaps and challenges; and resolution 2493 (2019), in which the Council called for reinforced measures to fully implement the agenda.” 

Climate Change 

For Women Environmental Defenders in Colombia, Standing Down is Not an Option (UN Women) 

“As temperatures reach new highs and climate change impacts intensify, women who are defending their land, water and ecosystems are paying a high price...In June 2024, Velázquez received the Amnesty International Germany’s Human Rights Award on behalf of FEDEPESAN, bringing them international recognition. Since then, FEDEPESAN has filed a public lawsuit against the hydrocarbon company for polluting the water and endangering the ecosystem.” 

How Climate Change is Hitting Kenyan Girls’ Education (The Fuller Project) 

“In recent years, Kenya has been hit first by severe drought that left millions hungry and destroyed the livelihoods of pastoralist communities, then by large-scale flooding that displaced many thousands and washed crops away. Experts in the region say girls’ education is often the first thing families sacrifice when faced with the effects of climate change.” 

Why Women Risk Losing Out in Shift to Green Jobs (International Monetary Fund) 

“Closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math would accelerate the green transition while making it more inclusive.” 

The Nonprofit Helping Women Fight Climate Change (The Chronicle of Philanthropy) 

“Eighteen years ago in Mexico City, 30 women from 26 countries came together to start an organization committed to supporting women who run grassroots environmental groups around the world. Melinda Kramer and Amira Diamond were there at the founding of the Women’s Earth Alliance, and they’re still with the organization today—serving as co-CEOs along with Kahea Pacheco, who joined the alliance in 2011.”  

Fueling Change: How women are leading Viet Nam’s just energy transition (UNSDG) 

“In Viet Nam, climate change is causing storms, floods, and droughts to occur more often and with greater intensity. Dang Thi Nga, a member of a tea cooperative in Viet Nam’s Bắc Kạn Province, has experienced these impacts firsthand. “We had a lot of problems with storms and flooding. Everything was destroyed, including my rice field and my forest,” she says.” 

Technology 

Tackling Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Mongolia (The Asia Foundation) 

“The digital age has brought us inspiring new technologies, but also daunting unintended consequences. Computers, smartphones, and the internet have unleashed new forms of gender-based violence that are especially threatening to women, including online harassment, cyberstalking, doxing, nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, and attempts to limit or control their use of technology. This tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) can cause serious psychological, emotional, and physical harm to victims.” 

Technology Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: Developing a Shared Research Agenda (UN Women) 

“Key knowledge gaps can hamper delivery of effective response and prevention programmes. There is little comparable, reliable data on the prevalence, forms, impact, and drivers of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) across different global regions and social intersections. There is limited data on the links between online and offline violence, although we know from many women’s experiences that such links exist... Co-creating a set of research priorities for the field can help address the knowledge gaps, bring more diverse voices into the discussions, and move the field forward in a more coordinated manner.” 

Atrocity Prevention 

2024 PPWG Assessment of USG Atrocity Prevention Efforts (Alliance for Peacebuilding)  

“The Prevention and Protection Working Group (PPWG) at the Alliance for Peacebuilding convened extensive consultations to compose the following assessment of and recommendations for the report to Congress of the U.S. Government’s (USG) atrocity anticipation, prevention, and response activities in 2023-2024, as required by Section 5 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act (EWGAPA)... The purpose of this assessment is to assist the USG in strengthening its reporting and improving the efficacy of anticipating, preventing, and responding to atrocities by identifying and analyzing trends, gaps, and opportunities to enhance measurement and demonstrate impact.” 

Preventing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Haiti (New Lines Institute) 

“Since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021, Haiti has faced a deteriorating economic situation, a political vacuum, and increasing gang violence, all of which contribute to what experts have identified as an ongoing protection crisis. The U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) reported that the first quarter of 2024 was the country’s most violent period in two years, with at least 2,505 people killed or injured in relation to gang violence. Gangs have weaponized sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on a massive scale, particularly in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince.” 

General WPS 

Where next for the Women, Peace and Security agenda? (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) 

“This month marks 24 years since the adoption of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), which was the first stand-alone resolution on mainstreaming gender into peace and security architecture at the multilateral level. Resolution 1325 and nine subsequent resolutions now constitute the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the relevance of the WPS agenda today, understand the obstacles its advocates face, and evaluate progress and gaps in its implementation.” 

A Moment of Renewal for the WPS Agenda in the Non-NATO Balkan States: Spotlight on Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo (New Lines Institute) 

“During the 75th NATO anniversary and latest NATO summit in July, the alliance renewed its Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) policy, with implications for Balkan countries both inside the alliance (Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) and outside of it (Bosnia-Herzegovina [BiH], Kosovo, and Serbia). Two countries that aspire to join NATO – BiH and Kosovo – have faced challenges wrought by the gendered legacy of war, but recent advancements suggest a promising path forward. In this moment of renewed interest in the WPS agenda, implementing further WPS reforms can provide NATO hopefuls with strategic advantage in their efforts to join the alliance.”  

Women This Week: Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan Disproportionately Impacts Women and Girls (Council on Foreign Relations) 

“The current conflict in Sudan—which began in April 2023—is having a devastating impact on women and girls. According to a new report from UN Women, gender-based violence has increased by 100 percent. Over 2.5 million girls are unable to return to school, which is approximately 74 percent of all school-aged girls, exacerbating the risks of child marriage and female genital mutilation. And nearly 5.8 million women and girls are internally displaced, with 80 percent unable to access clean water and 1.63 million women unable to access reproductive services.” 

Gender-based Violence (GBV) Response Services in Ethiopia: Empowering Women and Girls in Conflict-Affected Areas (World Bank Group) 

“Many communities in various parts of Ethiopia have been grappling with the compounded impacts of conflict and climate-related shocks... This dire context has made women and girls particularly vulnerable to physical and sexual violence, leading to a surge in gender-based violence (GBV) while the loss of services and breakdown in social support systems has limited the availability of lifesaving GBV response services.” 

Not Nearly Far Enough: Policy Actions to Advance Justice and Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence 15 Years After UNSCR 1888 (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security) 

“Despite more than two decades of international efforts to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), perpetrators from Sudan to Burma to the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to commit crimes with impunity... Even though CRSV has received increased political attention since the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1888—a landmark resolution under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda to combat the scourge of wartime sexual violence—an estimated 80 percent of cases in conflict settings still go unreported.” 

Time to Push for Next Step on Women, Peace and Security: Ensuring Positive Impact for Women in Conflict (International Peace Institute) 

“Next year marks 25 years since the adoption of landmark United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). A persistent question in preparing for this event is how Security Council members that support WPS can make sure their efforts lead to changes on the ground. This is central in an era of pushback against women’s rights and gender equality in many parts of the world.”  

Upcoming Notable Events 

November 11, 2024 - Military Women’s Memorial 27th Annual Veterans Day Program 

“Mark your calendar to join us on November 11 for the Military Women’s Memorial 27th Annual Veterans Day Program. This observance is one of the major events in the National Capital Region.  Free and open to the public, the event includes formal military honors, remarks from current and former servicewomen from each of the military services, and a keynote address.”

November 15, 2024 - The Women's Foreign Policy Group's Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit (Women's Foreign Policy Group) 

“This event is held annually in Washington, DC, to highlight the achievements of some of the most prominent policymakers and thought leaders shaping the world today. The audience of 350 guests comes from various professional, diplomatic, and foreign policy backgrounds, among them leaders from government, think tanks, business, diplomacy, and academia, as well as young professionals. Honorees are recognized for their extraordinary leadership in foreign affairs and national security, as well as their position as trailblazers and role models for aspiring women leaders. View our listing in the Washington Business Journal here!”  

November 19, 2024 - Ukrainian Feminisms, Resistance, and Psychologies of National Decolonization (The George Washington University) 

“Join us on Tuesday, November 19th from 3:30-4:30 pm to hear from Professor Oksana Yakushko (Program Director of Professional Psychology and Professor of Clinical Psychology) on her research concerning Ukrainian history of feminist and gender-based traditions of resistance. Professor Yakushko will discuss how this has been shaped by responses to Russian imperialism and state-sponsored violence over the past century. In this presentation an introduction to histories/herstories related to Ukrainian women's role in shaping national identity and national liberation experiences will be connected to the psychological praxis of decolonization (one the most discussed terms in Ukrainian social and scholarly spaces). Ukrainian women as poets, political leaders, scholars, Gulag survivors, liberation fighters, human rights activists, war crimes documentors, and volunteers will be noted in relation to global feminist movements.”  

Opportunities  

Program Assistant (Afghanistan), GNRE (Vital Voices Global Partnership) 

“The Program Assistant will be responsible for overall tasks, deadlines, and urgent follow-ups related to the Voices Against Violence (VAV) program for the Global Network and Regional Engagement team, working closely with the Program Manager, Afghanistan. The Program Assistant will be a highly organized team member, managing team meetings, payment requests to partner organizations, communications and database management. The Program Assistant works in close collaboration with the GNRE team to address any emerging crisis or ongoing resettlement efforts. The Global Network & Regional Engagement Program Assistant reports directly to the Program Manager, Afghanistan.” 

Gender Equity Intern - Spring 2025 (The International Rescue Committee) 

“IRC programming assists refugees to become economically self-sufficient and supports acclimatization within the United States by providing access to casework services. All IRC service provision is provided through the lens of Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI). This role will support the IRC’s Gender Equality work, cross-cutting programmatically and departmentally to support the administration of equitable services and the proper consideration of gender concerns in programmatic and departmental initiatives.”