Welcome to Our Secure Future’s monthly Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Research Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Every month, we curate the latest articles and reports on cross-cutting issues related to women’s rights and international peace and security. In May, we searched the web for you, and here’s what we found . . .
WPS in the US
Fixing AI in Conflict (The Diplomat)
"WPS frameworks – grounded in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and implemented through National Action Plans (NAPs) in over 100 countries – establish commitments for how conflict and security operations should account for women, protect civilian populations, and include affected civilian communities in decision-making. NATO has integrated WPS into doctrine. The U.S., UK, and most major allied defense establishments have signed NAPs that apply to their operations. Any AI system used by these decision makers should follow these laws. Our Secure Future’s research indicates they do not."
Roundup: Informal New York Climate, Peace and Security Week - 27 April to 1 May (United Nations)
“The briefing on Mobilizing Gender-responsive Finance for Climate, Peace and Security highlighted the need to break silos between climate, peacebuilding, and gender agendas, while strengthening women’s leadership in decision-making and resilience efforts. Participants emphasized women’s and Indigenous Peoples’ leadership in environmental governance, peacebuilding, and climate resilience, while calling for more accessible, flexible, and conflict-sensitive financing.”
How the US ‘war on woke’ and women risks weakening its own military capability (The Conversation)
“The evolution of war requires the evolution of the military forces that fight them. The cancellation of the Women, Peace and Security program in the US threatens to put a stop to this process. Despite Pete Hegseth’s claim to be increasing “warfighting” capability, there is a real chance the move will decrease operational effectiveness, situational awareness and problem solving in conflict situations.”
Defense and Security
Feminism at the Margins of Militarism: Security and Defence Policy in Canada (Open Canada)
"As militaries are grounded in histories of gender inequality, colonial violence, and systemic racism, it is not feasible to simply layer on progressive policies and expect meaningful change. While promising in theory, in practice, these approaches focus on meeting representation and diversity targets without addressing the deep-rooted hierarchies that produce and sustain inequality for women and other minority groups within the security and defence sector.”
How war impacts women and girls: A simple explainer on gender and conflict (UN Women)
“For many women and girls, there is nowhere safe to go. Some are killed while sheltering in their homes, others are injured fleeing attacks, searching for food, or trying to keep their families alive as essential services collapse around them. The highest death tolls among women and children coincided with periods of intensive air strikes, drone strikes and missile fire, alongside large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure.”
Estonia’s Lukewarm Commitment to Women In Defence (International Centre for Defence and Security)
“The Estonian Defence Force’s apparent shift away from gender, and the somewhat limited reporting of WPS implementation in defence, raises concerns about transparency and accountability. But a credible and comprehensive defence is not only about weapons but also about ensuring that everyone can participate on an equal footing, regardless of gender.”
Economic Empowerment
Engaging the Private Sector to Advance the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (Our Secure Future and Women In International Security)
“The research findings underscore the value that the WPS agenda adds to the private sector and highlights how it can deliver concrete benefits to companies by contributing to: economic stability, market and investment security, risk mitigation, workforce resilience, greater productivity, reputational support, and market credibility.”
LG, KOICA, UNDP and Elman Peace Centre to promote employment and peacebuilding in Somalia (UNDP Somalia)
“Employment is not only an economic necessity but also a critical investment in stability, empowerment, and long-term peacebuilding in Somalia. This public-private partnership will create sustainable livelihood opportunities for Somali youth through technical and vocational education, while also strengthening economic resilience, social stability, and community development. By equipping young women and men with market-relevant technical skills, fostering innovation, and expanding pathways to work, we are strengthening young people’s agency and laying foundations for lasting peace and inclusive, sustainable development.”
Innovation and Inclusion: Leveraging NATO DIANA to Advance Women in STEM (NATO Association of Canada)
"Women in scientific leadership face a visibility gap — not just in recognition, but in opportunity. The Defense Innovation Accelerator Programme offers a key platform for women in STEM, defence, and security sectors to launch their startups or projects by receiving financial backing and industry support.”
Technology
Women, Peace, and Security is the missing core of AI governance (Diplomatic Courier)
“AI governance cannot be treated as gender-neutral; emerging technologies influence surveillance, information environments, conflict prevention, and participation in ways that directly affect women’s security and political agency. Bringing WPS into AI governance is not a peripheral concern but a necessity for building technology policies that are inclusive, accountable, and responsive to real-world security impacts.”
A Look at Adapting Women, Peace and Security to the Digital Ecosystem, and the Innovations Underway (Analytics Insight)
"In this context, Our Secure Future (OSF) was invited to brief the 34 member states on its work advancing the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda in the digital ecosystem alongside other expert panelists. Citing key findings from OSF’s newly launched report, Women, Peace and Security and Technology Futures: What World Are We Building?, OSF Vice President Sahana Dharmapuri highlighted within her remarks innovative tools to advance WPS efforts worldwide and address policy blind spots amid a new era of technology."
Climate
AI’s Environmental Footprint is a Gendered Security Risk (New Security Beat)
"The collision of AI and climate change is a threat multiplier that has immediate and long-term impacts, especially for poor countries and the communities within them. AI’s environmental impacts are unevenly distributed across gender lines. The technology's environmental footprint is also a hidden driver of women's insecurity and poverty, which has been largely left out of mainstream media coverage about technology and climate change."
From systems to communities: Building resilience in Somalia (UNDP Somalia)
"With support from the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme, Somalia is advancing an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction, recovery and resilience. Community-based systems, including sectoral ministries and women volunteers, are partnering to coordinate and implement sustained local action. Women from affected communities who were previously underrepresented in decision-making spaces are now actively shaping preparedness, response, and recovery at the local level.”
General WPS
Foreign Secretary launches new International Coalition to End Violence against Women and Girls (GOV.UK)
"A new eight-member international coalition to protect women and girls from violence and abuse is launched by the UK government with aims to drive global practical action. The international coalition will look to strengthen global efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict and other forms of violence in humanitarian crises. The UK is determined to work across borders to ensure women’s safety is a world wide priority.”
Latin America Strengthens the Women, Peace and Security Agenda from Montevideo (UN Women)
“OSF and UN Women gathered delegations from Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay to strengthen respective National Action Plans (NAPs) on Women, Peace and Security. Elevating women to participatory and leadership roles in NAPs is key to preventing conflicts, building peace, and strengthening the security of communities.”
The Filipino Women at the Heart of Peacebuilding (IOM UN Migration)
“In the southern Philippines, decades of conflict have shaped daily life for many communities, with women often playing a quiet but essential role in holding families and communities together. For years, their contributions remained largely unseen. Today, those same women are stepping more visibly into efforts to sustain peace.”
Mainstreamed but sidelined: Global funding for gender equality (Lowy Institute)
"Underinvestment in a global public good such as gender equality is not only a development failure but a profound foreign policy risk. Women's safety, health, and rights underpin the global stability and security that all nations depend upon. International gender equality movements should shift to an upstream approach, where aid is targeted to the fundamentals of women’s personal security and freedom."
There’s no space for the manosphere in Ukraine (LSE Women, Peace and Security)
“An emphasis on family values and devaluation of women as independent and productive members of society has become out of touch with the realities of life in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. The absence of manosphere in Ukraine, and Ukraine diverting from this global trend, offers an opportunity to consider the transformation of gender norms during wartime. Armed conflicts, wars, and national liberation struggles can challenge self-perceptions and existing identities, which often results in gains for women in the constitution, national legislation, and the public sphere.”
Upcoming and Past Notable Events
April 27–30, 2026 – Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026) (Women Deliver — Narrm/Melbourne, Australia)
For the first time, the Women Deliver Conference was regionally hosted, centered on the leadership, knowledge, and resistance of feminists, activists, and First Nations leaders across the Oceanic Pacific. The gathering brought together more than 6,000 advocates from across feminist, grassroots, First Nations, youth-led, LGBTQIA+, and women's rights movements, alongside world leaders, creatives, academics, and media to build solidarity and shape bold feminist futures.”
May 5–6, 2026 – The 25th Anniversary Conference of UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security (Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom)
Global leaders, activists, researchers and experts commemorated 25 years of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and charted the future of women's participation in peacebuilding during the two-day international conference “25th Anniversary Conference of UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security”.
May 12, 2026 – Water, Women, and Security: Preventing Conflict in an Era of Climate Stress (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
GIWPS, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, GlobeCare Foundation, the Women in Water Diplomacy network, and the African Ministers’ Council on Water hosted a panel at the intersection of water security, climate stress, and the WPS agenda. The event provided participants with insights on the links between water insecurity, gender equality, and conflict risk, highlighting practical examples of women-led approaches to peacebuilding and water governance.
May 13-14, 2026 – Global Leaders Recommit to Women, Peace and Security at Oslo Thematic Meeting (WPS Focal Points Network)
Held under the theme “Deepening WPS Commitments for Action: Innovating and Adapting to Deliver on Peace and Security,” the meeting focused on inclusive peacemaking and peacebuilding in a milestone year commemorating the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
May 21-23, 2026 – Gen-Forum 2024: Young Leaders for Women, Peace and Security in Asia and the Pacific (UN Women Asia & the Pacific)
Representatives from over 50 countries and regional organizations convened in Oslo for the meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network. The meeting focused on inclusive peacemaking and peacebuilding in a milestone year celebrating the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
May 23, 2026 – GHEA21 Women, Peace and Security Studies Conference (Bard College Berlin)
Twenty-five years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the promise of Women, Peace, and Security remains unevenly realized. This online conference convened scholars, practitioners, and student researchers from across the GHEA21 network to critically examine and reimagine the WPS framework for today's shifting global landscape.
May 28, 2026 – Webinar on Women’s Water Security in the Middle East (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
GIWPS, in partnership with the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, the International Water Management Institute, and the Social Development Direct, hosted an online panel to discuss the intersection of water insecurity, gender inequality, climate resilience, and peacebuilding in the Middle East. The panel stressed the importance of integrating gender considerations into climate and water programming.