1325 National Action Plans (NAPs)
WILPF Monitoring and Analysis of National Action Plans
on Women, Peace and Security
Please note that the peacewomen.org website, including this NAPs monitoring site, is currently under construction but has been updated with 2023 and 2024 NAP documents. Stay tuned for updates about the next stage of WILPF’s National Action Plans project.
NATIONAL ACTION PLANS: AT A GLANCE
108 UN Member States (56%) have adopted a 1325 National Action Plan.
56 countries have developed one NAP on WPS; 27 have developed two; 15 have developed three; 6 countries are on their fourth; and 2 countries are on their fifth NAP.
Around 30% of NAPs are currently outdated, having expired in 2022 or before.
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WHAT ARE WPS NATIONAL ACTION PLANS?
In the multilateral system, Member States hold the primary responsibility for the achievement of gender equality and fulfillment of human rights. In a presidential statement in 2004, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) encouraged national-level implementation of UNSCR 1325, the landmark resolution of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, including through National Action Plans (NAP) to implement the four pillars of the resolution. It also encouraged Member States to collaborate with civil society, particularly with local women’s networks and organizations, on the implementation of UNSCR 1325.
National Action Plans for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 are national-level strategy documents that outline a government’s approach and course of action for localizing action on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. These documents outline objectives and activities that countries take, both on a domestic and international level, to secure the human rights of women and girls in conflict settings; prevent armed conflict and violence, including against women and girls; and ensure the meaningful participation of women in peace and security.
The first National Action Plan was developed in 2005. Since then, over 100 countries have developed NAPs for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and associated resolutions on women, peace and security, including UNSCR 1820.
Numerous countries have also developed second, third, and even fourth-generation NAPs, building on the work and lessons learned from previous plans. Frequently, NAPs are aligned with national development agendas, gender equality policies, and other relevant policy frameworks. However, countries have taken very different approaches to NAP planning, development and implementation. NAPs vary a great deal in terms of focus, timeline, content, budget, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
Over the past 19 years of developing and adapting National Action Plans, implementation of the WPS agenda has also been advanced on other levels, including the regional, organizational, and local levels. There have been Regional Action Plans (RAPs) put in place, such as the one of the African Union and of the European Union. Regional coordination efforts also include the Asia-Pacific Regional Symposium on National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security where Member States, alongside civil society representatives, share their lessons learned and best practices in the implementation of UNSCR 1325. In some countries, the development of NAPs has been done in parallel with Local Action Plans in particular cities or regions of a country. Many National Action Plans also provide directives for government agencies and bodies to develop their own plans for mainstreaming WPS across their work.
OUR GLOBAL ADVOCACY
For over 15 years, WILPF members and partners throughout the world have actively engaged in advocacy for the development of NAPs, and have been participants in NAP planning, development, implementation, and monitoring. Advocacy by WILPF members has led to the development of NAPs in their countries and regions, and their critical analysis has shed light on the strengths, gaps, and missed opportunities in NAP implementation.
In 2011, the WILPF Congress passed a resolution on National Action Plans that calls for NAPs to have an increased focus on the prevention of conflict, including regulation of arms trade and disarmament, and to address and prevent violations of women’s human rights in conflict.
WILPF Section Spotlight
UNSCR 1325 at 20 Years
NAP Development Toolkit
About this website
The Women, Peace and Security Programme of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom maintains this database to track the development of NAPs on Women, Peace and Security and report on their implementation. This website is updated on a semi-annual basis. If you are aware of or have developed a WPS National Action Plan that is not yet available on this website, we welcome you to notify us by email at peacewomen (at) wilpf.org.