25 Years of UNSC Resolution 1325: From Promise to Action

On October 6, 2025, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous urged member states to turn the 25th anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security into a turning point rather than a mere commemoration.
The appeal highlighted that despite progress, women continue to face systemic barriers in peace, security, and conflict resolution worldwide.

Adopted on: 31 October 2000 by the UN Security Council.
Purpose: Recognizes the critical role of women in conflict prevention, resolution, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and post-conflict reconstruction.
Key Mandates:
- Participation and Gender Perspective: Women must have equal participation in all peace and security efforts; gender perspectives should be integrated into UN initiatives.
- Ending Gender-Based Violence: Urges all parties to protect women and girls from violence, including rape and sexual abuse during armed conflicts.
- Operational Guidelines: Provides practical mandates for UN entities and Member States.
Significance of 25th Anniversary: 2025 marks 25 years of this groundbreaking resolution, championed by women leaders and organizations worldwide.

Marginalization: Women remain on the periphery of formal peace processes, even when signatories to peace agreements, as seen in South Sudan and Central African Republic.
Erosion of Gender Equality: Rising military spending and pushback against gender equality and multilateralism threaten peace foundations.
Conflict Exposure: Approximately 676 million women and girls live within reach of deadly conflict, the highest since the 1990s.
Weak Progress: Commitments are often bold but poorly implemented, with chronic under-investment.
Humanitarian Impacts:
- Shrinking education opportunities
- Collapsing health systems
- Reduced humanitarian funding
- Short-sighted funding cuts already deprive Afghan girls of schooling and limit care for sexual violence survivors in Sudan, Mali, Somalia, Haiti, and elsewhere.

Peacebuilding: Women lead local and regional peace efforts, mediating conflicts in Abyei and Central African Republic.
Political Leadership: Significant leadership in Haiti, Chad, and Syria; implementation of gender-responsive budgeting in Ukraine.
Conflict Resolution: Women leaders across organizations actively lead conflict resolution initiatives.
Political Advocacy: They strive for full participation in peace and political processes at all levels.

Investment: Provide significant funding to women-led organizations on the conflict frontlines.
Cultural Change: End misogyny in politics, which fuels conflict.
Address Emerging Threats: Expand the agenda to include online gender-based violence and establish accountability for states and institutions that fail to act.
Peace Initiatives: Bahous welcomed positive responses to ceasefire proposals, calling for justice and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

Five Key Calls to Action:

Ensure affirmative action for women in peace processes and leadership roles.
Measure progress through women’s direct involvement and access to justice and reparations.
End all forms of violence against women, including technology-facilitated abuse.
End impunity for crimes against women and uphold international law.
Embed the Women, Peace, and Security agenda among youth for sustainability.

Resolution 1325 was a landmark promise, yet it remains partially fulfilled.
Evidence shows that when women lead, peace follows.
The 25th anniversary is a critical opportunity to translate commitments into tangible action, ensuring dignity, security, and opportunity for all women and girls globally.