Briefings by civil society are a regular, well-established practice[1] of the UN Security Council. In particular, the Council has specifically recognized the importance of briefings by women civil society or explicitly invited women civil society to brief the Council, in both country-specific and thematic discussions, in multiple resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), including Resolution 2122 (2013), Resolution 2242 (2015) and Resolution 2467 (2019). Through initiatives like the Shared Commitments on WPS,[2] Council members have expressed even greater support for women civil society’s participation at the Security Council.
The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security regularly tracks such briefings at the Security Council in order to promote diverse women civil society’s participation at the Council and ensure their independent perspectives and recommendations meaningfully inform the Security Council’s work. Below is a summary of briefings by women civil society at the Council in 2025, with updates from May–August.[3]
- Between May–August 2025, 10 women civil society[4] representatives were invited to brief the Security Council, bringing this year’s total thus far to 20 briefings by women civil society. With four months remaining in the year, this figure is currently far below last year’s total of 55.
- Briefings during May–August took place at meetings on the situations in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, Sudan, Syria, West Africa and the Sahel, and Yemen, as well as at thematic meetings on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, children and armed conflict, and conflict-related sexual violence.
- So far in 2025, the Security Council has not hosted more than four women civil society representatives in one month. In 2024, there were four months during which the Security Council heard from at least eight and up to 11 women civil society representatives.[5]
- Of the women civil society who briefed the Council this year, 35% represented international NGOs or NGOs from the Global North, came from the Global North or otherwise were not from an affected community.
- Despite holding regularly mandated open meetings on these country or regional files, the Security Council has not heard this year from any women civil society representatives from the following countries or regions: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central African Republic (CAR),[6] the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),[7] the Great Lakes, Iraq, Kosovo and Libya.
- Between January–August 2025, 40% of briefings (8) by women civil society representatives to the Council were delivered virtually. By comparison, 34.5% of briefings (19) by women civil society in 2024 were virtual. The increase in virtual briefings by women civil society (including by 11.4% since June) likely reflects the impact of travel restrictions to the United States and concerns regarding the safety of civil society representatives from particular contexts.[8]
- The meeting on the situation in Afghanistan held in June marked the first regularly mandated Security Council meeting on Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 in which the Council did not hear from an Afghan woman or a woman civil society representative.[9]
- The Security Council heard from a Sudanese woman civil society representative for the first time this year at the Open Debate on conflict-related sexual violence held in August.[10] No Sudanese women civil society representatives have briefed at any of the three country-specific meetings on Sudan in 2025.[11] By contrast, at country-specific and thematic meetings in 2024, the Security Council heard six briefings by Sudanese women civil society representatives.[12]
- In the 14 open meetings the Security Council has held on Ukraine between January–August 2025,[13] there have been no briefings by Ukrainian women civil society representatives.
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Photo: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
[1] The Security Council has long recognized the importance of civil society, which is referenced hundreds of times in Council decisions. In addition, the Council has specifically recognized the value of briefings by civil society to the Council or explicitly invited civil society to brief the Council in at least eight outcome documents spanning various thematic agendas, including Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Conflict, Trafficking in Persons in Armed Conflicts, Women, Peace and Security, and Youth, Peace and Security.
[2] Through the WPS Shared Commitments initiative, started by Ireland, Kenya and Mexico in 2021, and expanded in 2022, 23 former and current Security Council members have committed to ensuring strong representation of diverse women civil society briefers in Security Council meetings. The 10 current Security Council members who have signed the WPS Shared Commitments are Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
[3] For our analysis of women civil society briefings at the Security Council in January–April 2025, see: https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/women-civil-society-security-council-january-april-2025/.
[4] Under Rule 39 of the Security Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure, the Security Council “may invite members of the Secretariat or other persons, whom it considers competent for the purpose, to supply it with information or to give other assistance in examining matters within its competence.” It is under this rule that civil society speakers are invited to brief the Council. The NGOWG’s count of women civil society briefers at the Security Council comprises only those briefers invited under Rule 39 who are explicitly members of women civil society—that is, who brief the Council in their capacity as an individual or on behalf of a local, national, regional or international non-governmental or nonprofit organization or network that is nonviolently promoting human rights, gender equality and/or peace, and contributing to positive social change for their communities. This includes women leaders, peacebuilders, human rights defenders, journalists, academics, experts or representatives of social movements advocating for or otherwise contributing to the promotion of human rights and peace. The NGOWG’s civil society briefer numbers do not include: individuals with clear links to a Member State or Member State-run entities; politicians or representatives of political entities; religious figures or leaders; celebrities; individuals who work in the private sector or business; individuals representing UN entities or regional or intergovernmental bodies; individuals who serve as Ambassadors, Champions or Envoys for Member States, UN entities or regional or intergovernmental bodies. Individuals that do not meet the definition above may be invited to brief the Security Council under Rule 39 but are not necessarily considered independent and genuine civil society representatives.
[5] This includes April 2024 (presided over by Malta, with eight women civil society briefers), September 2024 (presided over by Slovenia, with eight women civil society briefers), October 2024 (presided over by Switzerland, with 10 women civil society briefers) and December 2024 (presided over by the United States, with 11 women civil society briefers).
[6] In February, under China’s presidency, the Security Council heard from a woman briefer from CAR, who represented the private sector. See: S/PV.9864.
[7] In March, under Denmark’s presidency, the Security Council heard from a woman civil society briefer who represented an INGO at a country-specific meeting on the DRC. See: S/PV.9887.
[8] In June 2025, the Trump administration imposed a full suspension on entry to the United States for nationals from a number of countries on the Security Council’s agenda, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. As of 31 August 2025, the United States has also suspended issuance of non-immigrant visas for Palestinian passport holders.
[9] Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, the Security Council has heard from an Afghan woman or woman civil society representative at each mandated Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, aside from the June 2025 meeting (S/PV.9942). This includes 14 briefings by Afghan women civil society representatives, two briefings by Afghan women who did not represent civil society, and two briefings by women civil society representatives who were not Afghan. See: S/PV.8853, S/PV.8908, S/PV.8954, S/PV.8984, S/PV.9075, S/PV.9137, S/PV.9227, S/PV.9277, S/PV.9354, S/PV.9423, S/PV.9515, S/PV.9565, S/PV.9663, S/PV.9726, S/PV.9810, S/PV.9875.
[11] In June, under Guyana’s presidency, the Security Council heard from a woman civil society briefer who represented an INGO at a country-specific meeting on Sudan. See: S/PV.9947.
[12] See: S/PV.9614, S/PV.9659, S/PV.9700, S/PV.9761, S/PV.9780, S/PV.9797.
[13] Meetings on Ukraine during this period were called on an ad hoc basis under the agenda items ‘Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine’ and ‘Threats to international peace and security’.