By Merrite Johnson
Introduction
Since the adoption of Resolution 1820 (2008), the Security Council has requested that senior UN leaders provide different types of information[1] and analysis on women, peace and security (WPS) in the context of all country-specific situations on the Security Council’s agenda to inform its decision-making as the primary international body on peace and security. Briefings[2] by senior UN leadership — including Special Envoys and Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (SRSGs) — are an important opportunity to demonstrate that gender-sensitive conflict analysis is driving the strategy and work of a peace operation, to describe the UN’s efforts to uphold its obligations to implement the WPS agenda, and to contribute to more transparent and responsive decision-making on peace and security issues.
In 2013, the Security Council made its request for information and analysis from the Secretariat more explicit by adopting Resolution 2122 (2013).[3] Subsequently, the expectations regarding WPS in both briefings and reports have been reiterated and clarified more than a dozen times across resolutions and presidential statements, reports of the Secretary-General, and various UN handbooks and procedures.[4]
Broadly, senior UN officials are expected to provide insight into the gender dimensions of a situation, as well as updates on WPS implementation, by integrating the following into their briefings to the Security Council:
- Gender-sensitive analysis of the situation
- Updates on the mission’s implementation of the WPS agenda
- Efforts to engage with women’s civil society and support their participation in peace and political processes
- Strong statements of support for gender equality and the full range of women’s human rights, including recognizing the important work of women human rights defenders and peacebuilders
- Support for women’s meaningful participation in peace, electoral and political processes
In short, the Security Council and the Secretary-General have established that Secretariat briefings to the Security Council should provide clear, factual analysis of both the intersectional gender dimensions of the conflict-affected situation, as well as the UN’s own efforts to uphold its obligations to implement the WPS agenda, to contribute to more transparent and gender-responsive decision-making on peace and security issues. Given the growing backlash against gender equality and women’s rights across the world,[5] it is particularly important for senior UN officials to address these issues and express clear support for the human rights of women in all their diversity, gender equality, and the WPS agenda.
Methodology
The NGO Working Group analyzed 100% of briefings (241 total[6]) delivered on behalf of UN entities at 178 country-specific meetings of the Security Council between 1 January – 31 December 2024, including six meetings with an explicit WPS focus.[7] Briefings were delivered on 26 situations[8] by 62 individuals on behalf of 41 UN system entities and field offices,[9] including four peacekeeping missions and 16 special political missions. Each statement was reviewed for the presence of any of 34 relevant WPS-related terms.[10] When one or more of these terms was found in a statement, the full statement was reviewed, and the context of each WPS-related term was coded in order to assess the extent to which the briefer met the five WPS expectations elaborated above. Briefings that did not include any WPS-related terms were automatically coded as meeting 0 of 5 expectations.
Overall analysis
Out of 241 briefings by UN officials in 2024, 74% (178) used at least one WPS-related term (see footnote 10). This was a marked improvement from 67% in 2023; however, as was the case in 2023, most briefings failed to meet all five WPS expectations.
Of these 241 briefings:
- 55% (133) met 0 expectations out of 5, including 63 briefings that did not use any WPS-related terms.
- 22% (52) met 1 expectation out of 5
- 14% (34) met 2 expectations
- 7% (17) met 3 expectations – these were briefings on Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Great Lakes, Haiti, Israel-Palestine, Kosovo, Libya (2), Sudan, Syria (2), Yemen (2) and Ukraine (2).
- 2% (4) met 4 expectations – these were briefings on Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
- Only one briefing, delivered by UN Women on the situation in Afghanistan, met all five expectations.[11]
WPS Content in 2024 Country-Specific Briefings by Select UN Entities[12]
Inclusion of gender-sensitive conflict analysis
18% of country-specific briefings in 2024 (43) included gender-sensitive analysis examining the unique impacts of conflict and crisis on women and girls in Afghanistan (7), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), DRC (3), Great Lakes, Israel-Palestine (3), Libya (2), Myanmar (2), Somalia, Sudan (3), Syria (7), Ukraine (8), West Africa and Yemen (4). Senior officials’ gender-sensitive analysis discussed topics such as disproportionate impacts on women’s health and hygiene in displacement sites, particular challenges faced by women-headed households as a result of conflict and the unique impact of restrictive laws and policies on women and girls. Senior officials more frequently mentioned sexual violence and/or gender-based violence (GBV)[15] (26% of briefings and 22%, respectively), though these references were often superficial and simply stated that sexual or gender-based violence had occurred: only 4% of briefings provided detail about GBV such as risk factors or trends, and only 2% of briefings did so regarding sexual violence. Support for accountability was even rarer: 2% of briefings (5) specifically expressed support for accountability for GBV, and 5% (12) did so for sexual violence.
Women’s human rights and gender equality
Overall, senior officials rarely discussed women’s human rights or gender equality, mentioning these topics in just 8% of briefings (20). Even fewer explicitly expressed support for women’s rights or gender equality — 3% of briefings (8), on Afghanistan (3), DRC, Kosovo, Syria and Yemen (2).
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) also received little attention in 2024. 5% of briefings (12) referenced sexual and reproductive health in the context of service provision, access issues or needs on the ground, in Afghanistan, Haiti, Israel-Palestine (3), Sudan (2), Syria (2) and Ukraine (3). 11% of briefings (27) specifically mentioned pregnant or postpartum women, childbirth and/or maternity care. As was also the case in 2023, no senior official expressed explicit support for SRHR in 2024.
Only one briefing in 2024 mentioned LGBTIQ people: a briefing by the SRSG on Colombia,[16] who included the LGBTIQ community in a list of groups disproportionately impacted by conflict, though he did not express support for LGBTIQ people and their rights. This was the same meeting where LGBTIQ civil society representative Marcela Sánchez, Executive Director of Colombia Diversa, briefed the Council.[17]
Advancing women’s participation and leadership
Discussions of women’s participation and leadership in senior official briefings were fairly infrequent: 24% of briefings (58) mentioned women’s participation in peace or political processes, and 18% of briefings (43) expressed support for this issue. In addition, only 3% of briefings (7) included specific data on women’s participation: these were briefings on DRC, Haiti (2), Iraq, Libya (2) and Somalia. Only 2% of briefings (6), on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia (2) and West Africa, discussed quotas for women’s participation. No briefings on Bosnia and Herzegovina, DPRK, Israel-Palestine, the Middle East,[18] Myanmar, non-proliferation or South Sudan made any reference to women’s participation. 7% of briefings (17) discussed women’s participation in humanitarian response and/or restrictions on women’s ability to deliver and receive aid — these were briefings on Afghanistan (4), Great Lakes, Sudan, Syria (2), Yemen (4) and Ukraine (5).
Support for women human rights defenders and civil society
Senior officials mentioned women activists, leaders or peacebuilders in only 3% of briefings (8), with just three briefings (on Afghanistan, Colombia and Ukraine) expressing support for these activists. No senior official specifically used the terms “woman human rights defender” or “women human rights defenders” in 2024, though nine briefings mentioned human rights defenders more generally in DRC, Haiti (2), Libya, Sudan, West Africa and Yemen (3). A low number of briefings discussed engagement with or support for women’s civil society. 18% of briefings (44) mentioned women’s civil society or women-led and women’s rights organizations, and 10% (24) discussed consultations with such organizations, while only 5% of briefings (13) explicitly expressed support for women’s civil society. Senior officials discussed specific outcomes of consultation with women’s civil society in 5% of briefings (13), on Afghanistan, CAR, Central Africa, Great Lakes, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Kosovo, Libya, Somalia and Syria (4). This lack of attention is not limited to women’s civil society: less than a third (32%) of senior official briefings mentioned civil society of any kind.
Implementation of WPS-related tasks
27% of briefings in 2024 (64) mentioned implementation of mandated WPS-related tasks: 56% (9) of official briefings by the Department of Peace Operations (DPO),[13] 37% (40) of official briefings by the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA),[14] and 15% (8) of briefings by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Implementation activities included consultations with or material support for women-led and women’s rights organizations; technical assistance to facilitate women’s participation in elections, such as voter registration and preventing gender-based electoral violence; and advocacy with host states on women’s rights and gender equality.
WPS Expectations Met in 2024 Country-Specific Briefings by Select UN Entities[19]
Country-specific analysis
Afghanistan
Afghanistan remains one of the most serious women’s rights crises in the world, as the Taliban continue to impose systematic policies of gender-based discrimination and segregation erasing women and girls from public life, including through its law on “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.”[20] Women and girls from marginalized ethnic and religious groups[21]; lesbian, bisexual and queer women[22]; and women and girls with disabilities[23] also face intersecting forms of discrimination. Experts warn that these widespread, systematic and grave violations of the rights of women, girls and LGBTIQ people may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity.[24] In addition, Afghan women and international experts alike have described the situation as gender apartheid.[25]
Unlike other country situations (see below), all seven senior official briefings on Afghanistan included WPS-related content. The only briefing by a senior UN official to meet all five expectations in 2024, however, was delivered by the Executive Director of UN Women. Two of the four Council meetings on Afghanistan in 2024 were explicitly WPS-focused, which also increased the likelihood that senior officials would raise WPS issues in their briefings. However, while all Afghanistan briefings in 2024 included gender-sensitive conflict analysis and referenced the situation of women’s human rights, they fell short in other areas: two briefings expressed support for women’s political participation, three expressed explicit support for women’s human rights, and only one briefing expressed explicit support for women’s civil society or women-led organizations.
Israel-Palestine
The Israel-Hamas war has had a devastating impact on civilians, including women and girls.[26] The SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) occurred at several locations in Israel during the 7 October attacks, as well as “clear and convincing information” that some hostages in Gaza have been subjected to CRSV.[27] Israel’s military offensive since October 2023 has had extreme and disproportionate impacts on women and girls in Gaza, who have been subjected to sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence, facing violations of their rights to life, health, dignity and non-discrimination.[28] Other UN entities have documented CRSV and other forms of GBV committed against Palestinian women in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.[29]
Senior officials briefed the Security Council 45 times on Israel-Palestine in 33 meetings in 2024, the most of any country situation.[30] 76% of briefings on Israel-Palestine (34) included at least one WPS-related term. In total, however, 91% of briefings on Israel-Palestine (41) met 0 of 5 expectations, and no briefings on this file met 4 or all expectations, meaning that senior officials overwhelmingly failed to provide substantive WPS-related information in their briefings.[31] Senior officials’ discussions of the conflict were largely gender-blind, especially with regard to the experiences of Palestinian women and girls in Gaza. Instead, many senior officials simply noted statistics related to women and girls (42%, 19 briefings). 60% of briefings (27) mentioned “women and children” as a group, mainly in the context of women and children killed, displaced and/or in need of humanitarian assistance. 27% of briefings (12) mentioned pregnant and postpartum women in Gaza, including as a group in particular need of humanitarian assistance; and 7% (3) mentioned access or needs on the ground related to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including maternity care, in Gaza. Only 7% of briefings (3) provided gender-sensitive analysis, despite the deeply gendered nature of the conflict. No briefings mentioned women’s participation in any context (either in future peace or political processes, or in the context of the humanitarian response), and no briefings mentioned women’s human rights or gender equality. Just 22% of senior official briefings (10) mentioned sexual violence, focusing primarily on sexual violence committed against Israeli women, both on 7 October and against hostages in Gaza (9 briefings); some briefings (4) also mentioned sexual violence committed against Palestinians — both men and women — in Israeli detention facilities. Only three briefings provided detailed information about CRSV in this context: one briefing by the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict following her visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank[32]; a subsequent briefing referencing the SRSG’s report on the visit[33]; and a briefing discussing reports from other UN entities of sexual violence committed against Palestinians in Israeli detention facilities.[34]
Sudan
Sudan’s civil war has had a particularly devastating impact on women and girls. Widespread CRSV enabled by the proliferation of arms has become a hallmark of the conflict,[35] and restrictions and deliberate attacks on health services[36] have left many survivors without access to necessary care.[37] Further, women’s rights and women-led organizations remain on the front lines of the emergency response, despite great risk of reprisal by the warring parties.[38]
Senior UN officials provided 18 briefings in 11 Council meetings on Sudan in 2024, 83% (15) of which used at least one WPS-related term. In total, 56% of briefings on Sudan (10) met 0 expectations, and no briefings on this file met 4 or all expectations, meaning that senior officials largely failed to provide substantive WPS-related information in their briefings.[39] One of the Council’s meetings on Sudan was explicitly WPS-focused,[40] but both of the briefings delivered in that meeting met only 1 expectation (one supporting women’s participation and the other providing gender-sensitive conflict analysis). 17% of briefings on Sudan (3) included gender-sensitive conflict analysis, and 11% (2) expressed support for women’s participation. CRSV was mentioned in 78% of briefings (14); however, these references were often cursory, simply stating that CRSV had occurred, with only 11% of briefings (2) providing additional detail about the issue, such as dwindling access to services for survivors as a result of ongoing conflict. Though the role of women’s civil society and women-led organizations in responding to the crisis in Sudan is well-documented,[41] just 17% of briefings (3) expressed support for such organizations, and only one mentioned their role in the humanitarian response.
Ukraine
The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has had unique impacts on women and girls. The majority of Ukrainian refugees[42] and internally displaced persons (IDPs)[43] are women and girls, and they face gender-specific risks including sexual exploitation and trafficking.[44] Women and girls in Ukraine are also disproportionately affected by increasing rates of GBV.[45] Ukrainian women have taken leadership roles in all areas of public life, including as human rights defenders and in local governance,[46] and women-led civil society organizations play a significant role in the humanitarian response.[47] Since 2022, the Security Council has held only two meetings on Ukraine focused specifically on WPS issues, in April and June 2022.[48]
36 senior officials briefed the Council in 32 meetings on Ukraine in 2024, the second-most of any country situation, with 61% of briefings (22) using at least one WPS-related term. However, similarly to the Israel-Palestine context, senior officials largely failed to meet WPS expectations: 67% of briefings on Ukraine (24) met 0 of 5 expectations, and no briefings on this file met 4 or all expectations.[49] 22% of briefings (8) provided gender-sensitive conflict analysis; 6% (2) mentioned women’s rights or gender equality; 11% (4) expressed support for women’s participation; and 14% (5) mentioned activities related to WPS implementation. Just 17% of briefings on Ukraine (6) mentioned women’s civil society or women-led organizations, predominantly in the context of their participation in the humanitarian response (14%, 5 briefings), and 6% (2) expressed support for women’s civil society organizations.
Conclusion
The expectation that senior UN officials include WPS information and analysis in all country-specific briefings to the Security Council is unambiguous; yet 25 years since the adoption of Resolution 1325 (2000), the vast majority of briefings fail to do so sufficiently or consistently. Without including substantive WPS information in their briefings, senior UN officials do not accurately reflect the impact of conflicts and crises on diverse women and girls, nor provide clear policy recommendations to decision-makers on how to address these issues.
Implementation of the WPS agenda is the responsibility of many stakeholders; within the UN system, individuals in senior leadership positions, especially those overseeing the work of offices or entities working in conflict and crisis settings, have a particular obligation to ensure the WPS agenda is prioritized, resourced and advanced.[50] Holding senior UN leaders accountable for mainstreaming the WPS agenda into their work will remain a challenge without sustained pressure from Member States and demonstrable change within the UN system.
Recommendations to senior UN officials
- Consistently include gender-sensitive analysis of all conflict situations, and details related to the way in which such analysis has informed mission activities and planning.
- Highlight concrete recommendations shared by women’s civil society during consultations and the ways in which those recommendations inform mission activities and planning.
- Express unequivocal support for the full range of women’s human rights, and explicitly condemn violations thereof. Highlight barriers to the realization of specific rights, such as the right to participation or SRHR.
- Express support for women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in peace and political processes, including those led or facilitated by the UN. Provide analysis of barriers to women’s participation and recommendations for overcoming those barriers.
Recommendations to the Security Council
- Explicitly request in formal Council products that all briefings by UN officials include information and analysis on WPS.
- In national statements delivered during Security Council meetings, request WPS information and gender analysis from UN officials, and follow up on past requests and discussions of WPS issues from both informal and formal meetings.
- Increase the frequency and geographic diversity of WPS-focused country-specific briefings, and bilaterally request that senior UN officials focus on this issue in their briefings.
Merrite Johnson is the Program and Research Manager at the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.
Photo Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
[1] The work of the Security Council relies heavily on information and analysis from a range of sources delivered by the Secretariat in both written and verbal forms, during public and private meetings that occur on a schedule that is unique to each country situation. A considerable portion of Security Council meetings are conducted privately, however, there are two important vehicles for information and analysis that are publicly accessible: reports of the Secretary-General and briefings delivered by the Secretariat in public meetings. In addition to the general updates on the country situation, the Security Council has asked for additional information on various cross-cutting thematic issues to be included in country-specific briefings. These requests are typically made within resolutions or presidential statements adopted on thematic agenda items, with the majority being made in the context of WPS. The frequency with which the Security Council has requested robust information and analysis on WPS should be taken as an indicator of its priority.
[2] Briefings delivered to the Security Council, timed to coincide with the publication of the related report of the Secretary-General, are meant to “supplement,” not duplicate, the information in the report and urge relevant governments, or the Security Council as a whole, to take certain actions (Working Methods Handbook, ¶57, https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/working-methods-handbook). Although these briefings, delivered in highly formal diplomatic language, are not the only opportunity for senior UN officials to exchange information with the Security Council, given their visibility and public nature, they present the UN’s priorities in the context of a given country-specific situation.
[3] Resolution 2122 (2013), ¶2(a),(b),(c),(d), https://undocs.org/s/res/2122(2013).
[4] See for example DPO & DFS, “Policy: Gender Responsive United Nations Peacekeeping Operations,” May 2024, https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/gender-responsive-un-peacekeeping-operations-policy; UN Gender Equality Acceleration Plan, April 2024, https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2024/12/unw_geap_deck_detailed_plan_final.pdf; “UN DPPA Women, Peace and Security Policy,” October 2023, https://dppa.un.org/sites/default/files/dppa_wps_policy_october_2023.pdf; UN DPO, “Policy: The Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping,” p. 29, May 2023, https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/2023_protection_of_civilians_policy.pdf; UN OIOS, Audit of implementation of the women, peace and security agenda in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Department of Peace Operations (2022/027), 2022; UN OIOS, Evaluation of WPS in field-based missions – elections and political transitions (A/77/83), (2022); UN DPO & DFS, Guidelines: Engagement with Civil Society (2017.06), 2017; “Women and Peace and Security: Report of the Secretary-General,” ¶113(b), 25 September 2020 https://docs.un.org/en/s/2020/946; UN DPO, “Handbook: Protection of Civilians in United Nations Peacekeeping,” Chapter 13, September 2020, https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/dpo-poc-handbook; UN DPO, “Resource Package: Gender Equality & WPS,” 2020, https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/gender-equality-and-women-peace-and-security-resource-package; DPPA, “UN DPPA Women, Peace and Security Policy,” 2019, https://dppa.un.org/sites/default/files/190604_dppa_wps_policy_-_final.pdf; Security Council Resolution 2242 (2015), https://undocs.org/s/res/2242(2015); Security Council Resolution 2122 (2013); “Women and Peace and Security: Report of the Secretary-General,” ¶120(d), 9 October 2019, docs.un.org/en/s/2019/800; S/PRST/2010/22 ¶11, 26 October 2010; S/PRST/2010/8 ¶5, 27 April 2010; S/PRST/2007/40 ¶17, 24 October 2007; S/PRST/2006/42 ¶10, 8 November 2006.
[5] See “Escalating backlash against gender equality and the urgency of reaffirming substantive equality and the human rights of women and girls,” Report of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, 15 May 2024, https://docs.un.org/en/a/hrc/56/51.
[6] “Briefings” in this paper refers to statements delivered by senior UN officials to the Security Council; meetings frequently have more than one senior official briefing.
[7] Members of the WPS Shared Commitments group have pledged to, among other commitments, “[make] WPS-related issues an explicit focus of at least one mandated geographic meeting of the Council or specifically host a WPS signature event in each Presidency and [request] UN briefers to focus on this aspect.” https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/2024_25_statement_shared_commitments.pdf. In 2024, the geographic meetings with a WPS focus were on Colombia (S/PV.9749), the Great Lakes (S/PV.9615), Sudan (S/PV.9659), Libya (S/PV.9709), Afghanistan (S/PV.9726 and S/PV.9810) and South Sudan (S/PV.9778). In 2024, the Shared Commitments members were Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
[8] Abyei, Afghanistan, Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Great Lakes, Haiti, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Kosovo, Libya, Middle East, Myanmar, Non-proliferation, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Terrorism, Ukraine, West Africa and Yemen.
[9] BINUH, CTED, DPO, DPPA, FAO, SRSG-Great Lakes, SRSG-Horn of Africa, ICC, IMO, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, OCHA, OCT, OHCHR, Special Envoy-Syria, Special Rapporteur-DPRK, SRSG-SVIC, UN Secretary-General, UNAMA, UNAMI, UNICEF, UNITAD, UNMHA, UNMIK, UNMISS, UNOAU, UNOCA, UNODA, UNODC, UNOPS, UNOWAS, UNRWA, UNSCO, UNSMIL, UNSOM, UNTMIS, UNVMC, UN Women, WFP, WHO and Special Envoy-Yemen.
[10] WPS-related terms were: women*, gender*, girl*, female, femin*, woman, sex*, rape*, survivor*, abort*, menstru*, reproduc*, mother*, lactat*, pregnan*, miscarr*, obstet*, breast*, natal, matern*, gay*, lesbian*, transgender*, LGBT*, 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122, 2242, 2467 and 2493 (* denotes a function to account for any variations of these words – for example, miscarr* captures “miscarry,” “miscarriage” and “miscarriages”).
[11] This was the only country-specific briefing delivered by UN Women at the Council in 2024 (S/PV.9726), compared to four in 2023. In 2024 UN Women also briefed at two thematic meetings: the open debate on “Sustaining WPS commitments in the context of accelerated drawdown of peace operations” (S/PV.9700) and the annual open debate on WPS (S/PV.9760).
[12] These five UN system entities encompass nearly 80% of country-specific briefings in 2024. The other 20% of system entities analyzed in this brief were: CTED, FAO, ICC, IMO, OCT, OHCHR, SRSG-SVIC, UNICEF, UNODA, UNODC, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP and WHO.
[13] DPO officials include both senior leadership in New York and leadership of peacekeeping missions (MINUSCA, MONUSCO, UNMIK and UNMISS).
[14] DPPA officials include both senior leadership in New York and leadership of special political missions (BINUH, Special Envoy-Great Lakes, Special Envoy-Horn of Africa, Special Envoy-Syria, Special Envoy-Yemen, UNAMA, UNAMI, UNMHA, UNOAU, UNOCA, UNOWAS, UNSCO, UNSMIL, UNSOM, UNTMIS and UNVMC).
[15] Though sexual violence is a form of GBV, for the purposes of this analysis, the NGOWG coded references to sexual violence and GBV separately. The WPS resolutions pay particular attention to the issue of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) compared to other forms of GBV; accordingly, some UN agencies’ WPS policies require senior officials to address CRSV as a priority (see for example DPPA’s October 2023 updated WPS policy, https://dppa.un.org/sites/default/files/dppa_wps_policy_october_2023.pdf). Where a senior official mentioned sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) this was coded as both a reference to sexual violence and GBV.
[16] S/PV.9598.
[17] UN Security Council Briefing on Colombia by Marcela Sánchez, 9 April 2024, https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/un-security-council-briefing-colombia-marcela-sanchez/.
[18] Meetings under the “The situation in the Middle East” or “Threats to international peace and security” agenda items, focusing on regional implications of the conflict in Lebanon, in the Red Sea and between Israel and Iran (S/PV.9542, S/PV.9593, S/PV.9602, S/PV.9691, S/PV.9733, S/PV.9738, S/PV.9746, S/PV.9762, S/PV.9787 and S/PV.9829). These meetings are not related to the regular monthly briefings on Syria or Yemen, which also take place under the “situation in the Middle East” agenda item.
[19] See note 12.
[20] Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, “Study on the so-called law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice,” 12 March 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session58/advance-version/a-hrc-58-74-aev.pdf.
[21] Human Rights Watch, “Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover,” 19 March 2025, https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/20/religious-freedom-afghanistan-three-years-after-taliban-takeover.
[22] Afghan LGBTIQ+ Organization, “In the Shadow of the Taliban: Untold Stories of LGBTIQ+ Persecution in Afghanistan,” 1 November 2023, https://afghanlgbt.com/en/content/oXRV/; Outright International, “A Mountain on My Shoulders: 18 Months of Taliban Persecution of LGBTIQ Afghans,” 14 February 2023, https://outrightinternational.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/Afghanistan%20Report_OutrightInternational_7.pdf; Outright International and Human Rights Watch, “‘Even If You Go to the Skies, We’ll Find You:’ LGBT People in Afghanistan After the Taliban Takeover,” 26 January 2022, https://outrightinternational.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/afghanistan_lgbt0122_web_0.pdf.
[23] Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, ¶58, 30 August 2024, https://docs.un.org/a/79/330; Human Rights Watch, “‘A Disaster for the Foreseeable Future’: Afghanistan’s Healthcare Crisis,” pp. 33-37, 12 February 2024, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2024/02/afghanistan0224web.pdf.
[24] Amnesty International, “The Taliban’s war on women: The crime against humanity of gender persecution in Afghanistan,” 25 May 2023, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa11/6789/2023/en/.
[25] “UN Security Council Briefing on Afghanistan by Azadah Raz Mohammad,” 10 March 2025, https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/un-security-council-briefing-afghanistan-azadah-raz-mohammad; “The phenomenon of an institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan,” 13 May 2024, A/HRC/56/25, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5625-phenomenon-institutionalized-system-discrimination-segregation.
[26] See OHCHR, “UN experts call on Security Council to protect women and girls in Gaza and restore peace,” 21 May 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/un-experts-call-security-council-protect-women-and-girls-gaza-and-restore.
[27] “Mission report: Official visit of the Office of the SRSG-SVC to Israel and the occupied West Bank, 29 January – 14 February 2024,” https://docs.un.org/en/S/2024/217.
[28] “‘More than a human can bear: Israel’s systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023,” Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, 13 March 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session58/a-hrc-58-crp-6.pdf.
[29] Independent International Commission of Inquiry supra note 15; “Conflict-related sexual violence: Report of the Secretary-General,” S/2024/292, ¶42, https://docs.un.org/en/s/2024/292.
[30] These included regular briefings mandated by Resolutions 2334 (2016) and 2720 (2023), quarterly open debates and ad hoc meetings.
[31] 7% (3) met 1 expectation; no briefings met 2 expectations; and 2% (1) met 3 expectations.
[32] S/PV.9572.
[33] S/PV.9588, Wennesland.
[34] S/PV.9728, Wennesland.
[35] Amnesty International, “‘They Raped All of Us’: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Sudan,” 10 April 2025, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr54/9201/2025/en/; “Findings of the investigations conducted by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan into violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and related crimes, committed in the Sudan in the context of the conflict that erupted in mid-April 2023,” Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, Section VII(c), 23 October 2024, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session57/A-HRC-57-CRP-6-en.pdf.
[36] See MSF, “Sudan: MSF forced to halt activities as violence engulfs Zamzam camp in North Darfur,” 24 February 2025, https://www.msf.org/sudan-msf-forced-halt-our-activities-violence-engulfs-zamzam-camp-north-darfur.
[37] Human Rights Watch, “‘Khartoum is Not Safe for Women!’: Sexual Violence against Women and Girls in Sudan’s Capital,” pp. 55-62, 28 July 2024, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2024/07/sudan0724web_0.pdf.
[38] OHCHR, “Sudan faces worsening humanitarian catastrophe as famine and conflict escalate: UN experts,” 14 April 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/sudan-faces-worsening-humanitarian-catastrophe-famine-and-conflict-escalate.
[39] 28% (5) met 1 expectation, 11% (2) met 2 expectations and 6% (1) met 3 expectations.
[40] S/PV.9659.
[41] Malaz Emad, “‘Strength in solidarity;: How mutual aid is helping women survive Sudan’s war,” The New Humanitarian, 28 January 2025, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2025/01/28/how-mutual-aid-helping-women-survive-sudan-war; UN Security Council Briefing on Sudan by Dr. Limiaa Ahmed, 18 June 2024, https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/un-security-council-briefing-sudan-limiaa-ahmed/; UN Women, “Women are leading the humanitarian response in Sudan,” 5 July 2023, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2023/07/women-are-leading-the-humanitarian-response-in-sudan.
[42] “Ukraine Situation: Regional Refugee Response Plan 2025-2026,” p. 12, 16 January 2025, https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/113657.
[43] IOM, “Ukraine – Internal Displacement Report – General Population Survey Round 19,” p. 7, January 2025, https://dtm.iom.int/reports/ukraine-internal-displacement-report-general-population-survey-round-19-january-2025.
[44] IOM, “Vulnerability to trafficking in persons in the context of the war in Ukraine,” 24 September 2024, https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/111384.
[45] UNFPA, “Voices from Ukraine Advocacy Brief: An Overview of Gender-Based Violence in Ukraine,” 19 March 2025, https://ukraine.unfpa.org/en/publications/voices-ukraine-brief-2024.
[46] Gender in Humanitarian Working Group, “Empowering Displaced Women: The Role of IDP Councils in Local Democracy and Community Support in Ukraine – Valeriya Vershynina, CFSSS,” 2 October 2024, https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine/gender-humanitarian-action-working-group-time-0200-0330-pm-date-october-02-2024-meeting-minutes-enuk.
[47] CARE International, “Rapid Gender Analysis: Ukraine,” August 2024, pp. 39-40, https://www.care.de/media/websitedateien/care-allgemeines/publikationen/advocacy/care-rga-ukraine-2024.pdf.
[48] S/PV.9013 (11 April 2022) and S/PV.9056 (6 June 2022).
[49] 19% (7) met 1 expectation, 8% (3) met 2 expectations and 6% (2) met 3 expectations.
[50] United Nations System Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan, March 2025, https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/geap_detailed_final.pdf.