1st November 2025
The United Nations has reaffirmed that gender equality is vital to achieving lasting peace as it marks 25 years of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, established through Security Council Resolution 1325.
“The resolution was a real game-changer,” said Laura Flores, Americas Division Director at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), in an interview with UN News.
Flores said the resolution changed how the world viewed women’s roles in peacebuilding.
A release dated October 31, 2025, obtained from the UN website by our correspondent on Saturday revealed this.
People finally started recognising that women aren’t just affected by conflict, they’re also key to resolving it.
“It’s about making sure women have a seat at the table when peace is being negotiated, and that their voices are heard in decisions that shape recovery and security,” she said.
According to the UN Secretary-General’s report on Women, Peace and Security, nearly 700 million women lived within 50 kilometres of deadly conflict last year.
The report also recorded an “87 per cent increase in sexual violence over the past two years, while nine out of ten peace processes excluded women negotiators.”
Despite these figures, Flores noted signs of progress in the Americas.
“The region had the highest average of women in parliament globally, with Caribbean countries averaging 41 per cent, South America 31.9 per cent, and Central America 30.8 per cent,” she said.
She added that countries such as Mexico, Chile, and Colombia have adopted foreign policies promoting gender equality in diplomacy, peacebuilding, and development.
“These policies are still new, and they’ll need strong support and coordination to really take root, but they’re a sign of progress,” she further said.
The UN has supported countries in implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda through various initiatives.
In Chile, it assisted a presidential commission addressing the root causes of conflict affecting Indigenous communities, focusing on challenges faced by Mapuche women.
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