Ukraine Adopts National Action Plan to UN Security Council Resolution “Women, Peace, Security”

In the document, the Security Council emphasised the role of women in wars, conflicts and peace-building, highlighting the risk of falling victim in the armed conflicts and, simultaneously, their essential potential as participants in peace processes.

36 OSCE participating states have national action plans to implement the resolution.

That is the second plan that Ukraine will work on for the next five years. The first National Plan was adopted in 2016 when Ukraine became the first country in the world where the document’s ratification took place under an armed conflict. Since then it has acquired a new quality. The plan also consolidated the efforts of 56 public authorities at the national and local levels, local governments, international and non-governmental organisations, focusing on 17 major target groups of women and men.

In particular, the document includes specific steps to create conditions for equal participation of women and men in conflict resolution, peace-building, reconstruction processes, security challenges, systemic response to gender-based violence and conflict-related violence.

The key integrated indicator that will indicate the success of the document as a whole is Ukraine’s place in the UN Index of Women, Peace and Security. Today our country is ranked 105th out of 167 countries.

The document defines five strategic goals:

1. Women and men take equal part in decision-making on conflict prevention, conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction at all levels and in all areas, including the security and defence sector.
2. A gender-sensitive system for identifying, preventing and responding to security challenges has been established.
3. The process of the transitional justice system’s post-conflict reconstruction, development and implementation is based on the principles of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men.
4. The State protects against gender-based violence, sexual violence (under an armed conflict and in peacetime).
5. The National Plan Executors have a developed institutional capacity to implement the agenda “Women, Peace, Security” efficiently according to the international standards.

Natalia Tolub