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Archive photo · 24 March 2025António Guterres Tells UN Security Council Women’s Peace Role Must Be Meaningful
8 West Asian4 Other4 Western Mainstream1 AsianPhoto: Österreichisches Außenministerium, CC BY 2.0 · Cropped for layout
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Guterres urged greater women's participation in peace processes and negotiations. He called for stronger representation, increased funding, and accountability for gender-based violence.
UN warns on WPS
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council open debate on women, peace and security that women’s participation in peace and security is not symbolic and that peace processes are more likely to endure when women participate meaningfully. Guterres said, "Twenty-six years after Resolution 1325, this implementation gap is unacceptable," and he warned that women represented just 5 percent of negotiators across 57 peace processes last year.
Guterres also said, "I call on all countries to live up to their official development assistance commitments, and urgently restore funding to organizations that support women and girls in conflict settings," as he urged urgent action in three areas. UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyadzeyai Gombonzvanda warned that wars have become more deadly for women and girls, noting that abuses go beyond killing to a rise in conflict-related sexual violence.
Numbers and accountability
A UN report cited by JINHAGENCY said last year more than 37,000 civilians were killed in armed conflicts, with women and girls making up 25% of the victims, a rate that doubled since 2021.
The report also said UN records show 9,788 fully substantiated cases of sexual violence in 2025, more than double the previous year and about four times the cases in 2022.
Guterres warned that the world was experiencing its highest number of conflicts since World War II and said the number of UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence has sharply increased, reaching over 9,700 last year.
Guterres urged governments to introduce binding targets and quotas, and he said, "Equality is not a dream. It's a decision," as he called for enforcing zero tolerance for violence against women and girls.
Council debate and pledges
The Security Council heard a UK statement that said, "Peace cannot be sustainable while half the population is shut out of shaping it," and it argued that participation must mean real influence. The UK statement said the United Kingdom committed that by 2030, at least 90 per cent of its bilateral overseas development assistance will have a focus on equality for women and girls, either as a principle or a significant objective.
A joint statement delivered by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said 72 countries and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to protecting women and girls in armed conflicts and ensuring the meaningful participation of women in peace processes. The joint statement called for the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership of women in peace processes and in decision-making at all levels, and it urged all relevant stakeholders to ensure the substantive inclusion of women as key negotiators, mediators and peacebuilders.
