Ahead of the annual United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), over 600 civil society organizations from around the world issued a joint open letter urging decisive action to fulfil the commitments of Resolution 1325 (2000). The letter calls for the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women in peacebuilding, humanitarian response, and political decision-making processes.

The statement emphasizes that nearly 25 years after the adoption of Resolution 1325, women’s participation in peace processes remains “unacceptably low,” even in UN-supported contexts, amid rising militarization, conflict, and authoritarianism. The signatories—including AHN (Kenya), ALDEF (Kenya), and over 600 other organizations from Afghanistan to Yemen—call upon the Security Council, UN leadership, and Member States to enforce women’s inclusion across all conflict and post-conflict initiatives.

The open letter defines the four pillars of women’s participation as “full” (with political and resource support), “equal” (ensuring 50% representation), “meaningful” (allowing direct influence on decisions), and “safe” (protecting women peacebuilders and human rights defenders). It concludes by asserting that without principled action to uphold women’s rights and participation, sustainable peace cannot be achieved.