Advancing the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in a New Normal: Women’s Leadership in Preventing Conflict and Sustaining Peace
The outbreak of COVID-19 exposed gaps in the implementation of all pillars of the WPS agenda, including the Participation and Relief and Recovery pillars, but most notably in the Prevention and Protection pillars. Although women were the most adversely affected people from this crisis, their specific needs and rights were not sufficiently taken into consideration in the planning of responses. Thus, women’s already existing vulnerabilities were aggravated.
In many respects, the pandemic has acted as a magnifier to existing vulnerabilities, including those of women and girls in armed conflict-affected societies. And while the immediate focus will -understandably- continue to be on emergency response and relief efforts, this Dialogue aims to unravel ways in which we can ensure that the notion of “rebuilding better” presents an opportunity to address the structural impediments to advance the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
