ABSTRACT

In this chapter, students will learn about the women, peace and security agenda (WPS). Consisting of eight resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council since 2000, this framework addresses the entrenched gendered bias within the realm of international peace and security and seeks to advance women’s concerns, rights and interests across all aspects of conflict prevention, management and response. Since its adoption, scholars and activists have broadly critiqued the gaps that remain in implementing these resolutions by UN member states and entities of the UN system. This chapter provides an overview of the adoption of the WPS agenda and its broad-reaching aims to advance gendered approaches to peace and security. It sets out some of the key areas of controversy and critique and highlights some of the gaps in implementation of the agenda to date.