Today's Edition
MUDHI ALOBTHANI (ABU DHABI)
The achievements and ongoing challenges in advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda came to the fore during a panel session held at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA) to mark the 25th anniversary of the landmark UN Resolution 1325, which underscored the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and peace-building.
The event, titled "The WPS Agenda & the Arab World: Shaping the Next 25 Years", witnessed the participation of leaders, experts, and practitioners who highlighted the role of women-led organisations, the localisation of the agenda, the UAE's pioneering experience and the wider global and regional challenges.|
Panellists emphasised that while progress has been made over the past 25 years, centring women's voices—from grassroots communities to high-level policymaking—remains crucial to fulfilling the promise of the WPS agenda for decades to come.
Dr. Mohammed Al Dhaheri, Deputy Director General of AGDA, highlighted both progress and the work that remains. "Women-led organisations have mobilised tirelessly to bring community needs into peace processes. Yet across the region, conflict, political instability, and cycles of violence continue to affect women and their peace and security," he said.
Heba Zayyan, UN Women Regional Advisor, emphasised the agenda's broad scope and relevance.
"The importance of WPS lies in its comprehensiveness - protection, participation, prevention, and relief and recovery - centring women's voices in all their diversity in conflict-affected, post-conflict, and fragile settings," she said, noting that protracted crises and political transitions in the Arab region make the agenda especially urgent.
From a practitioner's perspective, Lea Baroudi, founder of March Lebanon, stressed the importance of localisation. "There is no real localisation of the WPS agenda; it often remains far from actual realities on the ground and can create resistance in certain communities," she said.
Highlighting the UAE's leadership role, Anoud Yousef Abdulmohsen, Acting Director of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Centre for WPS, stated: "Guided by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak's vision, the General Women's Union became the central mechanism for translating policies into action, ensuring women are at the heart of peace, security, and sustainable development."
She also highlighted the UAE's 50-50 vision, which demonstrates the country's commitment to gender parity.
Samira Rashwan, Senior Gender Expert, delivered a sobering assessment of global and regional realities. "The world made a promise with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 25 years ago, but today we are not truly celebrating that promise. Women in the Arab region live in some of the least peaceful areas, experiencing the human costs of conflict firsthand," she said, citing both regional instability and the global imbalance in resources, with less than half a percent of military spending allocated to peacebuilding.
The panel formed part of the fourth WPS Working Group meeting, co-hosted by AGDA and the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR). Participants reviewed national action plans, explored humanitarian-peace-development linkages, and coordinated advocacy for the October 2025 UN Security Council open debate.
