Foreign Ministry launches its third Plan for Women, Peace and Security in “an international context of increasing conflicts”

The Diplomat The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented this Monday, March 2nd, the third National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security (2025-2030), which follows the two previous plans of 2007 and 2017 and whose launch coincides with “an international context marked by a historic increase in the number of armed conflicts.” During the presentation of the Plan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, referred to the escalation of violence in the Middle East after the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran and warned that “peace and security can only be sustainable when women fully participate in decision-making and when their rights are integrated into all phases of conflict prevention, management and resolution.” The plan, developed in a coordinated effort by thirteen ministries and with the collaboration of feminist organizations, networks of women mediators, human rights defenders, and international actors, comes “in an international context marked by a historic increase in the number of armed conflicts, the deterioration of the humanitarian space, and significant setbacks in the rights of women and girls,” according to the Ministry. “The erosion of equality and the violation of women’s rights negatively impact the strength of democratic institutions,” the minister warned. The plan has five priority lines of action: strengthening preventive diplomacy and equal participation in decision-making; promoting the full and safe participation of women in peace, mediation, and disarmament processes; protecting the human rights of women and girls, with a firm zero-tolerance policy against sexual violence; integrating a gender perspective into humanitarian action, including access to sexual and reproductive health; and institutionalizing the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda throughout the Administration. The two previous plans Spain had previously adopted two national action plans on Women, Peace and Security, in 2007 and 2017. The first was approved in November 2007 by the government of the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, within the framework of a foreign policy based on the defense of international peace and security and the fight against gender discrimination. Seven years earlier, on October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security Council had adopted a resolution (UNSC Resolution 1325), with the support of civil society, which emphasized the link between women's participation and international peace and security. However, since then, very few countries had translated this link into national action plans with clear objectives and appropriate mechanisms for their implementation. The second plan, for the period 2017-2023, was launched by the government of Mariano Rajoy, of the People's Party, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda (“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world”). This second plan, whose approval had been announced by Rajoy himself in October 2015 during his address to a United Nations Security Council debate on Women, Peace and Security, within the framework of Spain's presidency of the body, included new objectives compared to the previous one. These included integrating a gender perspective into conflict prevention, management, and resolution, as well as peacebuilding; ensuring the meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, management, and resolution processes; guaranteeing the protection and respect for the human rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations; and effectively incorporating a gender perspective into the definition of specific measures for reparation and recovery for victims.

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