About this research

“Building on civil society energies, wisdom, and experience… The NAP should be useful, it should be durable, it should make a difference you feel on your skin”

Statement by Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles of the Philippines during the High-Level Review on the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, 2015. 

In 2000, the UN Security Council made an important commitment to upholding women’s rights in the context of international peace and security with the adoption of UNSCR 1325. UNSCR 1325 draws attention to the unparalleled importance of women’s participation in peace and security governance. It notes the need to increase the representation of women in peace and security institutions in order to inform and reshape conflict prevention efforts. The resolution also calls for the rights of women to be protected in conflict and during relief and recovery efforts in conflict-affected settings. With the subsequent adoption of nine further resolutions, ‘Women and Peace and Security’ now represents a significant and well-established thematic agenda for the Council, and its relevance as an area of political practice extends well beyond the Council Chamber at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

In this research, which was funded by the Australian Research Council (DP160100212), we examine the three dimensions of the Women, Peace and Security agenda:

• the formation of the agenda at the UN Security Council and its diffusion across the UN system;
• the implementation of the agenda at the national level, primarily through the development and adoption of National Action Plans (NAPs); and
• the advocacy of civil society organisations related to the WPS agenda both within countries and transnationally.

This website presents our content analysis of the NAPs that have been collected and translated so far, in an interactive visual display. The NAPs themselves are also available to download here, along with a report on the key findings from our analysis.

More information about the research is available on the Women, Peace and Security: Rethinking Policy, Advocacy and Implementation project page, along with other project outputs.

Map projection and the politics of representation

We considered many different map projections in the preparation of this website, recognising that all projections are partial and political. In addition to the question of projection, we needed to consider the existence of contested boundaries, and even of naming (Aotearoa/New Zealand, for example).

We have used the United Nations Geospatial Information Section map of the world today to inform our interactive world map. The UN includes the following disclaimer, which we reproduce here in full:

The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or any area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

*A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

** Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.

*** Final boundary between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined.

We recognise that boundaries and naming are, in many contexts, implicated in former and ongoing practices of colonial domination. Learn more about land rights, native title, and the dispossession of Indigenous communities:

• The Aurora Project
• Mabo Native Title
• Native Land

The above links direct to external content for which we can take no responsibility and over which we have no control.

How to reference this resource

Please reference the individual NAPs and project outputs per original conditions of publication. The website and content analysis provided can be referenced as:

Biddolph, Caitlin and Laura J. Shepherd (2024) WPS National Action Plans: Content Analysis and Data Visualisation, v4. Online, at https://www.wpsnaps.org/.

Feedback and questions about the research are welcome. Please direct queries by email to the project’s Chief Investigator, Professor Laura J. Shepherd (laura.shepherd@sydney.edu.au).