Phl launches Nat’l Action Plan on women, peace, and security

The fourth generation of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security which will be utilized from 2023 to 2033 is now available.

Earlier this week, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, together with the Philippine Commission on Women, in partnership with civil society organizations and the international development community, launched the NAPWPS—a country's commitment to the United Nations Security Country Resolution No 1325.

The UNSCR calls for women's participation in conflict prevention and resolution, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and post-conflict reconstruction.

The Philippines is the first country in Asia that has crafted an action plan in response to UNSCR 1325.

Its formulation was a result of collaborative efforts between the government and various civil society organizations that started in 2007.

The Philippines launched the country's first NAPWPS following multiple rounds of regional consultations, in 2010. It was also the first NAPWPS to be launched in Southeast Asia.

Additional improvements aimed at streamlining the NAPWPS action points and indicators led to the development of its second-generation framework in 2014.

This framework was used in 2015 for the baseline research on the implementation of the NAPWPS initiatives.

For its third iteration, the NAPWPS incorporated the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW General Recommendation 30, and the 2015 Global Study on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325.
These underscored women's leadership and participation in the peace process as well as its strengthened mechanisms for women's protection during and after conflicts.

OPAPRU Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the fourth generation of the plan highlights women as active agents of peace-building and transformation rather than passive actors or victims of conflicts.

Galvez emphasized the collaborative process that resulted in the development and completion of the fourth NAPWPS.

"At the core of the NAPWPS was an inclusive, holistic, and wide-ranging consultative process. It took into account the views, experiences, and recommendations of all our stakeholders, making this plan an amalgamation of ideas," he said.

"The latest iteration of the NAPWPS is in line with the OPAPRU's "efforts to ensure greater gender inclusivity in the crafting of more robust, effective, and responsive peacebuilding and development strategies," he added.

Galvez noted that the new plan also focuses on gender diversity, men and boys, climate action, cyber and maritime security, outward-looking approaches, and strengthened CSO participation.