The International Development Committee is launching a new inquiry into how the UK Government is involving the needs and voices of women in its development efforts. The cross-party committee of MPs will explore the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, adopted by the United Nations, considering how this agenda is being incorporated into UK aid …
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Report - Peace under pressure: Protecting Women, Peace… | HC 782 | 23 Mar 2026 | 23 | Pending |
The future of the Women, Peace and Security agenda hangs in the balance. The agenda is more critical than ever against the backdrop of rising conflicts, a global anti–gender movement and a reported backsliding on the rights of women and girls. The UK is a penholder for Women, Peace and …
Gender equality should not become a footnote in UK diplomacy. The UK must use its clout on the international stage to strengthen the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. This means using the tools it has at its disposal. The UK should be seen to advocate for Women, …
The Government should explain why it did not convene a single dedicated session on Women, Peace and Security during its time as President of the United Nations Security Council in February 2026. The Government should set out in its response to this report what specific actions on Women, Peace and …
The future of Women, Peace and Security hangs in the balance and must be addressed in its entirety rather than solely through country specific work. The UK should convene a dedicated session on Women, Peace and Security the next time it is President of the United Nations Security Council. (Recommendation, …
The Government’s commitment to implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda, through its objectives in the National Action Plan, appears to be waning. The limited attention given to prevention throughout the National Action Plan, despite the benefits for peace, is concerning. The meaningful participation of women and other marginalised groups …
The Government need not re–shape its approach to Women, Peace and Security beyond the existing four pillars and five strategic objectives. Considering the increasing number of global conflicts and the integral role women play in peace, the National Action Plan refresh must prioritise meaningful participation and the contribution of women …
The UK should take a more active role in peace processes and make certain that women can meaningfully participate. This includes working with organisations and non–governmental organisations to embed accountability for breaches of Women, Peace and Security efforts. The Government should prioritise gender equality and women’s rights in conflict prevention, …
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s development and gender experts play an essential part in delivering the participation and prevention objectives in the National Action Plan. The Government cannot expect to deliver on these commitments without this expertise. Considering the number of growing number of conflicts around the world, losing …
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office must not lose its development or gender expertise. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office should commit to maintain development experts working on Women, Peace and Security with connections to local organisations and communities around the world. The Government must not cut gender advisor roles. …
There is a lack of transparency surrounding the UK’s Women, Peace and Security spending, including how much Official Development Assistance is directed towards Women’s Rights Organisations, making it difficult for civil society organisations and other actors to track and assess progress on Women, Peace and Security. (Conclusion, Paragraph 60)
As part of its National Action Plan refresh, the Government should set out how Women, Peace and Security objectives will be fully resourced and prioritised in the context of Official Development Assistance cuts, and how associated funding will be strategically distributed. The Government should ringfence multi–year funding for Women, Peace …
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has assured us it remains committed to the Women, Peace and Security agenda despite staffing cuts. However, it has had difficulty in upholding its commitments in the National Action Plan with current resourcing. It is unclear how a smaller organisation with fewer resources and …
The Government has not learned lessons from the first round of aid cuts and continues to enact policy changes that are devastating to the realities and futures of women, girls and marginalised groups. New sentence here: We welcome the Government’s commitment to ensure women and girls are a priority in …
The commitments in the current National Action Plan lack dedicated funding, meaning that commitments are not resourced and their implementation is largely dependent on political will. (Conclusion, Paragraph 69)
To guarantee the sustainability of Women, Peace and Security, a stable, ringfenced budget focused on flexible multi–year funding would protect against global socio–political changes and pressures. It would also allow 35 Women’s Rights Organisations and other partners to strategically plan and act both proactively and reactively to crises. Without this, …
In response to this report, the Department should provide details to the Committee on existing mechanisms for coordinating meaningfully between Government Departments, or how it intends to establish systematic coordination. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office should report findings back to the Committee within six months of this report’s publication. …
The lack of an operational Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning framework is not a technical issue but a practical barrier to accountability, oversight, and outcome–focused programming. Current reporting risks being activity– driven rather than impact–driven, undermining efforts to improve the lives of women and girls in conflict–affected contexts. Despite commitments in …
As part of the Spring 2026 refresh of the National Action Plan, the Government must establish and publish a cross–government monitoring framework for Women, Peace and Security, including a clear and consistently applied set of Women, Peace and Security–specific indicators capable of assessing both outputs and impact. (Recommendation, Paragraph 86)
The Government must establish a biennial engagement mechanism with parliamentarians, civil society, and academic experts to review and refine National Action Plan indicators and reporting. Existing data on women’s participation, lived experience, and programme impact must be 36 incorporated into the UK’s monitoring framework, enabling meaningful oversight and accountability of …
Given the Government’s stated commitment to meaningful engagement, we consider it to be disappointing that a copy of the National Action Plan has not been shared with us in advance of publication. Earlier sharing would have strengthened transparency and supported effective parliamentary scrutiny. (Conclusion, Paragraph 88)
The Government has not allowed for sufficient external oversight and feedback on its Women, Peace and Security commitments. The shift from annual to biennial reporting has reduced opportunities for meaningful scrutiny. This weakens transparency and limits the ability of Parliament and civil society to assess whether commitments are delivering measurable …
Backing the Women, Peace and Security Private Member’s Bill would have been a significant demonstration of the Government’s commitments to the agenda. However, the Government has indicated that it does not yet support it. We are concerned about the future of Women, Peace and Security and the extent of the …
The Government must reinstate annual reporting to Parliament on Women, Peace and Security implementation following the 2026 National Action Plan refresh and commit to reporting which integrates progress on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, as set out in the Women, Peace and Security Bill. The Government must also review and …
| Date | Witnesses | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 2025 | Alistair Carns DSO OBE MC MP · Ministry of Defence, Chris Elmore MP · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Emily Maltman · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Stuart Mills · Ministry of Defence | View ↗ |
| 18 Nov 2025 | Eva Tabbasam · Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), Professor Toni Haastrup · The University of Manchester, Reem Alsalem · United Nations | View ↗ |
| 14 Oct 2025 | Fawzia Koofi · Afghan Parliament, Fiona Kilpatrick-Cooper · The HALO Trust, Hanin Ahmed · Emergency Response Rooms, Sudan, Stephanie Siddall · Women for Women International, The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon | View ↗ |