Select committee: International Development Committee
Conclusion 5
10th Report - Peace under pressure: Protecting Women, Peace and Security
Published 23 Mar 2026
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee Women, peace and security All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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 is essential for sustainable peace and conflict resolution. However, globally and domestically, women’s meaningful participation is declining. Ultimately, the translation of the commitments in the National Action Plan into practice has remained limited. Significant commitments, matched by action, will need to be made in the refresh objectives relating to prevention and participation are to be realised. (Conclusion, Paragraph 44)
From: International Development Committee, 10th Report - Peace under pressure: Protecting Women, Peace and Security (HC 782), 23 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 10 June 2026 (deadline 23 May 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response is largely "Partially Agree" across the Committee's recommendations, restating its commitment to Women, Peace and Security while disagreeing with Recommendation 29 and agreeing only with Recommendation 86.
- On the Committee's request to explain why no dedicated Women, Peace and Security session was convened during the February 2026 Security Council Presidency (Recommendation 29), the government disagrees. It says inviting women to brief country-specific meetings "has proven more meaningful and impactful than holding generic discussions on WPS".
- On convening a dedicated session in a future Presidency (Recommendation 30), the government partially agrees. It says it "may decide that a dedicated WPS meeting is the best way to deliver this in a future Presidency but would not want to prejudge that at this stage".
- On monitoring (Recommendation 86), the government agrees. It says it is "reviewing the current monitoring and evaluation mechanism" as part of the 2026 National Action Plan refresh.
- On annual reporting to Parliament (Recommendation 96), the government partially agrees. It "will consider introducing annual reporting", notes that the plan commits to a biennial written report, and says the updated governance structure will be published in the 2026 refresh.