National Defence marks 22^nd anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security

November 2, 2022 – Ottawa, ON – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) take this opportunity to mark the 22^nd anniversary of the signing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, and acknowledge Canada’s work and advancements on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.

Resolution 1325 was the first to recognize the unique and disproportionate effects of armed conflict on women and girls. Today, the United Nations Agenda on Women, Peace and Security is comprehensive, and includes 10 resolutions. The Agenda calls on the international community to promote and support women’s active and meaningful participation in conflict prevention and conflict resolution, and to mainstream gender perspectives into all peace and security activities and strategies. It recognizes gender inequality as a root cause of conflict and instability.

Since Canada signed Resolution 1325, DND and the CAF have demonstrated their commitment to advancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in policy and practice. In recent years, Canada’s greater engagement with women in conflict settings has enabled the CAF to prioritize the security of women and girls, and has helped inform the design of missions and patrols. In 2016, the Chief of the Defence Staff issued a directive to implement Resolution 1325, and related resolutions, with the commitment to apply Gender-based Analysis Plus to all Defence Team activities. The CAF also undertook an independently run assessment of barriers to the meaningful participation of women in the CAF in peace operations, using the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) Methodology, which was developed in the framework of the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations. Last month, we made the results public and Minister Anand announced the deployment of a new gender-balanced Canadian Training Assistance Team (CTAT) to Ghana. This Task Force is now working closely with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on a Garrison Tour of all GAF units across the country in order to enhance understanding of gender issues and gender barriers impacting the GAF.

The Government of Canada is in the process of drafting Canada’s new National Action Plan for the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. This will be Canada’s third National Action Plan, building on the second that existed in 2017-2022. The Defence Team stands ready to implement the Action Plan, and looks forward to finding new and ambitious ways to contribute to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, led by Global Affairs Canada.