UN Secretary-General’s 2025 Women, Peace & Security Report Highlights Escalating Risks and Calls for Gender-Inclusive Peace Efforts
SDG 5: Gender Equality | SDG 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Institution: Ministry of Women and Child Development | NITI Aayog
The infographic by UN Women summarises the key findings of the Secretary‑General’s Annual Report on Women and Peace and Security, 2025 (originally published by the United Nations in September 2025) highlights that 676 million women and girls live within 50 km of armed conflict, with verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence continuing to climb.
Despite over two decades since UN Security Council Resolution 1325, women remain significantly under-represented in peace negotiations, post-conflict decision-making and security-sector leadership. The report focuses on the four pillars of the WPS agenda: participation, protection, prevention and relief-recovery.
While there are positive moves (such as increasing women’s participation in local peace-building and gender-responsive clauses in peace accords), the report warns these gains are fragile — challenged by rising militarisation, shrinking civic space and declining funding for gender-equality initiatives.
Key Findings:
Rising Conflict – 676 million women & girls now live within 50 km of fighting; 61 state-involved conflicts = highest since 1946.
Escalating Violence – Conflict-related sexual-violence cases ↑ 87 % (2022-24); sexual violence against girls ↑ 35 % in 2024.
Fragile Health Systems – 58 % of maternal, 50 % of newborn and 51 % of stillbirth deaths occur in 29 crisis countries; mental-health gets < 2 % of aid.
Funding Collapse – Global aid fell 7 % in 2024; only 5.2 % earmarked for gender equality and 0.4 % for women’s rights groups.
Peace-Process Gaps – Women = 7 % negotiators, 14 % mediators, 20 % signatories; just 31 % of 36 agreements had gender provisions.
Leadership Lag – Only 29 countries have female heads of state/government; women hold ~ 20 % of cabinet & parliament seats.
Core Recommendation
“Meet UN minimums: at least 1 % of official aid to women’s organisations in conflict areas, 15 % to gender-equality priorities, and enforce accountability for gender-based crimes.”
For policy-makers, these findings underline that gender-inclusive peace strategies are indispensable; stable, just and resilient societies need women’s full, meaningful participation across security, diplomacy and governance. This implies revising national action plans on WPS, strengthening protection systems for women in conflict zones, and ensuring budgets align with gender-justice goals.
What is WPS? → The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda is a UN-mandated framework that recognises women’s critical role in preventing conflict, building peace, and ensuring recovery after crises. Anchored in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and its follow-up resolutions, it rests on four pillars: Participation, Protection, Prevention and Relief and Recovery. Each UN Member State is encouraged to adopt a National Action Plan (NAP) to operationalise these principles.
Follow the full infographic here: UN Women, “Infographic: SG’s Annual Report on Women & Peace and Security 2025”
Follow the full report here: UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Women and Peace and Security 2025