Timeline: 20 Years of Women, Peace and Security

Five years after the historic Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the UN Security Council adopted one of its most pathbreaking decisions on 31 October 2000: UNSCr 1325, a resolution that links gender equality and the maintenance of international peace and security and recognizes for the first time women’s participation as key to resolving conflict and securing peace. Described as one of the crowning achievements of the global women’s movement and known since then as the “women, peace and security agenda,” it is a commitment to address the multiple ways in which women and girls are targeted in war and to meaningfully include women in peace and security processes — one of the most male-dominated spaces of decision-making. Twenty years since its adoption, there have been important steps towards this vision, but progress has also been maddeningly slow and met with backlash. Today, as the world grapples with the spread of COVID-19, the need to prioritize peace is as urgent as ever. This is a timeline of select breakthroughs, celebratory moments and shocking setbacks along the way in the long road to global peace for women and girls. Learn more »