The Women, Peace and Security Agenda in NATO and Beyond: The Way Forward

The NATO Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda was born 25 years ago. In 2000, the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 was adopted to address the impact of war on women and girls and the importance of women’s full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in postconflict reconstruction. The agenda has since grown through nine additional UNSCRs, and is supported by a number of related normative frameworks.

In January 2025, RUSI Europe and RAND Europe convened a policy roundtable in Brussels to discuss the implementation of the WPS agenda. Participants included representatives from various NATO divisions and EU institutions, as well as delegations from NATO alliance and partner countries. The expert discussion provided a platform for participants to reflect on their experiences of designing, operationalising and evaluating WPS policy implementation. This conference report summarises points made during the roundtable discussion, none of which are attributable.