PH Calls for a Reinvigorated Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Ambassador and Permanent Representative Antonio M. Lagdameo of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations highlights actions of the Philippines at all levels to implement the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the UN Security Council (Photo Credit: UN Library)

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, 14 March 2023 — Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Antonio M. Lagdameo called on the UN Security Council to reinvigorate the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS Agenda), as the establishment of the agenda approaches its 25th anniversary on 07 March 2023. Ambassador Lagdameo was speaking at the ministerial-level open debate on women, peace, and security titled “Women and peace and security: towards the twenty-fifth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000)”. 

“The WPS Agenda has evolved and strengthened in the past two decades. Today, we are now more aware of the differentiated impacts of armed conflict on women and girls. Mainstreaming gender in disarmament and international peace and security instruments is a primary and not a secondary issue,” Ambassador Lagdameo stated.

Underscoring the importance of women in peacekeeping, Ambassador Lagdameo said, “We also know that the presence of women peacekeepers can improve missions’ abilities to respond to the needs of women and girls. The Philippines has deployed women peacekeepers and military observers in UN missions.”

Ambassador Lagdameo highlighted the Philippines’ National and Regional Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security. He also explained how these action plans work “in conjunction with the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on WPS,” which was launched in 2022.

Ambassador Lagdameo stated that “we have seen traditional and emerging security challenges threaten global peace and security.”

Amidst such challenges, however, Ambassador Lagdameo said that “By evaluating and improving the effectiveness of national action plans on WPS by using evidence-based indicators and participatory approaches, we can make strides in ensuring the goals of the WPS Agenda make a positive difference for people on the ground.” 

In his remarks, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that “For our part, the United Nations will double down on truly inclusive peacemaking and put women’s participation and rights at the center of everything we do – everywhere we do it.”

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 in 2000 to establish the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. The Security Council regularly holds debates to promote women’s leadership in peace processes and to mainstream a gender perspective in conflict situations. For this open debate, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Mozambique, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, chaired the meeting, which is one of the signature events of Mozambique’s March Council presidency. END

For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/.