Women, Peace and Security

Photo: UN Women/Tako Robakidze
Photo: UN Women/Tako Robakidze

Since 2001, UN Women (previously UNIFEM) has provided continues support to partners in Georgia to increase meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, transformation, resolution, and sustainable peacebuilding processes. Under the current project “Accelerating Implementation of Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Georgia” (2020-2024) and in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2021-2025, UN Women supports the Government of Georgia to develop and implement the National Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security (UNSCR 1325 (2000) et al.) and to achieve the targets of nationalized Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 16.

Within this framework, UN Women works with security sector actors, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service, the Office of National Security Council, and the Georgian Intelligence Service to mainstream gender into the Security Sector Reform process and its outcomes. Herewith, to promote the implementation on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPSA) and mainstream gender, UN Women cooperates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia and the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, as well as closely works with the target municipalities to support the localization of the WPSA. UN Women also continues to support the capacity development of women mediators and peacebuilders, and internally displaced and conflict-affected women at grassroots to ensure their direct and meaningful participation in peace processes, as well as creates spaces for effective engagement of women peace activists with the participants of formal peace and incident prevention processes (namely, the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms).

One of UN Women’s top priorities for the 2020-2024 period is to provide support for the localization of the fourth National Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security. The localization process is achieved through fostering the active participation of women and grassroots organizations, internally displaced and conflict-affected women in local policy planning and budgeting processes, and the capacity building of the local governments to advance the WPSA implementation. In this respect, UN Women is targeting 17 municipalities in the regions of Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Imereti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, including the villages that are adjacent to the Administrative Boundary Lines with Abkhazia, Georgia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia.

UN Women partners with the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and the Ministry of Defence of the UK Government to contribute to the enhancement of women’s meaningful participation in peace and security processes and to increase Georgian Government’s accountability to implement the WPSA in Georgia.