On September 20th, IPI together with the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Slovenia, Switzerland, and Mexico to the UN, cohosted a symposium on Innovations in Implementing the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.

For the past six years, the International Peace Institute (IPI) has organized a symposium during the high-level week of the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York that is dedicated to discussing different aspects related to Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). The goal of this dedicated space is to ensure that WPS is not only discussed within the UN Security Council during “WPS month” in October, but rather is integrated into broader high-level discussions at the UN, as well as in the international community. Previous events have focused on challenges and opportunities for women’s leadership in key global moments, including advancing WPS during the COVID-19 pandemic, women’s leadership in post-pandemic life, and gender-responsive leadership.

This year, the event built upon the work of the Governments of Ireland, Mexico, and Kenya, that initiated “The Presidency Trio for Women, Peace and Security” during their time as elected members of the UN Security Council. The aim of this initiative was to put forth tangible actions that could be taken during their consecutive Council presidencies to prioritize the WPS Agenda. Building on the activism of these three countries, efforts to advance the WPS Agenda within the UN Security Council have evolved into the “Shared Commitments on WPS.” Since the start of the original Presidency Trio, as of 2023, sixteen past and present UN Security Council members have joined the Shared Commitments.

The Shared Commitments are organized around three areas to drive forward implementation of the WPS normative framework: facilitating women’s participation in Council meetings; including gender perspectives in Council meetings and products; and promoting transparency in advancing the WPS Agenda in the Council. An analysis by Security Council Report on the progress of the Shared Commitments from September 2021 to September 2022 found that the Shared Commitments led to an increase in women civil society briefers and an increased number of meetings at the Council that focused on WPS.

Welcoming Remarks:
Dr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, President and CEO of the International Peace Institute

Opening Remarks:
H.E. Mr. Micheál Martin TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Ireland
H.E. Ms. KAMIKAWA Yōko, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan

Speakers:
H.E. Ms. Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovenia
H.E. Ms. Pascale Baeriswyl, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN
Dr. Nadine Gasman, President of the National Institute of Women, Mexico
Ms. Sarah Hendriks, Deputy Executive Director a.i. for Policy, Programmes, Civil Society & Intergovernmental Support, UN Women
Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights at the UN
Ms. Kaavya Asoka, Executive Director, the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security

Moderator:
Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President and COO of the International Peace Institute