Assessing UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security and South Korea’s National Action Plan

Abstract

In 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Since then, there have been nine subsequent resolutions. Because this new approach to international security at the UN has both theoretical and practical implications, it is important to fully understand the agenda and be able to see where the international society is heading on the issue. Ultimately, how we understand the resolutions makes difference in our implementation of the resolutions. In that regard, this paper closely examines the ten resolutions on the WPS agenda and discusses the achievements and limitations. Then it assesses South Korea’s latest national action plan (NAP) to see whether the major limitations of the current WPS agenda are applicable in the South Korean case. The analysis finds that South Korea’s NAP seems to be taking the human rights approach to security and recognizing the importance of achieving gender equality. Due to the security environment surrounding the Korean peninsula, South Korea is yet far from pursuing disarmament. The strength of South Korea’s NAP lies in the localization of the WPS agenda. The plan presents the country-specific issues that needs improvement.