Women in Multilateral Peace Operations in 2022: What is the State of Play?

Abstract

In the year 2000, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security stressed the importance of the full and equal participation of women in all efforts towards the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, including UN peace operations. Following the resolution, organizations and member states involved in multilateral peace operations affirmed their commitment to increase women’s participation in these activities. More than 20 years after the adoption of the resolution, some progress has been achieved in enhancing women’s representation in multilateral peace operations, but much remains to be done. This booklet provides data on aggregate personnel trends, annual snapshots of data on women’s representation in leadership, and annual averages of women personnel in peace operations and in member state contributions. It looks at UN peace operations, European Union Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations, and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) field operations. The objective is to support the efforts of multilateral organizations and their member states to increase the representation of women in multilateral peace operations. The statistics presented in the booklet aim to inform and foster the debate on the future of the women and peace and security agenda within the context of multilateral peace operations. They illustrate to what extent the organizations deploying multilateral peace operations and their member states are making progress towards increasing women’s representation in multilateral peace operations. This overview also enhances the transparency of multilateral peace operations and provides insights into recent trends and developments.