Young women and the Women, Peace and Security agenda

Abstract

This article demonstrates the absence of young women in the formal global architecture of the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda. It shows that there is little meaningful engagement with young women in the ten Women, Peace and Security resolutions and subsequently in the Women, Peace and Security national action plans designed by United Nations member states to implement the agenda. This article argues that the failure to explicitly consider young women undermines the intergenerational sustainability of the agenda, misses an opportunity to align Women, Peace and Security with the more recent Youth, Peace and Security agenda, and discourages inclusive thinking regarding the unique ways in which young women experience conflict and contribute to peace. In doing so, the article contributes to the growing voices advocating for a more inclusive approach to Women, Peace and Security, and makes a case for how young women’s explicit inclusion can strengthen the agenda.