Australia has a new national action plan (NAP) to guide its engagement on women, peace and security (WPS) over the next decade. After more than two years without an updated or revised NAP, the government has finally released its strategic plan to advance the human rights of women and promote gender equality in conflict-affected contexts.
This is a welcome move, but the timing and disconnect between this plan and the Morrison government’s approach to addressing barriers to women’s meaningful participation in political life here in Australia is likely to strike some as odd.
Australia’s second NAP draws on growing evidence that upholding human rights and advancing gender quality can break cycles of conflict and support peace. It sets out four key strategic outcomes to guide Australia’s implementation of WPS: ‘supporting women’s meaningful participation and needs in peace processes’; ‘reducing sexual and gender-based violence’; ‘supporting resilience, crisis, security, law and justice efforts to meet the needs and rights of all women and girls’; and ‘demonstrating leadership and accountability for WPS’. The plan makes clear that Australia’s efforts will be grounded in a human-rights approach. Importantly, it recognises that gender is only ‘one aspect of identity and experience’ that contributes to discrimination and inequality.