Women leading through crisis: A gender snapshot on peace and humanitarian action in Europe and Central Asia

The 25^th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) in 2025 provides a critical opportunity to reaffirm the global commitment to women’s leadership, gender equality, and sustainable peace. Despite notable progress, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) faces persistent challenges stemming from ongoing conflicts, rising militarization, displacement, and climate-related crises. These overlapping pressures continue to limit women’s participation in peace and security decision-making and exacerbate gender inequalities. 

This Gender Snapshot on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action (WPS-HA), developed by UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, presents a concise overview of regional trends, gaps, and opportunities across 18 programme countries and territories. It highlights five interconnected dimensions: regional dynamics of gender and peace; women’s leadership and representation; humanitarian perspectives; progress on National Action Plans (NAPs) for UNSCR 1325; and financing for the WPS-HA agenda. 

The analysis underscores the urgency of centring women’s rights, agency, and leadership in all peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts. Advancing the WPS agenda requires predictable financing, stronger accountability, and collaboration between governments, civil society, and international partners to address complex and evolving regional contexts. By identifying policy and programming opportunities, this snapshot seeks to inform and accelerate implementation of the WPS commitments. Strengthening gender-responsive peacebuilding is essential to realizing the vision of inclusive, sustainable peace and security for all women and girls across Europe and Central Asia.