On 31 October 2000, the UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) was adopted unanimously by all 15 members of the Council. At the core of the landmark resolution that launched the Women, Peace and Security agenda lies the fundamental principle that “peace is not possible without the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership of women and girls in all their diversity”. Twenty-five years later, the WPS agenda hangs by a thread.

How do you talk about peacebuilding during an ongoing war? It’s hard and challenging, but 20 Ukrainian women gathered in Lviv from 17-20 November 2025 and did just that.

Our founder and president, Ruth-Gaby Vermot, is stepping down. For decades, she has championed the visibility of the often undervalued work of women in countries affected by war and armed conflict. Her courageous vision of collectively nominating 1,000 women from around the world for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize lives on in our collaboration with women and feminist activists in our programmes and within the Feminists Connecting for Peace network. In an interview with our colleague Larissa Mina Lee, she talks about successes, setbacks and hopes.