Consolidation and Formation of CSO Network for Advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda

The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda is vital in promoting gender equality and women’s participation in peace and security efforts across ASEAN, particularly through the active involvement of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Despite their critical role, CSOs face challenges such as limited resources, government restrictions, and under-recognition.

Mapping surveys by UN Women highlight the need for stronger collaboration and network-building among CSOs to enhance their effectiveness and ensure their sustained contribution to peacebuilding and social cohesion. However, as the third year of RPA WPS implementation approaches in 2025, the Community of Practice has yet to be established. The proposed regional CSO network seeks to fill this gap by strengthening CSOs’ coordination, visibility, and influence in shaping and supporting the WPS agenda across ASEAN.

Concurrent with UN Women’s mapping efforts on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) engaged in the WPS agenda and its intersecting issues, AMAN Indonesia—a CSO that has been at the forefront of promoting the WPS agenda in Indonesia— convened a National Consultation Workshop on CSO Network Formation on December 20–21, 2024, in Jakarta—brought together 30 CSO representatives from Indonesia’s western, central, and eastern regions. It provided a platform for discussions, expert presentations to address security threats and consolidate CSO efforts. The participants drafted key documents, including a vision statement, a five-year program framework, a SWOT analysis of CSO networks, and a governance guideline, laying the groundwork to strengthen collaboration, build collective capacity, and enhance policy influence at local, national, and international levels.

Building on the shared vision of strengthening CSO coordination, UN Women and AMAN Indonesia will collaborate to support the continued development of this emerging CSO network. Recognizing the need for broader regional engagement, the next phase will focus on regional-level consultations to expand participation, refine the network’s governance structure, and align its roadmap with diverse local contexts across Indonesia.

Objectives

The objective of the workshop is to facilitate the establishment of a regional CSO network on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), including the coordination of membership and the election of its leadership, steering committee, and secretariat.

The specific objectives of the workshop are:

1. To enhance collaboration and coordination among CSOs working on the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda by fostering partnerships, sharing information, and creating opportunities for joint action—especially in contexts with limited civic space.
2. To strengthen CSOs’ advocacy capacities to influence policies more effectively and secure greater implementation and funding for WPS efforts and other non-traditional security issues, such as radicalism, cybersecurity, human trafficking, climate change, and disasters at the regional and national levels.