Global Online Stakeholder Consultation to inform
the 2025 UN ECOSOC Partnership Forum
Women and Children in Active and Potential Conflicts
ABSTRACT*: Thirty years after the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted, despite efforts made by the UN and civil society, progress in the 12 critical areas is far short of expectations. The area of Women and Armed Conflict is especially alarming, considering ongoing wars and the steady growth of military spending globally, which topped $2.44 trillion in 2023. The U.S. military power is the largest in the world, and projected U.S. defense spending is set to increase each year until 2034 and reach up to $1.07 trillion. In addition to seeking immediate, peaceful resolutions to current conflicts, the UN must address the impact on women and children in countries living near U.S. foreign installations, which are ostensibly there to “prevent potential wars.” There are more than 750 U.S. military bases in 80 countries worldwide, with 173,000 troops deployed in at least 159 countries. In addition to immediate threats to their security, the children born of war or affected by military installations and their mothers usually face harsh social stigma and discrimination, leading to marginalization within their community and higher risks of trafficking and abuse. These women and children must not be left behind. This brief makes two recommendations to address the peace and security of women in armed conflict: 1) more representation and leading participation of women in defense-related policy-making decisions, and 2) the need for the U.S. government to adopt a feminist foreign policy.
* ESJF Co-founder and Executive Director Sung Sohn submitted the modified version of the abstract and other responses to the Global Online Stakeholder Consultation to inform the 2025 Partnership Forum of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC Partnership Forum). The forum is scheduled for February 5, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York under the theme “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.”
Click the button below for a full brief.
ABSTRACT*: Thirty years after the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted, despite efforts made by the UN and civil society, progress in the 12 critical areas is far short of expectations. The area of Women and Armed Conflict is especially alarming, considering ongoing wars and the steady growth of military spending globally, which topped $2.44 trillion in 2023. The U.S. military power is the largest in the world, and projected U.S. defense spending is set to increase each year until 2034 and reach up to $1.07 trillion. In addition to seeking immediate, peaceful resolutions to current conflicts, the UN must address the impact on women and children in countries living near U.S. foreign installations, which are ostensibly there to “prevent potential wars.” There are more than 750 U.S. military bases in 80 countries worldwide, with 173,000 troops deployed in at least 159 countries. In addition to immediate threats to their security, the children born of war or affected by military installations and their mothers usually face harsh social stigma and discrimination, leading to marginalization within their community and higher risks of trafficking and abuse. These women and children must not be left behind. This brief makes two recommendations to address the peace and security of women in armed conflict: 1) more representation and leading participation of women in defense-related policy-making decisions, and 2) the need for the U.S. government to adopt a feminist foreign policy.
* ESJF Co-founder and Executive Director Sung Sohn submitted the modified version of the abstract and other responses to the Global Online Stakeholder Consultation to inform the 2025 Partnership Forum of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC Partnership Forum). The forum is scheduled for February 5, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York under the theme “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.”
Click the button below for a full brief.