International Peace and Security Summit, September 2014.

On 24 September 2014, forty-eight speakers, predominantly heads of state, unanimously adopted SCR 2178 in a summit presided over by President Barack Obama and opened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. One hundred and six members supported this resolution and agreed that they would prevent foreign terrorist fighters from joining or otherwise supporting terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF) or Al-Qaida and its various splinter groups.

Gender Analysis

Only seven speakers made gender-sensitive statements,- two of which discussed sexual violence, and five of which mentioned women as victims of the general brutality in the region. In addition, SCR 2178 encouraged member states to include local civil society groups, including those of women, in countering the violent extremist narrative and recruitment. Despite this language in the resolution, there were no statements in support of women's proactive participation in the peace process or in the prevention of violence. Clearly, despite the Council's repeated requests for the implementation of SCR 2122, the Women, Peace and Security agenda remains on the back-burner in terms of national security policy.

General Analysis

Rather than focusing on how to attain peace in the region, most speakers focused on preventing the exacerbation of violence. All members condemned the acts of violence perpetrated by the Islamic State and other groups in the region, and supported a zero tolerance policy towards providing weapons, monetary support or fighters to the aforementioned groups. However, aside from this mere acknowledgment, there was little concrete said in the summit itself towards how to alleviate this threat. As Secretary of State John Kerry said on behalf of Ms. Power, US Ambassador to the United Nations: “Resolutions alone will not be enough. Lofty rhetoric and good intentions are not enough. We are going to have to translate words into deeds.” With regards to military activities as a course of attacks, the Amir of the State of Qatar said “Past experience has shown that military action alone cannot solve such problems. We must work within a framework of political solutions that can open the door to a better future. Violence breeds violence, and we must therefore take a political path.” It is hoped that any political action taken by the Council will include implementation of the Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security.


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