USA: USAID Implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched its plan for implementing the U.S National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), directing implementation of the United States' first-ever National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.

USAID developed the plan to specify how the Agency will implement the NAP. In doing so, USAID will seek to better engage, empower, and ensure the protection of women and girls in countries affected by or emerging from conflict or crisis, those experiencing high levels of insecurity at national or sub-national levels, those recovering from a natural disaster, or those experiencing a significant political transition. USAID's Implementation Plan and the NAP are part of a suite of policies and strategies that guide the U.S. Government and USAID to pursue more effectively and strategically gender equality, women's empowerment, and the protection of vulnerable populations.

The actions laid out in USAID's Implementation Plan [PDF] fall within the five pillars of the NAP: 1) National Integration and Institutionalization; 2) Participation in Peace Processes and Decision-making; 3) Protection from Violence; 4) Conflict Prevention; and 5) Access to Relief and Recovery. In each area, the Implementation Plan highlights ongoing work as well as new actions that will be undertaken to incorporate women, peace, and security objectives into our work.

USAID will finance the Implementation Plan by systematically integrating women, peace, and security into our broader strategy development and budget planning processes and by making targeted investments in activities that respond to new and catalytic opportunities on the ground. In this spirit, USAID is pleased to announce a new investment of over $1.5 million to support innovative programs advancing women, peace, and security objectives in Yemen, Nepal, and the Philippines. These programs respond to areas of need identified during the development of the Implementation Plan and build on work already underway in support of women's participation in peace processes and political transitions.

In the Philippines, USAID will work in the Mindanao region to:

1. Support development of women's peace tables that will give local women a means of connecting with and feeding into formal peace talks.
   
2. Provide skills training in the areas of peacebuilding, negotiations, and conflict analysis and management for women participants in peace panels, and document and share information on their experiences as peace negotiators.
   
3. Support the rollout of the Philippines' National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security via information campaigns with local governments and civil society.

In Nepal, USAID will support of Nepal's peace process and the country's demonstrated commitment to women, peace, and security objectives by:

1. Support a senior gender advisor at the Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF), to help institutionalize gender within this joint government-donor funding mechanism and ensure that attention to gender is incorporated into the projects it carries out, particularly those focused on integration and rehabilitation of former combatants.
   
2. Training trainers within the Women and Children Service Directorate (WCSD), the police unit tasked with improving community based policing and investigating trafficking in persons as well as crimes against women, minorities, and children. The U.S. Department of Justice implemented program will improve skills of women and minority police officers that compose the unit.

In Yemen, USAID will amplify its support for women's participation in the country's political transition by:

1. Working with men and women in political parties to improve parties' outreach to and engagement of women, and help them to develop platforms more responsive to women's interests.
   
2. Collaborating with Yemeni civil society organizations to ensure that outreach and education around the voter registration process and get out the vote efforts reach women and encourage their participation.
   
3. Ensuring female candidates and their campaign teams have the technical skills they need to participate meaningfully in future elections.

This Implementation Plan is just one piece of USAID's broader effort to empower vulnerable populations, promote gender equality and women's empowerment, and strengthen the ability of entire communities to cope with adversity, recover from crises, and pursue development progress.