Ahead of International Women's Day, the International Development
Committee is today launching a new inquiry into how the UK
Government is involving the needs and voices of women in its
development efforts.
The cross-party committee of MPs will explore the Women, Peace
and Security (WPS) agenda, adopted by the United Nations,
considering how this agenda is being incorporated into UK aid
programmes, amid plans for the UK's aid budget to be cut to 0.3%
of GNI by 2027.
The Committee's inquiry will explore how much progress the UK has
made in delivering its priorities for women and girls and whether
its commitments have translated into substantive outcomes. It
will also consider how it can ensure that women's voices help to
shape the policies that affect them.
Women and girls are disproportionately vulnerable to conflict,
accounting for more than 95% of all UN-verified cases of
conflict-related sexual violence in 2023. Today 600 million
women, 15% of the world's female population, live within 50
kilometres of a conflict zone.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda recognises the particular
impact that conflict can have on women and girls. It was first
adopted by the United Nations in 2000 and has since been
recognised in nine further Security Council resolutions. The UK
Government applies the WPS agenda through a National Action Plan,
the most recent iteration of which runs from 2023 to
2027.
Questions the committee could consider include if the UK is
incorporating WPS principles across programmes funded by
international aid, whether enough money is being allocated
towards the agenda, and if the voices of women from
conflict-affected or marginalised groups are being heard. It will
also consider how the Government's recently announced cuts to aid
are likely to impact women and girls.
The inquiry comes out of the Committee's ‘In Development'
programme, which asked development experts to submit ideas for
inquiries on the key issues shaping the sector.
Full terms of reference are available on the Committee's
website.
, Chair of the International
Development Committee, said:
“International Women's Day focuses our minds on threats women and
girls face around the world. Women are particularly vulnerable to
conflict and the numbers of those exposed to violence is only
getting worse.
We must be able to back up stated commitments with robust action.
Our inquiry will consider whether the UK Government is doing
enough to protect women and girls from violence and conflict
around the world, and if the Government is really doing all it
can to ensure it hears the voices of those most at risk.”
ENDS
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