Fact Sheet: Joint Statement by the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus on Women, Peace and Security

The Tenth ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (hereinafter referred to as "ADMM-Plus") was convened in Jakarta, Indonesia on 16 November 2023;

NOTING the increasing number of traditional and non-traditional threats against all women and girls on a day-to-day basis as well as acknowledging that women and girls are disproportionately affected by contingencies and armed conflict.

UNDERSTANDING the importance of women's meaningful participation and leadership in decision-making processes, including crisis prevention planning, negotiation, mediation, post-crisis reconstruction, civilian protection, resource deployments and other relevant measures towards sustaining peace, prosperity and security;

RECALLING the global commitments to the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (2000) and all subsequent relevant resolutions which stress the importance of women's equal, full and effective participation at all stages of peace processes given their necessary role in the prevention and resolution of conflict, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and involvement at all levels to maintain and promote peace and security in the region; as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979); Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted during the 4th World Conference on Women (1995); and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular SGD 5;

ACKNOWLEDGING ASEAN and Plus Countries' commitment, where applicable, towards promoting women's participation for a peaceful, prosperous, stable, and secure region as stated in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Elimination of Violence Against Children in ASEAN (2013); the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (2015); Joint Statement on Promoting Women, Peace and Security that was adopted by the 31st ASEAN Summit in November 2017; Joint Statement on Promoting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda that was adopted at the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum on 2 August 2019; Leaders' Statement on Women, Peace and Security that was adopted at the East Asia Summit on 14 November 2020; the ASEAN Declaration on the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and Sustainable Development Goals (2017) to ensure the realisation of a people-oriented and people-centred approach to ASEAN where all women and girls are able to reach the fullest of their potentials; as well as the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security (RPA on WPS) (2022) which aims to mobilize the whole of ASEAN to advance implementation of the WPS Agenda to promote sustainable peace, stability, and security for all citizens;

ACKNOWLEDGING the need to continue enhancing women's full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership at all stages and all levels of peace processes as stated in the Concept Paper on Enhancing Support Mechanisms for ASEAN Women Peacekeepers that was adopted at the 16th ADMM on 22 June 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia;

RECOGNISING the contribution of the ASEAN Peacekeeping Centres' Network (APCN) and the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups (EWGs) on Peacekeeping Operations (PKO), Maritime Security (MS), Military Medicine (MM), Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) as well as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in advancing the WPS Agenda.

In this regard, we hereby remain committed to:

PROMOTE women's full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership across all realms of peace and security, particularly in the prevention, management, and resolution of armed conflict, and post-conflict peace building reconstruction and rehabilitation towards a stable, peaceful and secure region;

RECOMMEND broader contribution of women in decision-making process whilst encouraging equal opportunities for women in defence sector and peace-making;

SUPPORT the utilisation of UN training modules to improve capacity and expertise of women's involvement in policy-making processes; prevention, management, and resolution of armed conflict; and post-conflict peace building reconstruction and rehabilitation;

STRENGTHEN regional endorsements and frameworks on the implementation of the WPS Agenda in order to protect, respect and promote the full realisation of women's and girls' rights in the face of ongoing and emerging threats and security challenges;

RECOMMEND the full implementation of the ASEAN RPA on WPS including through resourcing and increased mainstreaming of gender in traditional and non-traditional security issues at the regional level;

BUILD the capacity, participation and leadership of women as policymakers in all decision-making processes and at all levels, through relevant institutional processes and mechanisms under the ADMM-Plus or collaborative cooperation among ADMM-Plus countries; and,

ADVANCE, where appropriate, the WPS Agenda in the respective Work Plans of the ADMM-Plus EWGs from the 2024-2027 cycle onwards.

More Resources

ADMM-Plus Defence Ministers Commit to Multilateral Cooperation for a Peaceful and Stable Region at 10th ADMM-Plus