Australia’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security will expire mid-2019. The plan is a whole of government policy, coordinated by the Office for Women, to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and related resolutions under the Women, Peace and Security agenda. The plan sets out Australia’s actions to integrate a gender perspective into peace and security efforts; protect women’s and girls’ human rights; and promote their participation in conflict prevention, management and resolution.

National action plans are globally recognised as the best mechanism to guide government effort to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

To support the development of the second National Action Plan, the Australian Government is seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders, both through national roundtables and through the online consultation website. The purpose of this paper is to prompt discussion and raise issues for consideration. It is not intended to be an exhaustive set of issues or questions.

In addition to the roundtables and online consultation process, the Australian Government will review findings from the 2015 Independent Interim Review of the Australian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, the forthcoming Final Review (due later this year), and the Australian Civil Society Coalition on Women, Peace and Security Annual Reports, to inform the development of the second National Action Plan.

Your consideration of this discussion paper and your contributions are greatly appreciated.