UN Women strategy on counter-terrorism and preventing violent extremism

In 2015, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2242, calling for greater integration of the women, peace and security (WPS), counter-terrorism (CT), and preventing violent extremism (PVE) agendas. In response, UN Women has systematically engaged with the UN CT architecture to advance the integration of WPS commitments into the UN CT agenda and safeguard progress towards gender equality and women’s rights.

UN Women’s engagement focuses on advancing implementation of the WPS agenda within the UN CT framework, including through:

• Chairing the Gender Working Group of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact.
• Facilitating the meaningful participation of women-led civil society organizations in relevant global and regional policy processes.
• Leading prevention and peacebuilding initiatives in support of key stakeholders at the national and regional levels.
• Providing technical guidance.

This strategy sets out UN Women’s strategic priorities for advancing gender-responsive CT and PVE, guided by international law and aligned with its WPS Programmatic Framework/GEA and Strategic Plan 2026–2029. It articulates UN Women’s key assumptions, theoretical framework, and implementation measures in support of its strategic objectives. The strategy serves as both a programmatic guidance and positioning document, clarifying UN Women’s comparative advantage and distinctive contribution to the CT/PVE agenda, and its role as an integral partner within the UN system in advancing approaches that uphold gender equality, women’s rights, and the broader WPS agenda.