December 17, 2025, marks a significant milestone for Thailand with the launch of its first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS NAP) for 2025–2027. This moment is long overdue, yet deeply timely. In a region and a world facing intersecting crises, i.e., protracted conflicts, political polarization, climate-related disasters, and widening social inequalities, the WPS NAP provides Thailand with a structured, and accountable framework to rethink peace and security through a gender lens. At its core, the WPS NAP is not merely a policy document. It is a mechanism that encourages duty-bearers and stakeholders to pause, reflect, and critically assess how peace and security initiatives are designed, implemented, and evaluated. It calls for stronger gender sensitivity, deeper inclusivity, and more transparent accountability, moving beyond rhetoric toward practice.
A Vision Grounded in Gender Equality and Human Security
The vision of Thailand’s WPS NAP is clear and ambitious: gender equality is a key driving force in preventing and resolving conflict and in addressing threats to human security, ultimately leading to sustainable peace and development. This vision reframes peace not as the absence of violence, but as a condition rooted in dignity, rights, participation, and justice. Notably, the NAP recognizes that women are not only affected by conflict and insecurity; they are also agents of change. Their experiences, leadership, and knowledge, whether in formal institutions or informal community spaces, are essential to building lasting peace.
The Four Pillars: Translating Global Commitments into National Action
Thailand’s WPS NAP is structured around four interlinked pillars, each with concrete indicators to guide implementation and monitoring.
Pillar 1: Participation strengthens women’s role in peace and security at all levels. This includes increasing women’s representation in security-related institutions, peace mechanisms, and decision-making spaces. It also means supporting women’s leadership in peacebuilding initiatives. Beyond numbers, the emphasis is on participation that is influential, recognized, and sustained.
Pillar 2: Protection addresses the safety and rights of women and girls in situations of conflict and insecurity. The NAP prioritizes protection from gender-based violence, including sexual violence, as well as safeguarding women’s rights when they engage in peace processes or social justice advocacy. It also stresses collaboration between state agencies and civil society to ensure that protection mechanisms are accessible, trusted, and effective.
Pillar 3: Prevention values gender perspectives in early warning systems, security policies, and conflict prevention strategies. This pillar recognizes women’s roles in identifying risks, preventing escalation, and building community resilience. It also underscores the need to prevent gender-based violence and structural inequalities that can fuel insecurity over time.
Pillar 4: Relief and Recovery ensures women, particularly those in vulnerable situations, can access justice, services, and recovery after conflict or crisis. This means participating in post-conflict planning, relying on justice mechanisms, and working in community-led recovery efforts that address both immediate needs and long-term inequalities.
Together, these pillars move the WPS agenda from principle to action , offering a clear roadmap for comprehensive prevention, response, and transformation.
Guiding Principles: How the NAP Will Be Implemented
Equally important are the principles that guide the implementation of the WPS NAP. First, the NAP is firmly grounded in gender equality. This means addressing power relations, challenging discrimination, and ensuring that policies do not reinforce gender stereotypes or exclusions. Gender equality is treated not as a standalone issue, but as integral to peace and security. Second, the NAP adopts a human rights–based approach. Peace and security efforts must support dignity, accountability, participation, and non-discrimination. This principle strengthens trust between institutions and communities, particularly in contexts where security measures have historically generated fear or exclusion. Third, the NAP emphasizes responding to diverse needs. Women are not a homogeneous group. Their experiences are shaped by age, ethnicity, religion, disability, geography, and socio-economic status. A one-size-fits-all approach is insufficient; inclusive peace requires policies and budgets that recognize and respond to this diversity.
Expected Impacts: From Recognition to Transformation
The NAP’s impacts go beyond institutional reform. At the community level, it seeks to increase recognition of women’s roles and capacities in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and resilience. Women’s contributions, often invisible or undervalued, are to be acknowledged, supported, and scaled up. At the same time, the NAP aims to increase women’s participation in formal decision-making spaces related to peace and security. When women are meaningfully involved in policy making, outcomes are more inclusive, legitimate, and sustainable. This shift contributes directly to human security, social cohesion, and long-term stability.
A Stock-Taking Exercise and a Platform for Collaboration
At this stage, the WPS NAP also serves as a stock-taking exercise. It recognizes the significant efforts already undertaken by diverse actors, state institutions, civil society organizations, women’s networks, and local communities, many of whom have been advancing WPS principles long before the NAP existed. Acknowledging these contributions is essential for building trust and avoiding duplication. Looking ahead, the real promise of the NAP lies in its potential to foster stronger collaboration. By encouraging joint planning, shared indicators, and cross-sectoral dialogue, the NAP can help dismantle siloed approaches to peace and security. Joined-up work across ministries, between the state and civil society, and from the local to the national level is crucial for addressing complex, interconnected challenges.
Centering Women and Youth in Thailand’s WPS Future
Thailand already has an active and diverse WPS network comprising civil society organizations and women’s groups from across the country. This provides a strong foundation for implementation and monitoring of the NAP. Moving forward, it is vital that women’s groups and youth organizations are not only consulted, but meaningfully engaged and empowered. Their voices, creativity, and lived experiences are indispensable to shaping peace and security efforts that are relevant and transformative. The launch of Thailand’s first WPS National Action Plan is a starting point —an invitation to reflect, collaborate, and act collectively. Whether the NAP becomes a living framework for change will depend on sustained political will, adequate resources, and the continued engagement of all those committed to peace grounded in equality, rights, and human security.
Keywords: women, peace, security, Thailand, gender equality, peace-building, empowerment
Duanghathai Buranajaroenkij
Duanghathai Buranajaroenkij is an assistant professor at the Gender and Development Studies (GDS) program at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
Naruedee Janthasing
Programme Analyst, Women, Peace and Security Thailand Lead
UN Women Thailand
