Embracing Queer and Youth Perspectives in WPS: A Path to Inclusive Progress for Al

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a refreshing increase in interest and evidence-based research seeking to understand the unique ways in which queer communities around the world experience violence. As the first internationally recognized inclusive peacebuilding framework, the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (WPS) has naturally been suggested by some as the most effective entry point for the substantive engagement and inclusion of queer conceptions of peace and security. 

Despite these hopes, challenges such as transphobia, gerontocracy, and (perceived) competition over available resources (i.e., funding) muddy efforts and continue to prevent a meaningful inclusion of queer voices in WPS, positioning inclusion as a zero-sum game. However, youth leaders within WPS spaces oftentimes offer strong support for strengthening inclusion efforts and call for a more explicitly intersectional approach to the agenda’s implementation.

“Queering” the WPS Agenda offers unique insights into understanding how heteronormative and patriarchal conceptions of gender, sexuality, race, class, age, and their relation to power are used to enact violence on various communities. In doing so, it highlights those most marginalized within society, such as LBTQ women who are oftentimes forgotten by both mainstream LGBTQI+ and feminist movements. If the WPS movement is to truly achieve substantive progress towards dismantling patriarchal and heteronormative systems of oppression that maintain and perpetuate the use of violence, it must listen to new voices, whether they are queer, young, or ideally, both.

Assessing SDG Progress in 2024: Stagnation, Backsliding, and Gaps

In June 2024, UN DESA released The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, the only official UN report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While there has been limited progress in some areas of concern related to the WPS Agenda, there has been noticeable stagnation, and in some instances backsliding on key indicators assessing progress towards achieving both SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 16: Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

While the report recognizes that peace is a prerequisite for sustainable development, it continues to highlight that 2023 saw worrisome trends related to peace and security, including rises in both the frequency and intensity of active conflicts, as well as record increases in civilian casualties (72%) and forcibly displaced populations (120 million as of May 2024). Moreover, the number of women killed in conflicts increased in 2023, with women accounting for 40% of civilian deaths. This is the first time since 2015 that this number has risen, with women accounting for only 20% of civilian deaths in recent years.

I was eager to highlight specific data that would underscore the stagnation and/or backsliding on progress towards equality and inclusion of queer communities. However, the report does not include a single explicit reference of the queer community, LGBTQI+ individuals, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Nor does it include any indicator or metric related to monitoring a single right or issue uniquely related to the experiences of sexual and gender minorities. Such gaps in current monitoring efforts emphasize the need to reimagine current approaches to broader implementation of the WPS Agenda to ensure that sustainable peace can be realized for all communities.

“Queering” WPS to Achieve the SDGs for All

With current international peacebuilding frameworks effectively falling short when it comes to preventing conflict, increasing participation of historically excluded groups, and creating sustainable peace for all, leaders and practitioners are faced with a question. Should we ditch the existing framework in favor of something completely new? Or can we keep the existing framework, and reimagine how we approach future implementation? As the saying goes, we may not need to reinvent the wheel, but we do need to reconsider how we use it. In The New Agenda for Peace, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recognizes the stark challenges facing the international community. However, he suggests that instead of creating a new framework, we must build upon and strengthen existing mechanisms, including the WPS Agenda, in response to evolving challenges in global peace and security. Applying a queer theoretical framework to future implementation of the WPS agenda can in turn, be seen as a step in the right direction towards realizing this new agenda for peace, and it has the potential to yield significant benefits and make real, measurable progress towards achieving the SDGs, in particular SDG 5 and SDG 16. 

While “queering” WPS presents an opportunity to increase engagement with LGBTQI+ communities and perspectives, it should be emphasized that queering as a process presents an opportunity to uplift all marginalized groups. It does this through two key processes: (1) Approaching issues with an understanding of the value of all sources of knowledge and variations of experience. And (2) constantly pushing leaders and practitioners to question and reimagine conventional and often taken-for granted concepts and definitions.

By embracing diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as reimagining conventional and negative conceptions of “peace” and “security,” Queer Theory fosters inclusivity while also challenging patriarchal and heteronormative (mis)use of power through the reinforcement of oppressive binary definitions of gender, sexuality, race, class, and age, as well as other rigid societal concepts that maintain the status quo. Despite the possibilities that “queering” offers as an analytical framework, creating a more explicitly inclusive WPS agenda has oftentimes been championed most passionately by youth leaders, highlighting the key role that younger voices can play in spearheading innovative and inclusive approaches to peacebuilding.

Empowering Youth for Inclusive Leadership 

Listening to young people and providing them with leadership opportunities within the WPS movement is crucial for fostering meaningful engagement with queer communities. However, it is also important in and of itself. Young leaders often bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and a strong commitment to social justice, making them essential allies in the push for intersectional inclusivity. By prioritizing youth engagement, the WPS movement can tap into the diverse experiences and knowledge of younger generations, who are more likely to advocate for intersectional approaches that encompass both gender and sexual diversity. This not only strengthens the movement but also ensures that the needs of all marginalized communities are addressed, creating a more efficient and effective pathway to achieving sustainable peace for everyone. 

However, young leaders within the WPS movement have unfortunately highlighted multiple experiences of gerontocracy, as well as the fear of tokenization, only being asked to participate as orators of their lived experiences as young people, rather than as changemakers themselves with the agency and capacity to lead and meaningfully contribute to decision-making and policy discussions. Emphasizing this issue, one young leader within the WPS movement explained that “While young people can voice their opinions on their experiences, they [traditional leadership within WPS] don’t necessarily want them to talk about peace and security or make any kind of decisions because all they can speak to is their experience as a young person.” If the WPS movement is to achieve genuine progress towards its goals of promoting gender equality and empowering women in all aspects of peace and security, it must empower all women, young and queer women included.

The WPS Agenda represents a critical framework for inclusive peacebuilding, however current limitations on the inclusion of both queer and youth leadership is holding back its full potential to create sustainable peace for all communities. The following recommendations offer several examples of steps that various stakeholders such as national governments and civil society can take to strengthen queer and youth inclusion within WPS-related policymaking and advocacy efforts.

Policy Recommendations 

1. Implement Inclusive Training Programs: Develop training programs for WPS practitioners that emphasize queer theory and its application, ensuring that all stakeholders understand the importance of inclusivity in peacebuilding.
2. Enhance Representation: Actively recruit and support queer individuals and youth in leadership roles within WPS initiatives, creating more diverse and representative decision-making bodies.
3. Establish Accountability Mechanisms: Create specific metrics and accountability frameworks to assess the integration of queer perspectives in WPS policies and programs, ensuring that progress is monitored and evaluated.
4. Foster Collaborations: Encourage partnerships between WPS organizations, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, and youth-led organizations to facilitate knowledge sharing and develop targeted initiatives that address the unique challenges faced by queer communities in conflict and post-conflict settings.