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IPI and the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) cohosted an interactive event on “The Ghosts of 1325: Past, Present, Future” followed by a reception, on October 29th.
Bringing together women peacebuilders, civil society leaders, member states, UN agencies, and media, this event was hosted in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nation, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), the PAIMAN Alumni Foundation, the Association for War Affected Women (AWAW), the Center for Civil Society and Democracy (CCSD), the Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN), and Wo=Men Dutch Gender Platform.
Speakers invoked “The Ghosts of 1325”—carrying the voices of the past, present, and future to confront the Security Council with its unfilled promises. The event provided an opportunity for reflecting on, reckoning with, and renewing collective commitment to the vision of Resolution 1325.
On October 31, 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security (WPS)—the first resolution to recognize women’s leadership and participation as critical to peace and security. From the outset, civil society has driven the WPS agenda, setting its vision, pushing governments to act, and holding them accountable while leading implementation on the ground.
Twenty-five years later, despite normative progress, women’s inclusion in peace processes remains the exception rather than the rule. Implementation has too often lagged behind rhetoric, and the WPS agenda risks being sidelined in transactional geopolitics. An agenda rooted in the prevention of war and humanization of security stands in contrast to current trends of rising violence and militarization. Marking the 25th anniversary offers an opportunity not merely to commemorate, but to provoke urgent reflection: What if 1325 were fully realized? What if it fades into irrelevance?
Speakers:
Phoebe Donnelly, Senior Fellow and Head of Women, Peace, and Security, International Peace Institute
Andreas Løvold, Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations
Paul Shrubsole, Acting WPS Focal Point, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations
Sanam Anderlini, Founder and CEO, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Visaka Dharmadasa, Founder and Chair, Association of War Affected Women
Cerue Garlo, Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership
Mossarat Qadeem, Founder and President PAIMAN Alumni Trust
Helena Gronberg, Program Director, ICAN
France Bognon, Managing Director and Co-CEO, ICAN
Rajaa Altalli, Co-Founder, Center for Civil Society and Democracy
Adam Lupel, Executive Director, Coalition for the UN We Need
Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Former Canadian Senator representing British Columbia
Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Founder of Global Movement for the Culture of Peace
The post The Ghosts of 1325: Past, Present, Future appeared first on International Peace Institute.
With just five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the global financing gap has widened to $4.3 trillion per year. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), held in Sevilla in July 2025, sought to renew multilateral consensus around mobilizing resources for sustainable development.
This issue brief by David Mulet analyzes the Compromiso de Sevilla—the conference’s negotiated outcome—and the Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA), a voluntary registry of 130 coalitions and initiatives. It highlights how new mechanisms on sovereign debt, blended finance, and climate-linked instruments are translating commitments into action.
At the same time, the brief underscores persistent gaps in systemic reform, including of the international debt architecture, international tax cooperation, the large-scale reallocation of special drawing rights, governance of the multilateral development banks, and climate finance. It argues that closing the global financing gap requires bridging intergovernmental commitments with voluntary innovation to ensure that experimentation accumulates into structural change.
The post The Financing for Development Agenda after Sevilla: Aligning Commitments and Actions appeared first on International Peace Institute.
A man farms in rural Ghana. Credit: Courtesy of Land Rights Defenders Inc.
By Nana Kwesi Osei Bonsu
COLUMBUS Ohio, USA , Oct 28 2025 (IPS)
I had hoped to attend this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) in person, to stand alongside fellow Indigenous leaders and advocate for the rights of our communities.
However, due to my ongoing political asylum proceedings before the U.S. immigration court, it is not advisable for me to leave the United States until a final determination is made. While I may not be there physically, my voice—and the voices of those I represent—remains firmly present in this dialogue.
The founding of Land Rights Defenders Inc. was born from a deep conviction: that Indigenous peoples, despite being the most effective stewards of biodiversity, are too often excluded from the decisions that shape our lands and futures.
Our territories hold over 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity—not because of external interventions, but because of centuries of careful stewardship rooted in respect, reciprocity, and resilience.
We do not protect the land because it is a resource. We protect it because it is sacred.
Land Rights Defenders Inc. Founder Nana Kwese Osei Bonsu. Courtesy: Land Rights Defenders Inc.
Land Rights Are Climate Rights
The evidence is clear: where Indigenous communities have secure land tenure, deforestation rates drop, biodiversity thrives, and carbon is stored more effectively. In the Amazon and across Africa, Indigenous-managed lands outperform even state-protected areas in preserving forest cover and absorbing carbon.
Yet, these lands are under constant threat—from extractive industries, infrastructure projects, and even misguided conservation efforts. Too often, climate solutions are imposed without consent, displacing people in the name of progress.
As I’ve said before, “For Indigenous communities, land rights are not just a legal issue but the very foundation of our cultures, livelihoods, and futures.”
A Story of Hope and Impact
One of the most significant victories we’ve achieved at Land Rights Defenders Inc. was our successful intervention in the Benimasi-Boadi Indigenous Community Conserved Area in Ghana. This ancestral land, stewarded by the Huahi Achama Tutuwaa Royal Family—descendants of King Osei Tutu I—was under threat from unauthorized exploitation and institutional land grabs.
This case is especially personal to me. The Benimasi-Boadi community is part of my ancestral lineage, and witnessing the threats to its sacred lands was one of the driving forces behind my decision to found Land Rights Defenders Inc.
We submitted spatial data and a formal case study to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the UNEP-WCMC, advocating for the enforcement of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). This action helped establish international recognition of the community’s rights and halted further encroachment.
We also supported the community in appealing a biased ruling influenced by the Kumasi Traditional Council and filed a Special Procedure complaint to the UN Human Rights Council, seeking redress for victims of human rights violations by local authorities and police forces.
This wasn’t just a legal win—it was a cultural and spiritual victory. It affirmed the community’s right to protect its sacred heritage and inspired broader advocacy for the enforcement of Ghana’s Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), which we continue to champion today.
Climate Finance Must Reach the Ground
Each year, billions are pledged for climate action, but less than 1 percent reaches Indigenous-led initiatives. This is not just unjust—it’s inefficient. Indigenous peoples have proven time and again that we know how to protect our environments. What we need is direct support, not intermediaries.
Climate finance must be restructured to empower Indigenous communities as decision-makers. We need flexible funding that respects our governance systems and supports our solutions.
From Consultation to Consent
I’ve seen how governments and corporations “consult” Indigenous communities after decisions have already been made. This practice violates the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), which is enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We must move beyond symbolic inclusion. Indigenous communities must have the power to say no—to projects that threaten our lands, cultures, and futures.
Indigenous Knowledge Is Climate Wisdom
Our knowledge systems are not relics of the past—they are blueprints for the future. From controlled burns in Australia to water harvesting in the Andes, Indigenous practices offer time-tested strategies for climate adaptation and resilience.
As Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons of the Ojibwe people said at COP28, “We must be good caretakers and not bad landlords. It’s not just Indigenous Peoples; it’s all human beings. It’s all plant life, it’s all water bodies, our sky relatives. We are all related.”
We must protect Indigenous knowledge from misappropriation and ensure that partnerships are built on mutual respect. Our science is equal to Western science, and our voices must be heard.
A Call to Action
To ensure climate justice is more than a slogan, I urge COP30 negotiators, governments, and civil society to take the following steps:
● Protect Indigenous knowledge systems through ethical and equitable partnerships.
As I reflect on my journey—from fleeing persecution in Ghana to building a global movement for Indigenous land rights—I am reminded that resilience is not born from comfort, but from conviction. While our current work is focused on the Benimasi-Boadi community due to limited resources, it is our hope to expand this mission to other communities as we work to secure sustainable funding.
Though I may not be present at COP in person, I am there in spirit—with the elders who taught me to listen to the land, the youth who carry our legacy forward, and the global allies who believe that justice must begin with those who have protected the Earth the longest.
Let this be the COP where Indigenous voices are not just heard—but heeded.
IPS UN Bureau
Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
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