Strengthening WPS agenda: Women’s role in peace amid nuclear and AI risks

In a recent meeting in Washington D.C., the Secretary General of the United Nations warned that nuclear weapons greatly damage humanity. He is the one who introduced the plan named as New Agenda for Peace. The main purpose of this plan is to bring peace and security across the world. The plan includes many points such as concerns about the threat to women’s rights, the danger of new technology issues rising due to climate change and lots more.  

As the 25th Anniversary of WPS (Women Peace and Security) approaches, it’s time to rethink its success and also consider the future direction. How women contribute to peacebuilding is significantly changed by the WPS agenda. 

However, it is also expected that during the next 20 years, many big changes can happen. This is especially due to Artificial Intelligence, which makes the conflicts more deadly. AI could lead to new forms of warfare and increase the digital divide, leaving women out of key decisions.

Furthermore, it is also important to make the WPS agenda more effective. For this purpose, it is important to discuss the impact of weapons on women’s rights and find a solution to this complexity. The United Nations General Assembly also emphasized that full support from women is necessary for peace efforts. UNGA also said that women’s participation is important in arms control and disarmament. 

It is crucial to know the importance of the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It is the first to find out how nuclear weapons greatly harm women’s rights. It also points out the harmful impact of radiation on women who were exposed to places like Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These radiations are the root cause of cancer cells in women. Also many pregnant women suffer a lot due to it. It includes higher risks of death, stillbirths, and birth defects in their babies.

TPNW also calls for more women to be involved in decisions about nuclear disarmament. It’s crucial for women to have a say in these discussions because they are directly affected. This includes making sure those harmed by nuclear weapons get the medical care and psychological support they need.

Even though some women were involved in the TPNW talks, they’re often left out of key decisions about nuclear weapons. This is why the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda needs to do more to include women in conversations about conflict, peace, and security.

However, the Women’s Peace and Security agenda has many deficiencies. It does not include new military technologies like AI-controlled weapons, which some say are as significant as the nuclear bomb. This is one of the big drawbacks. The agenda must be updated according to new requirements. 

It is essential to make new policies whose main focus is to find how nuclear weapons impact women’s rights. With this knowledge, it is also crucial to design new policies that address all of these issues. 

Since 2010, autonomous weapons have been a major concern. It was the time when Philip Alston raised the issue at the United Nations. He warned that AI technologies are becoming more advanced day by day. The main purpose of these technologies is to create weapons that can make their own decisions. It includes the targeting and attacking of human rights. 

The U.N. Secretary-General called this pace of AI development “warp speed,” noting that new tech often becomes weaponized before countries can properly regulate it. In 2021, Michelle Bachelet Philip Alston urged countries to create safeguards to protect human rights from AI misuse. The U.N. also passed a resolution in 2023 expressing concern over the dangers autonomous weapons pose to global security. While these technologies can help in conflict, they also have serious risks. It’s important that international laws apply to these systems to maintain peace and security, with a push towards full disarmament under strict global control.

One of the big steps forward is the upcoming General Recommendation 40 from CEDAW. It makes big changes in “equal and inclusive representation.” The main purpose is to give equal rights to women as men. Also, women make their own decisions the same as men. The growing danger of weapons emphasized thinking about how weapons are dangerous or women’s rights. So, the WPS agenda needs improvements according to complexities.