Setting the Agenda: WEI Co-Launches Guide for Disability-Inclusive Peace in Asia and the Pacific

Across Asia and the Pacific, 350 million women and girls with disabilities navigate conflict, crisis, and climate instability. While they are frontline peacebuilders, community leaders, and human rights defenders, they remain systematically excluded from formal peace and security decision-making.

To break down these barriers, Women Enabled International (WEI) and the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific have officially launched a landmark publication today: the Guidance Note on Disability-Inclusive National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security in Asia and the Pacific. Released ahead of the annual UN Security Council high-level debate in New York, this first-of-its-kind guide provides a practical, policy-oriented blueprint for governments, policymakers, and civil society.

Read the full Guidance Note on Disability-Inclusive NAPs on WPS in Asia and the Pacific

Shifting from “Vulnerability” to Setting the Agenda

Historically, women with disabilities in peace policies have been viewed narrowly as victims or passive recipients of protection. Co-drafted through consultations with 26 women and gender-diverse people with disabilities, in collaboration with Women Enabled International and the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, this guide directly challenges that narrative. It grounds its framework in a human rights model of disability and the core movement principle: “Nothing about us without us”.

As WEI Executive Director Maryangel García-Ramos Guadiana stated during the launch:

“The true value of this Guidance Note is that it exists, not as a siloed document, but as a means to ensure we, as feminist disabled change-makers, are not left out of the agenda, but we are the ones who get to set the agenda.”

UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Christine Arab, added:

“National Action Plans on WPS that include everyone lead to peace that lasts.”

Grounded in Lived Experience

The publication was shaped by participatory research, drawing on focus groups and surveys with 26 grassroots leaders with diverse disabilities across the region. It addresses critical ground-level hurdles—including digital exclusion, inaccessible evacuation infrastructure, and ableism in mainstream spaces—ensuring that the voices of women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities form the foundation of the guidance.

Core Pillars of the Guidance Note

The publication urges stakeholders to align National Action Plans (NAPs) with international standards—including the CRPD, CEDAW, and UN Security Council Resolution 2475—across all four WPS pillars:

1. Participation: Reserve seats for organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs)—especially women-led OPDs—on NAP steering committees with full accessibility support.

2. Prevention: Recognize women and gender-diverse people with disabilities as active peacebuilders and integrate intersectional early-warning indicators.

3. Protection: Address unique forms of violence (such as caregiver abuse or institutionalization) and guarantee accessible shelters and evacuation procedures.

4. Relief & Recovery: Ensure transitional justice mechanisms, reparations, and post-conflict upskilling actively include women with disabilities.

The guide also features a practical Disability-Inclusive WPS NAP Checklist to help stakeholders evaluate progress at every stage of policy implementation.

Acknowledgments

This Guidance Note was made possible with the generous support of the Government of the Republic of Korea (through the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family) as part of the project “Promoting Leadership of Future Generation Peacebuilders and Change-makers in Asia and the Pacific”, and of the Australian Government under the Regional Framework Towards Peaceful, Inclusive Societies (2023–2027).

Access the Resource

📄 Download: Read the full Guidance Note on Disability-Inclusive NAPs on WPS in Asia and the Pacific (available in designed PDF).