This year marks 25 years since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), a global commitment to elevate women’s voices in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and recovery. For the Pacific, this anniversary is a moment to reflect, recalibrate and reclaim the promise of UNSCR1325 through our own vessel—our vaka—guided by oceanic wisdom, Indigenous knowledge systems and the enduring strength of our women.
In our Blue Pacific continent, peace and security are not defined by the absence of war alone. They are shaped by the tides of looming climate displacement, the legacy of colonisation, the extractive pressures on our lands and oceans, and the rise of digital threats. For Pacific women, security is relational, anchored in land, language, kinship and culture. It is about safeguarding the sacred space between people and place.
Though formal armed conflict may be rare, Pacific women have long stood at the frontlines as active agents of peace. The matriarchs of Bougainville brokered ceasefires, mediated tribal disputes and land conflicts, and organised food distribution and prayer vigils during blockades. The women of Solomon Islands nurtured reconciliation by creating safe spaces for dialogue and healing, using church networks and traditional customs to mediate and restore harmony. Mothers in Cook Islands are pillars of strength in times of crisis, mobilising through church groups, vaka committees (district communities) and women’s councils to ensure families had food, elders were cared for and cultural protocols were upheld despite restrictions.
Our women have always been peacebuilders. Yet their stories remain untold, their leadership underfunded and their wisdom too often sidelined in formal decision-making spaces.
Today, Pacific women are also asserting leadership in cyberspace. Across the region, they are defending digital sovereignty, countering cyber violence and shaping inclusive cyber norms. Women are emerging as guardians of digital peace as the region faces growing threats of misinformation, data exploitation and online abuse. Their work—whether through grassroots information-communication technology initiatives, regional cyber diplomacy or digital literacy campaigns—is redefining what peacebuilding looks like in the 21st century.
Across the region, there are signs of movement. Fiji’s National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls (2023–2028) is a landmark step. The Pacific Islands Forum is embracing gender-responsive peacebuilding. Civil society networks—such as Tonga Women in ICT and the Women in IT, Solomon Islands—are bridging traditional knowledge with digital innovation.
Yet the journey remains uneven. Many plans lack financing, monitoring or meaningful engagement with women at the grassroots level. External actors often dominate agenda-setting, leaving little room for local ownership. The WPS agenda is still too often siloed and disconnected from the lived realities of Pacific women, where climate justice, digital inclusion and economic empowerment are inseparable from peace.
As we mark this milestone, the Pacific must not only remember UNSCR1325; we must reimagine it. This is a time to reclaim its spirit, not as a checklist, but as a vaka for transformation. Let us paddle forward with purpose, guided by three priorities.
Firstly, Pacific women should lead. Efforts should invest in our local networks, honour Indigenous leadership and ensure regional and global spaces reflect our realities—not just in voice, but in vision. This includes elevating Pacific women in international security and cyberspace, where their expertise is shaping global norms from a uniquely relational and rights-based perspective.
Secondly, we should redefine security through our lens, expanding the WPS agenda to include cyber violence, climate displacement and economic precarity. Security in the Pacific is intersectional and must be understood in context: digital threats are as real as rising seas, and online safety is integral to community wellbeing.
Finally, we must match ambition with resources. Political will must be backed by flexible, long-term funding that supports locally grown WPS efforts, even those outside formal institutions. This includes resourcing Pacific-led cyber initiatives that protect women’s rights and digital futures.
The 25th anniversary of UNSCR1325 is a mirror, reflecting both our progress and the work ahead. In the Pacific, peace is not merely the absence of conflict. It is the presence of justice, dignity and self-determination.
Pacific women have always been navigators, charting paths through complexity, building coalitions and sustaining communities. Now, the WPS agenda must rise to meet their leadership. As we look to the next 25 years, let us move beyond rhetoric and toward radical inclusion. Let every policy, every plan and every peace process reflect the wisdom of our women, the strength of our cultures and the vision of our region—on land, at sea and in cyberspace.
Only then will the promise of UNSCR1325 be truly realised on our terms, in our voices and across our ocean.