Outcome ECA_D_1.2

Women and girls fully and equally participate in leadership and decision-making processes and benefit from gender-responsive governance.

I n 2024, women and girls across the ECA region strengthened their participation in leadership and decision-making processes and benefited from gender-responsive governance through UN Women ECARO’s targeted interventions and initiatives. 811 women in the region are more prepared for greater leadership roles and to run for elections through UN Women Campaign and Leadership Curriculum implementation in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine, , of which dozens have been elected so far. Policymakers, the media, and civil society in Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, as well as in the wider region have better access to evidence-based research for policy making to address violence against women in politics (VAWP) through the launch of new qualitative and quantitative research on the prevalence of VAWP. Lawyers and policy advocates have increased skills to incorporate gender and political participation into Constitutional reform processes, including in the climate of gender pushbacks, through UN Women training on Constitutions and Gender. Women and youth peace activists, along with women-led organizations (WLOs), have significantly influenced the WPS agenda in the region. Through dialogues, they impacted frameworks like the Pact of the Future and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review. In Chisinau , Moldova, 60 women leaders and WLO representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine shared best practices on implementing the WPS Agenda and agreed on a common vision for women's leadership in creating a more equitable and peaceful future, focusing on human security and gender equality. The first day of the WPS Forum in Kyrgyzstan provided as a platform for women activists and peacebuilders, including 39 Afghan women activists, for discussing regional security and cooperation on WPS. Additionally, 25 activists at the WPS Expert Consultation in Kazakhstan developed a justification for the WPS Regional Action Plan for Central Asia, to be finalized in 2025. The South Caucasus Women’s Think Tank, supported by ECARO, contributed to peace efforts by developing a unified approach to address common concerns in negotiations. ECARO also integrated WPS and Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agendas, with youth activists contributing to COP29 discussions on gender-responsive climate security and peace. These efforts highlight the growing influence of women and youth in regional and global peacebuilding. Through ECARO’ s support , WLOs have gained critical opportunities to enhance their roles in disaster response, particularly considering the adoption of the Sendai Platform Gender Action Plan (GAP) in March 2024. This laid the foundation for a Community of Practice (CoP) dedicated to promoting women’s leadership in DRR and fostering collaboration for inclusive disaster management. Looking ahead to 2025, UN Women plans to institutionalize its engagement with WLOs through the CoP, further supporting women’s leadership and gender-responsive disaster management strategies. Expert consultations convened by ECARO, gathered over 50 representatives from WLOs and women’s rights organizations in Armenia, and resulted in actionable proposals addressing key priorities, gaps, and resource needs, which informed strategic discussions on the transition process and a gender-responsive Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. These proposals are intended to guide national and international stakeholders, including the Armenian government and the international community. 17 representatives from women’s and LGBTQIA-led organizations in Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia gained a deeper understanding of resource mobilization strategies and funding opportunities for gender equality initiatives in the Ukraine refugee response. It also facilitated valuable knowledge-sharing between WLO and women’s rights organizations, fostering sustainable collaborations and strengthening CSO capacity in the region. The Theory of Change (ToC) remains valid and applicable. In the final year of the SN implementation, UN Women will prioritize intensifying efforts to advance a progress on women’s participation and leadership, particularly in response to the ongoing war and multiple crises.

Women and girls fully and equally participate in leadership and decision-making processes and benefit from gender-responsive governance.

The outcome was not fully achieved, but important progress has been made. Women’s Political Participation (WPP): S ome progress has been made towards women and girls fully and equally participating in leadership and decision-making processes and benefiting from gender-responsive governance. Women in the region are more prepared for greater leadership roles and to run for election through the UN Women Campaign and Leadership Curriculum implementation in Türkiye and Kazakhstan . To support this, the RO provided high-level advocacy and technical support in Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and in regional fora where Member States, parliamentarians, civil society, practitioners, and academia convened to advance implementation of the normative framework on women’s political participation . ECARO also collaborated with regional partners, including the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), on contributions to knowledge products, regional events, and assistance for national partners to push for implementation of commitments on women’s leadership and gender responsive governance. M ore remains to be done to ensure that women can fully participate in decision making processes in ECA. Structural barriers, including threats and violence against women in politics hamper equal representation and participation of women in decision making. The proportion of women still falls well below parity. Harmful social norms still tightly restrict women’s engagement in the public sphere and persist in society. Women from marginalized groups and young people still need to be fully included in decision-making processes. Women Peace and Security (WPS): S ignificant progress has made in the region. Georgia and Kyrgyzstan adopted National Action Plans (NAPS) on 1325, Ukraine updated its NAP, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan drafted NAPs for the first time. ECARO provided support to offices and partners to share experiences and best practices. Over 450 women peacebuilders, mediators, activists, women leaders, women’s organizations, and diverse stakeholders enhanced their awareness of the WPS-HA agenda dialogues on WPS at the regional and global levels. The dialogues contributed to some new commitments, including through the COMPACT on Women Peace and Security in Humanitarian Action (WPD-HA). Advocates seeking to advance implementation of the WPS agenda have access to 16 knowledge products. UN Peace and Development Advisors have access to regional conflict and gender tools. UN Women contributed to these results through facilitation of dialogues and meetings and bringing its expertise and experience as well as providing a multi-stakeholders platform allowing a meaningful contribution by all respective partners. Based on the progress made to date, the theory of change (ToC) remains valid and applicable. ECA will intensify its efforts due to the ongoing war and multiple crisis to advance both WPS and WPP in the region.

Women and girls fully and equally participate in leadership and decision-making processes and benefit from gender-responsive governance.

In 2025, UN Women ECARO contributed to strengthened participation of women and girls in leadership and decision-making processes and to more gender-responsive governance across the region despite shrinking civic space and normative pushback. At the outcome level, women leaders, parliamentarians, civil society actors and youth increased their influence over political, legislative and peace and security decision-making, while institutions enhanced their capacity to uphold inclusive, accountable governance. These results supported more representative decision-making structures and strengthened women’s ability to shape policies affecting their rights, security and participation across the region. Women’s political leadership and influence over legal and policy processes increased through strengthened collective action, intergenerational alliances and rights-based advocacy. Women leaders were better positioned to counter normative regressions, influence gender equality frameworks and advance gender-equal leadership in national contexts. This outcome was enabled through the first Regional Convening on Women’s Political Leadership hosted by ECARO under the EU-funded WYDE Women’s Leadership initiative, which brought together 25 women leaders and activists from across ECA, including Members of Parliament, civil society leaders and young activists, for intergenerational dialogue, coalition-building and strategic exchange anchored in the Beijing Platform for Action . Parliamentary accountability for advancing gender equality and women’s rights was strengthened by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s review of progress on BPfA implementation on gender equality. This outcome was supported through ECARO’s partnership with OSCE/ODIHR which strengthened the practical understanding of gender equality standards, parliamentary oversight and best practices among 65 parliamentarians and experts by peer learning and technical engagement. Regional action on gender-responsive parliaments was further reinforced through high-level dialogue and peer exchange at the Helsinki event, contributing to the endorsement of the Helsinki Pledges on Gender-sensitive Parliaments , strengthening accountability within parliamentary decision-making structures. Women and young people were able to influence regional peace and security priorities and policy directions, enabled through coordinated engagement via the WPS Multistakeholder Platform Task Force for Central Asia and the South Caucasus, which sustained dialogue and policy input across eight countries and contributed directly to the development of first Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security for Central Asia . Through 11 structured consultations and an open-source digital platform, 251 civil society actors from five countries including approximately 120 youth leaders, representing 50 per cent youth participation actively shaped regional priorities, reinforcing intergenerational participation, transparency and collaborative governance, with support from regional women’s and peacebuilding networks. Thanks to the partnership with UNDPPA and UNDP, the CSO–UN Eastern Europe Sub-Regional Dialogue on Peacebuilding was convened by ECARO in a frame of the Denmark-funded regional programme in Moldova, in September, bringing together 43 civil society representatives from six countries to strengthen collaboration with the UN and adapt peacebuilding approaches to evolving global challenges. The outcome of this sub-regional dialogue informed and fed directly into the global CSO–UN Dialogue in Geneva, ensuring that regional perspectives contributed to shaping discussions at the global lev el. Participation of marginalized women in regional decision-making processes improved, contributing to more inclusive and representative peace and security governance. This outcome was supported through UN Women ECARO-facilitated participation of Afghan women refugees in Central Asia in WPS-related dialogues, including the Central Asia WPS Forum on 25 November 2025 attended by 10 Afghan women where barriers and cross-border restrictions affecting Afghan women were documented and informed policy engagement and programme design. In parallel, cross-border women-led dialogue between Armenia and Türkiye was supported through the Dialogue Beyond Borders Group , which is an expandable women’s platform bringing together 7 women from each side to influenc e t he two countries’ normalization processes through inclusive, feminist peacebuilding. In 2025 the Gro up established inclusive governance arrangements, shared ownership mechanisms and code of conduct that laid the foundation for sustained women-led peacebuilding dialogue in 2026. By facilitating safe dialogue spaces, promoting joint learning, fostering mentorship, organizing field visits, and using feminist storytelling to build shared understanding and collective memory, the group aims to strengthen trust, challenges divisive narratives, and cultivates relationships that can positively shape and humanize broader normalization efforts between the two countries.

Women and girls fully and equally participate in leadership and decision-making processes and benefit from gender-responsive governance.

UN Women ECARO made important progress towards achieving this Outcome. Under WPP, progress has been made towards women and girls fully and equally participating in leadership and decision-making processes and benefiting from gender-responsive governance; 657 women in the region are more prepared for greater leadership roles and to run for elections through UN Women Campaign and Leadership Curriculum implementation in Moldova, Türkiye, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which 77 have been elected thus far. Policymakers, the media, and civil society in Georgia, Türkiye, Albania, as well as in the wider region better understand the how to end violence against women in politics (VAWP) through UN Women training on media and violence against women in elections. In six countries from the region was observed, more use of gender statistics, analysis, and policy relevant research for better policies toward addressing human and women rights. Thuse, the People’s Advocate, Parliament (Albania) are more aware about gender data on human rights violations, including those in detention centers, due to the annual report . Public Authorities from Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, North Macedonia producing and made available more gender indicators , publications , surveys and data portals on diverse gender statistics and by applying different ways of reaching public at large ( ex. Gender Data Bootcamp ). Women entrepreneurs (1,047) and 75 investors shared their opportunities discussed potential long-term partnership during, and hosting over 15,308 participants within 10 satellite events across the ECA region, following EXPO 2023 hosted by UN Women in Istanbul. ECARO partner with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Yildiz Holding and Mary Kay Inc through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator. Buyers spent $1 million on gender-sensitive procurement from agricultural entrepreneurs, while investors spent 150,000 dollars on women's entrepreneurship and leadership training and 4.3 million dollars were invested in for 53 newly established women’s businesses. This resulted from a pilot program Gender Responsive Procurement and Investment launched by Yildiz Holding with UN Women, through which companies and the public better consider gender while purchasing services and goods. The program is one of the first and most comprehensive Gender Responsive Procurement and Investment programs worldwide and was awarded the "Best Global CSR Programme" by Deloitte in Geneva. WPS: UN Women continued to support women-led organizations (WLOs), peace activists and women’s human rights defenders (WHRDs) to have access and contribute to conflict prevention and peace building. It resulted to agreement on a vision for WPS multi-stakeholders platform for Central Asia and South Caucus where WLOs and WHRDs have an equal position, role and a safe space to share experience, raise voice and contribute to policy development. More specifically, the platform is expected to strengthen coordination on WPS and humanitarian assistance across all existing mechanisms, systems, networks, partnerships and capabilities; promote the development and application of the monitoring, reporting and financing mechanisms on the implementation of WPS commitments; ensure links with other agendas, including the youth, peace, and security agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its promise of inclusive and peaceful societies based on principles of gender equality. In November UN Women supported to set-up a Task Force including 18 WLOs’ representatives to follow up on the agreed actions to set up the WPS multistakeholder platform. UN Women continued its advocacy to bring more partners to Compact WPS-HA platform together with OSCE and Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. Jointly supported discussion on the key challenges faced by activists, their priorities and recommendations on how international and regional organizations can continue supporting civil society organizations in times of complex conflicts and crises, had provided better understanding how to operationalize the Compact’s agenda and actions in the region. UN Women specifically focused its interventions on needs to securing women’s civil society activism and making inclusion modalities more responsive to the specific context where people and their needs are. The Compact on WPS-HA will be further used by UN Women as a platform to bring more stakeholders together to find solutions for WPS-HA gaps. The Afghan women shared their position and requests with the international development actors, at one event hosted in Central Asia, which included: support for Afghan women presence in various processes and platforms of a regional nature in their respective host countries; to facilitate the exchange of information between countries on what governments and international organizations are doing to support women in Afghanistan; promote the creation of a new "human rights + security" narrative to protect women and human rights in Afghanistan; support the socio-economic initiatives of Afghan women in Central Asian countries, and joint initiatives with women in the region; and involve Afghan women as equal participants in dialogues and processes regarding the future of Afghanistan. T he ToC remains valid and applicable. ECA will intensify its efforts due to the ongoing war and multiple crisis to advance both WPS and WPP in the region