Localizing the women, peace and security agenda through community-based mechanisms in Thailand

Adopted in 2000, UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 recognizes women’s critical role in preventing and resolving conflicts, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict recovery, and calls for their equal participation and leadership in such efforts. UN Women has been advancing the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda in Thailand for more than a decade, with its work initially rooted in the Southern Border Provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. In these areas, women’s groups, women-led civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a pivotal role in empowering women, fostering social cohesion, and creating safe and inclusive spaces where women can learn, exchange experiences, strengthen their capacities and raise their voices on issues affecting their communities. These community-based initiatives have demonstrated the vital contribution of local women leaders and organizations in promoting peace, security, resilience and sustainable development.

Through UN Women’s long-standing partnership with national and local stakeholders – particularly the Department of Women’s Affairs and Family Development (DWF) under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre – Thailand adopted the Measure and Guideline on Women, Peace and Security in 2017, marking its first policy dedicated to advancing the WPS agenda. Building on this foundation, in December 2025, Thailand endorsed its first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS NAP).

To ensure women’s meaningful participation and the integration of community perspectives into national policymaking, UN Women and the DWF have supported capacity-building, consultations and multi-stakeholder dialogues. These efforts have contributed to establishing community-based WPS mechanisms that serve as platforms for local engagement, facilitate the localization of the WPS agenda, strengthen community ownership, and elevate women’s voices and priorities to inform policy and decision-making at local and national levels.

• WPS Networks – Multi-stakeholder platforms comprised of CSOs, NGOs, women’s groups, youth groups, activists, academics and community leaders that work together to strengthen advocacy, dialogue, knowledge-exchange and collective action to advance and localize the WPS agenda. Four regional WPS Networks have been established across Thailand, including in: the Southern Border Provinces, coordinated by CIVIC Women; the Northern Border Provinces, coordinated by the Centre for Girls Foundation; the North-Eastern Border Provinces, coordinated by the NET Foundation; and the Eastern Border Provinces, coordinated by the Sustainable Development Foundation.
• WPS Network Focal Points/Committee– The committee serves as a coordination mechanism composed of representatives from selected active and influential CSOs that have demonstrated strong commitment and contributions to advancing the WPS agenda at community level, serving as focal points for the WPS Networks. The committee facilitates communication, coordination and collaboration among network members and stakeholders. It helps link grass-roots perspectives and priorities with national WPS mechanisms, while supporting the implementation, monitoring and advancement of local WPS-related initiatives. A WPS Network Committee was established in 2025. Its 12 members include the: Coordination Centre for Children and Women, Yala; Civic Women, Pattani; Southern Border Civil Society Council, Pattani; Fah Sai Youth Network Center, Yala; Women’s Association for Peace (We Peace), Yala; Centre for Girls Foundation, Chiang Rai; NET Foundation, Surin; Bala Foundation, Chiang Rai; Chiang Rai Ethnic Minority Council; Sustainable Development Foundation, Bangkok and Trat; Foundation of Child Understanding, Chiang Mai; and Help Without Frontiers, Tak.
• Women’s Empowerment and Learning Centres– Community-based, accessible, inclusive and safe spaces for WPS Networks, women leaders, youth and community members to network, learn and exchange. The centres promote women’s leadership, capacity-development, knowledge-exchange, peer learning, experience-sharing and community resilience while supporting women’s economic empowerment through skills-development, entrepreneurship, livelihood opportunities, market access and business networking. To date, 11 Women’s Empowerment and Learning Centres have been established across eight border provinces, including in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak, Surin and Trat.

While these three components of community-based WPS mechanisms have laid an important foundation for advancing the WPS agenda in Thailand, they remain evolving initiatives that require continued investment, strengthening and institutional support. Sustained efforts are needed to enhance their capacity, expand their reach, and ensure that they serve as meaningful and inclusive platforms through which women from diverse backgrounds can participate in peace and security promotion and contribute to decision-making at all levels.

As Thailand begins implementing its first WPS NAP (2025–2027), these community-based mechanisms will play a critical role in bridging national policies with local realities. By amplifying women’s voices, fostering leadership, and creating channels for dialogue between communities and policymakers, they can help keep the WPS NAP responsive to the needs and priorities of women.

Moving forward, strengthening partnerships among government institutions, CSOs, women-led groups, academia and local communities will be essential to sustaining these mechanisms and advancing the WPS agenda. Investing in community ownership and women’s leadership is not only fundamental to the successful implementation of the WPS NAP, but also to building more peaceful, inclusive and resilient communities across Thailand.