Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise at the G7 summit the limited participation of women in the Afghan peace process; and what plans they have to increase the participation of women in this process and other global peace processes.

The UK is committed to promoting women's full, equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security. The UK is committed to making gender equality a cross-cutting theme in its G7 Presidency and plans to discuss Afghanistan, including the importance of an inclusive peace process, at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting. An inclusive peace settlement between Afghans is the only way of achieving lasting peace. The UK is supporting efforts to achieve this. Within Afghanistan, the UK provides technical advice to the Afghan Ministry of Peace, training for the Afghan negotiating team, and capacity building support to the Afghan women's network and civil society organisations. The UK's partnership with the Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) provides mentoring to a diverse cadre of 30 female peacebuilders and promotes peace discussions across 15 provinces. At the UN, the UK is co-host of the Group of Friends of Women in Afghanistan, and recently hosted a high-level event on 19 March to discuss how the international community can more effectively ensure Afghan women's safety, and their meaningful participation at all levels of the peace process.

The UK National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security shows how the UK aims to increase women's meaningful participation in peace processes globally. The UK continues to support the International Civil Society Action Network's Protection Framework for women peacebuilders, to ensure women's safety is not a barrier to their participation. We will also continue to support the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth network, having provided over £2 million since 2018.