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WPS Resolution Analysis

UN Security Council Resolution 2467 on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

UNSCR 2467 pushed a genuinely survivor-centred approach to conflict-related sexual violence — but became the WPS agenda's first non-unanimous resolution after the US threatened a veto unless sexual and reproductive health language was removed.

Adopted23 Apr 2019Vote13-0 (2 abstentions: Russia, China)Main themeCRSV — Survivor-CentredKey instrumentResolutionBuilds onUNSCR 2106 (2013)Followed byUNSCR 2493 (2019)
Why was this resolution needed?

By 2019, the CRSV resolution sequence had established strong normative and institutional frameworks, but survivors remained marginal to the response architecture. Programming was often designed by international actors without meaningful survivor participation, and the specific needs of vulnerable groups — children born of rape, LGBTIQ+ survivors, persons with disabilities — were neglected.

UNSCR 2467 was intended to recentre survivors in CRSV response. However, its journey through the Council became emblematic of the political contestation surrounding the WPS agenda, as disagreements over sexual and reproductive health language fractured the consensus that had previously characterised WPS resolutions.

What does it actually say?
Survivor-centred approach
Calls for a survivor-centred approach: prevention and response that is non-discriminatory and responsive to the specific needs of vulnerable groups.
Children born of rape
Requests a 2021 Secretary-General report on children born of conflict-related sexual violence.
SRSG-SVC strengthening
Strengthens the SRSG-SVC mandate and calls for continued attention to men and boys as survivors.
SRH language removed
Removes explicit reference to sexual and reproductive health services, replacing it with a general reference to comprehensive services.
What's new — what did it change?

UNSCR 2467 introduced the concept of survivor-centredness as a guiding principle for CRSV response — a significant normative advance that recognised survivors as rights-holders rather than passive beneficiaries. It also explicitly requested reporting on children born of CRSV, a population that had been largely invisible in policy frameworks.

However, the resolution is most remembered for the political battles that surrounded it. The United States threatened to veto the resolution unless references to sexual and reproductive health were removed, breaking the unanimous consensus that had characterised WPS resolutions since 2000.

Common misconceptions
Myth
UNSCR 2467 weakened the CRSV framework because it removed sexual and reproductive health language.
Reality
The removal of SRH language was a political compromise, not a weakening of the overall framework. The survivor-centred approach and the provisions on children born of rape are genuine advances. However, the fractured vote was a warning sign of growing politicisation of the WPS agenda.
Pillar relevance
Protection
Core — survivor-centred approach strengthens protection frameworks
Prevention
Attention to children born of rape addresses intergenerational prevention
Participation
Survivor-centred means survivors must participate in designing responses
Relief & Recovery
Comprehensive services are essential for survivor recovery
Read the original resolution — UN Document Portal