UN Women review of gender integration in UN counter-terrorism mechanisms: A summary of the findings

Since 2015, the UN Security Council has called for stronger integration of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS), counter-terrorism (CT), and preventing and countering violent extremism (PVE) agendas, notably through resolutions 2242 (2015) and 2467 (2019). In 2017, UN Women began its systematic engagement with the UN counter-terrorism architecture following the establishment of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), with a focus on advancing the implementation of WPS commitments in contexts affected by terrorism.

In 2025, UN Women commissioned a review of the overall understanding and integration of gender in the main UN counter-terrorism mechanism—the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact—with a view to inform the revision of UN Women’s CT/PVE engagement framework and update its strategic priorities for supporting the implementation of WPS commitments within the UN counter-terrorism agenda.

This brief presents the main findings of the review, based on secondary research and 58 interviews with UN staff, academics, civil society representatives, and UN independent experts. It outlines current institutional and operational challenges limiting effective equality-based gender mainstreaming, highlights UN Women’s unique role and comparative advantage, and offers concrete recommendations to strengthen gender integration and women’s civil society engagement in UN counter-terrorism mechanisms.