Women Peace & Security: Celebrating 25 years of UNSCR 1325

2025 marks the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), a landmark resolution that recognised the critical role of women in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction. Despite progress, women continue to face barriers to meaningful participation and leadership in conflict prevention, peace and security processes.

Held in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and The Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL) at The Australian National University, this event will commemorate and celebrate the legacy and impact of UNSCR 1325.

Join us to reflect on Australia’s contributions to the WPS agenda, and explore future pathways for inclusive peacebuilding. The event will bring together leading women peacebuilders, mediators, and human rights advocates to share insights, experiences, and strategies for advancing gender-responsive peace and security.

You'll hear from Lilliane Fan from Southeast Asia Women Peace Mediators, Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls from the Pacific Women Mediators Network and GIWL Deputy Director, Dr Elise Stephenson, with closing comments from Michelle O’Byrne, the Ambassador for Gender Equality. Further speakers to be announced.

About the speakers

Lilianne Fan is a leading expert on the Rohingya crisis, Myanmar, and ASEAN’s role in peacebuilding. With over 25 years’ experience in armed conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crises, she heads the Secretariat of the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar and co-directs Geutanyoe Malaysia, a refugee protection organisation. She has advised governments and ASEAN on post-conflict recovery in Aceh and Myanmar, served on the Lancet Commission for Health and Human Rights, and coordinates initiatives supporting Palestinian students in Asia. An anthropologist by training, she holds an MA from Columbia University.

Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls is a Fijian feminist and peace advocate working at the nexus of gender, media, and peacebuilding. She is Chairperson of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, Co-Chair of the Global Fund for Women, and co-founder of FemLINKpacific, which pioneered community-led women’s media, including the Pacific’s first women-led radio network and the Women’s Weather Watch system. A long-time civil society leader in Women, Peace and Security processes, Sharon has advised the UN on UNSCR 1325, coordinated regional action plans, and received international recognition for her work amplifying women’s voices in peace and security.

Dr Elise Stephenson is Deputy Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at ANU, where she leads work on gender, leadership, and equality in frontier areas of international affairs. A Fulbright Scholar and multi award-winning researcher-practitioner, she has been recognised by Google as one of Australia’s Top 50 Outstanding LGBTIQ+ Leaders and by the UNAA for her contributions to diversity and inclusion. Elise’s work spans diplomacy, national security, space policy, and entrepreneurship, with a focus on ensuring equality in Australia’s engagement with global challenges.

Michelle O’Byrne is the Ambassador for Gender Equality. She has dedicated her career to advancing women’s rights, serving as the Member for Bass in the Tasmanian Parliament (2006-2025) and earlier as the Federal Member for Bass (1998-2004). Across ministerial portfolios spanning women and the prevention of family violence, education, workplace relations, emergency services, and economic development, she has been a driving force for reform. Her leadership was central to the decriminalisation of abortion in Tasmania, the introduction of safe access zones around clinics, and significant measures to address family violence.