UN Women: National Consultant to conduct Final Evaluation for the Joint Programme: Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace in BARMM and in the Philippines, Home-Based, Cotabato City, National Consultant
- Organisation: UN Women
- Location: Home Based
- Deadline: 12 November 2026
Background:
• Background and Context:
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) marked a turning point by formally recognizing the link between gender equality and international peace and security. Emerging from sustained advocacy by global women’s organizations, it became the foundation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, which has since expanded through nine subsequent resolutions. [1] Today, WPS is a core thematic pillar of the UN Security Council’s work and a key international framework addressing the gendered impacts of armed conflict, political crises, displacement, violent extremism, disasters, and mass atrocities on women and girls. The agenda promotes inclusive and democratic decision-making, gender justice, and conflict prevention, supported by evidence showing that women’s participation significantly improves peace processes and post-conflict recovery. [2] Despite progress, implementation gaps persist globally, including women’s under-representation in peace processes, limited gender-sensitive conflict analysis, and inadequate financing.
In the Philippines, these global commitments intersect with a major peace milestone in Mindanao. The 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in 2019. The BOL institutionalized the mainstreaming of women’s empowerment and the WPS agenda across governance and peacebuilding and created the Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC) as the lead body for advancing these goals. BARMM’s political and fiscal autonomy offered a historic opportunity to address decades of marginalization and conflict in Southern Philippines.
However, the transition has revealed deep and persistent challenges. BARMM continues to face layered and interlinked conflicts, including clan feuds (rido), ethnic tensions affecting both Moro and non-Moro groups, political rivalries, displacement, trauma, and the threat of violent extremism. These issues extend beyond the original scope of the peace agreement and are compounded by weak inclusivity in peacebuilding processes. Gender dimensions of conflict particularly the roles, experiences, and exclusion of women—remain insufficiently addressed, despite women’s long-standing involvement in both formal and informal peace efforts.
Historically, conflict in Mindanao has reshaped gender roles in complex ways. Women have been victims, caregivers, economic providers, peace advocates, and at times combatants or supporters within armed structures, while men have experienced shifting notions of masculinity linked to loss of livelihoods and exposure to violence. Although women have often filled critical social and economic gaps during displacement and insecurity, they remain largely excluded from formal peace and security decision-making. Political representation of women in BARMM institutions remains below 10 per cent, significantly lower than the national average. These persistent inequalities continue to shape women’s experiences of conflict and peacebuilding today and underscore the importance of institutionalizing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda throughout BARMM’s ongoing political transition.
The successful conduct and completion of the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) in September 2026 marked a significant milestone in the political transition of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The inauguration of the first regular BARMM Government on 30 October 2026 signals the beginning of a new phase of democratic governance and institution-building in the region. While this transition presents important opportunities to deepen inclusive and accountable governance, it also underscores the urgency of sustaining and institutionalizing gains in women's participation, leadership, and protection within emerging governance structures. Notably, the Bangsamoro Gender and Development (GAD) Code has yet to be enacted, leaving critical gaps in the legal and policy framework needed to advance gender equality and women's empowerment across BARMM institutions. In this context, the integration of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) principles into government policies, programmes, and budgets remains more critical than ever. The BARMM Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (RAP-WPS) 2023–2028, coordinated by the Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC), continues to provide the principal framework for translating policy commitments into concrete and adequately funded actions. At the same time, peacebuilding and development efforts continue to face challenges arising from displacement, localized conflicts and rido, resource competition, shrinking civic space, environmental degradation, climate-induced disasters, and regional geopolitical developments that disproportionately affect women and girls.
Against this backdrop, the Joint Programme (JP) has been implemented since April 2022 during a critical transition period marked by political, social, and environmental complexities. Following the completion of the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections and the establishment of the regular BARMM Government, the region continues to face persistent peace and security challenges, including localized conflicts, clan feuds (rido), violent extremism risks, and political competition. These challenges are compounded by recurring climate- and disaster-related shocks, including severe flooding and sea-level rise, which exacerbate displacement, livelihood losses, and gender-based violence. Women and girls continue to face intersecting vulnerabilities arising from conflict, disasters, climate change, and persistent economic exclusion, while Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples, particularly women, remain among the most marginalized groups, often excluded from formal peace and governance processes and disproportionately affected by localized conflicts and land disputes.
Despite these challenges, important policy and political openings continue to provide opportunities to advance the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in BARMM. The successful completion of the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections in September 2026 and the inauguration of the first regular BARMM Government on 30 October 2026 mark a historic transition towards democratic self-governance. However, the transition period concluded without the enactment of the Bangsamoro Gender and Development (GAD) Code, representing a significant gap in the institutionalization of gender equality and women's empowerment within the Bangsamoro legal framework. This underscores the importance of strengthening the implementation of existing gender-responsive policies and accelerating efforts to establish a comprehensive legislative foundation for women's rights and participation. At the same time, existing gender provisions in the Bangsamoro Electoral Code and Bangsamoro Local Governance Code, growing national momentum for the localization of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP-WPS), and renewed global commitments under the Pasay Declaration on WPS, which highlights the interlinkages between security, climate change, and gender equality, provide critical entry points for advancing the WPS agenda. The 2024–2028 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) further reinforces these priorities by committing the UN system to inclusive peacebuilding and ensuring that no one is left behind, particularly marginalized women, Indigenous women, former combatants, youth, and those living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
Building on these enabling policy and institutional frameworks, the JP has played a catalytic role in advancing the localization of the WPS agenda. Most notably, the JP supported the development and launch of the BARMM Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (RAP-WPS) 2023–2028 in October 2023 and subsequently assisted in its early implementation and localization. The BARMM RAP-WPS has emerged as a landmark example of localized WPS planning in the Philippines and is recognized in the NAP-WPS 2023–2033 as a “unique document” that offers valuable lessons for adapting national WPS commitments to local conflict and peacebuilding realities.
While these policy gains have created a strong foundation for advancing women’s participation and leadership in peacebuilding, sustaining momentum requires continued investment and support. In response, an 18‑month extension supported through a top-up contribution from the Government of Canada has enabled the JP to consolidate gains and respond to emerging risks by:
• Deepening the localization of WPS through coordinated work with Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), national agencies, local government units, and civil society;
• Supporting women’s political leadership and participation at different levels of governance;
• Advancing women’s economic empowerment at the intersection of peacebuilding and climate resilience;
• Strengthening the capacity and accompaniment of women peacebuilders and mediators, including those from Moro, Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples, settler, and youth communities;
• Expanding programming to the Special Geographic Areas in North Cotabato and BARMM-contiguous areas; and
• Extending WPS localization efforts to other priority regions, including the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Caraga Region.