Chile adopted its most recent National Action Plan (NAP) in 2015 for the period 2015-2018. The NAP was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity in consultation with civil society organizations. The NAP identifies its objectives based on the primary pillars of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda and seeks to incorporate a gender perspective across all activities; promote women’s meaningful participation in peace negotiations; protect the wellbeing of women and girls; and increase women’s access to recovery aid based on specific needs. The NAP is focused on national efforts to increase the roles of women in decision-making positions related to conflict prevention and overall gender mainstreaming. The includes indicators and a monitoring framework to evaluate implementation. The NAP does not include an allocated budget, and instead states that each coordinating institution is responsible for financing the identified activities through their annual budget.
Chile’s second NAP is preceded by one other NAP adopted in 2009, without a specific timeframe of implementation. One of the objectives of the first NAP is “to consider Resolution 1325 as a general Chilean foreign policy objective, and incorporate its requirements into bilateral and multilateral activities” (p. 16). As such, the NAP approaches the implementation of the WPS agenda mostly internationally, focusing on conflict and post-conflict contexts as well as gender mainstreaming in peace and conflict matters, increasing women’s representation in overseas peacekeeping missions. In comparison to its first NAP, Chile’s second NAP has clearer indicators to monitor and assess if identified goals are reached. This revision was the result of a review conducted to assess the implementation of the first NAP, which found out that there was a need to create a more flexible and measurable action plan. Despite the improvements of its monitoring and evaluation framework, the updated NAP is similar in terms of its objectives, continuing to interpret WPS implementation mostly internationally.
Chile does not have a history of recent armed conflict, but experienced a military coup in 1973, with subsequent military rule under Augusto Pinochet that lasted until 1990. The period of military dictatorship resulted in severe human rights violations, including forced disappearances, especially against the critics of the political regime. In 2019, Chile experienced country-wide protests emanating from the social and economic inequalities remnant of the Pinochet era. The protests resulted in a referendum that took place in 2020, with an overwhelming majority voting in favor of a new constitution. Feminist activists played a pivotal role leading up to the referandum, popularizing the slogans “never again without women” and “we are half, we want half” to demand that women hold equal representation in the constitutional convention.
At the multilateral level, Chile most recently served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2014-2015.