Spain has adopted two National Action Plans (NAP) to date, in 2007 and 2017. While the first NAP did not indicate a specific time frame or period of implementation, the second NAP is to be implemented for the period of 2017-2023. The following is a brief summary and analysis of the 2017-2023 NAP.
Spain’s second NAP was developed by an Interministerial Working Group with the overarching goal to “contribute to ensuring the protection of the human rights of women and girls, and their substantive participation in conflict prevention, as well as achieving and consolidating peace” (p. 16). The NAP highlights that the UNSCR 2242 (2015) was approved during Spain’s presidency of the Security Council, underscoring the importance of the WPS Agenda for Spain. The NAP stresses the importance of the agentive status of women, emphasizing the importance of gender equality for the full implementation of WPS commitments. Additionally, the NAP promotes an integrated agenda by demonstrating the links of the WPS Agenda to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with particular emphasis on SDGs 5 and 16 on gender equality and peace and justice, respectively. The NAP takes both a national and international approach to the implementation of the WPS Agenda, with particular focus on tackling the commitments holistically and promoting the interlinkages between gender equality reforms during implementation.
Spain witnessed a long-lasting conflict with ETA (an acronym for Euskadi ta Askatasuna [Basque Homeland and Liberty]), an armed separatist organization founded in 1959 with the aim to establish an independent Basque state. The conflict resulted in hundreds of casualties until ETA’s announcement of a unilateral ceasefire and its disbanding in 2011 and 2018, respectively.
In 2018, Spain was among the top 20 countries with the highest military expenditure, with a total of $18.2 billion spent on military expenses. Spain is a contributor to UN Peacekeeping Operations, with a total of 644 personnel serving in missions as of October 2019. Spain has both signed and ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which regulates the flow of weapons across international borders.
Spain is a contributing donor to the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, a global partnership that works to empower women in conflict zones and humanitarian crises. Spain is also a partner of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies, a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to mitigate and provide accountability for gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies.