Poland adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2018 for the period 2018-2021, and then updated this NAP to extend it until 2023. Analysis below reflects the 2018-2021 original version and will be updated soon.
The 2018-2021 NAP was developed by a number of ministries, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; National Defence; and Interior and Administration, as well as the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, through a participatory process that included public consultations with non-governmental organizations. The NAP has four major objectives that focus on the need to increase women’s participation in peace processes, peacekeeping missions and operations; the need to strengthen women’s role in decision-making processes related to ensuring peace; and the need to protect and support women and children in conflict and in post-conflict settings. The implementation of activities set out in the document will be financed from the budgets of the relevant participating ministries and from the budgets of their subordinate units, academic centers, think-tanks and non‑governmental organizations.
Poland does not have a recent history of armed conflict, but is a contributor to overseas military operations and peacekeeping missions.
In 2020, Poland announced that the country will be withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty to prevent domestic violence and violence against women.
At the multilateral level, Poland most recently served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2018-2019.