The move comes amid plans to cut overseas aid from the Labour Government.
A new inquiry will take place into how the UK Government is involving the needs and voices of women in its development efforts.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, the International Development Committee is launching a new review, little over a week after the UK Government announced a 40% cut to overseas aid.
The cross-party committee of MPs will explore the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, adopted by the United Nations, considering how this agenda is being incorporated into UK aid programmes, amid plans for the UK’s aid budget to be cut to 0.3% of GNI by 2027.
The Committee’s inquiry will explore how much progress the UK has made in delivering its priorities for women and girls and whether its commitments have translated into substantive outcomes.
It will also consider how it can ensure that women’s voices help to shape the policies that affect them.
Women and girls are disproportionately vulnerable to conflict, accounting for more than 95% of all UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2023. Today 600 million women, 15% of the world’s female population, live within 50 kilometres of a conflict zone.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda recognises the particular impact that conflict can have on women and girls. It was first adopted by the United Nations in 2000 and has since been recognised in nine further Security Council resolutions.
The UK Government applies the WPS agenda through a National Action Plan, the most recent iteration of which runs from 2023 to 2027.
Questions the committee could consider include if the UK is incorporating WPS principles across programmes funded by international aid, whether enough money is being allocated towards the agenda, and if the voices of women from conflict-affected or marginalised groups are being heard.
It will also consider how the Government’s recently announced cuts to aid are likely to impact women and girls.
The inquiry comes out of the Committee’s ‘In Development’ programme, which asked development experts to submit ideas for inquiries on the key issues shaping the sector.
Sarah Champion MP, chair of the International Development Committee, said: “International Women’s Day focuses our minds on threats women and girls face around the world. Women are particularly vulnerable to conflict and the numbers of those exposed to violence is only getting worse.
“We must be able to back up stated commitments with robust action. Our inquiry will consider whether the UK Government is doing enough to protect women and girls from violence and conflict around the world, and if the Government is really doing all it can to ensure it hears the voices of those most at risk.”
