Management Response

: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Thailand)
: 2025 - 2025 , Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Thailand) (RO)
: Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: Preventing Violence and Promoting Social Cohesion in ASEAN
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Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Thailand)

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UN Women welcomes the final evaluation and appreciates its strong evidence base, balanced analysis, and forward-looking recommendations. The evaluation confirms that the project made a significant contribution to advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda within ASEAN, strengthening regional frameworks, institutional capacities, and multi-stakeholder engagement. Management particularly notes the evaluation’s recognition of: • the effectiveness of UN Women’s convening and technical assistance role; • the value of proximity to the ASEAN Secretariat; and • the need to shift from policy development toward sustained, costed implementation and stronger regional–national feedback loops. The recommendations are timely and relevant, particularly in light of ASEAN’s Vision 2045 processes, the forthcoming ASEAN–UN Women Plan of Action (2026–2030), and ongoing discussions on a potential second phase of support. UN Women broadly accepts the recommendations and will operationalize them in a phased, realistic, and partnership-based manner, recognizing that implementation will depend on ASEAN leadership, Member State commitment, and the availability of future resources.
: Submitted
Recommendation: Develop a structured, ASEAN-led transition plan co-designed with UN Women to ensure continuity, mitigate risks, and progressively build the institutional capacities and infrastructure required for long-term sustainability. Rationale The evaluation confirms strong political commitment within ASEAN to sustain the WPS agenda, yet also identifies uneven institutional capacity, high reliance on UN Women’s technical and coordination functions, and insufficient predictable financing for ASEAN-led mechanisms. The recommendations focus on development and implementation of a deliberate sustainability plan, the risk of gains narrowing once project funding ends and the enhancement of ASEAN’s ability to autonomously manage WPS policy development, monitoring, coordination, and knowledge services.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and will support ASEAN, if requested, to define a phased transition approach that strengthens institutional ownership, coordination, and sustainability of WPS functions beyond the current project cycle. UN Women will position its contribution as technical and facilitative—supporting ASEAN-led decisions on roles, coordination mechanisms, and sustainability measures—while recognizing that implementation depends on ASEAN agreement and resource mobilization for a next phase.
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Description: ASEAN-led transition plan
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Normative Support
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Facilitate a joint ASEAN- UN Women scoping and planning session to define transition priorities, functions, and sequencing. ROAP, UN Women Indonesia (with ASEC PEGD and ACW Cambodia as the Chair of the ASEAN WPS Advisory Group) 2026/06 Initiated Dependent on ASEAN availability and willingness; can be timed around agreed ASEAN calendar or the discussion can happen during the ASEAN- UN POA planning process.
Strengthen UN system coordination to advance the WPS agenda in ASEAN Jointly leverage UN coordination mechanisms to support the advancement of the WPS agenda across interconnected thematic areas—including transnational crime, migration, climate change, disaster risk reduction, health, protection, and humanitarian action—by engaging relevant UN entities in aligned policy dialogue, programming, and technical support. ROAP and UN Women Liaison 2026/12 Initiated Builds on an existing UN WPS coordination mechanism at regional level.
Recommendation: For stronger impact, expand national engagement to remaining ASEAN Member States and deepen involvement with those currently implementing the WPS agenda. Rationale While the project successfully elevated WPS as a regional priority, participation and ownership among Member States remain uneven. Some governments are not yet translating regional commitments into national policies or action plans. Those implementing the WPS agenda often have financial and human resources constraints and limited monitoring, evaluation and learning.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and will continue working with ASEAN counterparts to strengthen Member State engagement in the implementation of the ASEAN RPA on WPS through voluntary, demand-driven technical assistance and peer learning. The evaluation highlights uneven levels of engagement and implementation readiness across the region; UN Women will therefore prioritize tailored, long-term support that responds to national needs and builds confidence over time. Recognizing the political sensitivity surrounding formal reporting by Member States to ASEAN, UN Women will not pursue centralized reporting mechanisms. Instead, support will focus on learning-oriented, non-reporting approaches—including Communities of Practice and regional exchanges—that respect national ownership while contributing to more consistent implementation.
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Description: Localisation of RPA WPS
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Normative Support
UNEG Criteria: Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Targeted, demand-driven technical support to member states develop and deploy a short menu of implementation support (e.g. costed implementation planning, localization guidance, MEL approaches, stakeholder engagement, LNOB operationalization), prioritizing member states that request support and demonstrate readiness. ROAP, with COs as relevant 2026/12 Not Initiated Long-term accompaniment; scope and breadth will depend on national demand and available resources.
Facilitate peer learning on implementation challenges support ongoing peer learning exchanges among interested ASEAN Member States to address shared challenges in translating WPS policy commitments into practice. ROAP, with COs as relevant 2026/12 Not Initiated Learning-focused exchanges; participation remains voluntary. Scope will depend on demand from ASEAN and AMS and available resources.
Broaden engagement to non-traditional stakeholders where relevant and appropriate, engage non-traditional actors—such as businesses, religious and faith-based organizations, and traditional or community leaders—to support localized and context-specific implementation of WPS commitments. ROAP, UN Women CO with ASEAN Member States 2026/12 Not Initiated Engagement will be context-specific and aligned with national sensitivities. Scope and breadth of engagement will depend on national demand and available resources.
Subject to available resources, facilitate south–south peer exchange and mentorship between member states with more advanced WPS frameworks and those at earlier stages, to promote south–south learning, confidence-building, and practical problem-solving around implementation. ROAP, with ASEAN counterparts 2026/12 Initiated Learning-focused exchanges and subject to available resources and demand
Recommendation: Strengthen vertical coherence between regional policy and national/subnational implementation Rationale The project made significant progress linking ASEAN-level policies to national action but needs more robust feedback loops to ensure lessons from practice inform regional policy.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and recognizes the importance of strengthening links between ASEAN-level WPS commitments and national and sub-national implementation. Building on existing coordination and learning platforms, UN Women will focus on learning-oriented, implementation-focused mechanisms that enable Member States to share experiences, challenges, and lessons learned in operationalizing regional WPS commitments. Rather than introducing new compliance-based reporting requirements, UN Women will support voluntary, experience-based exchanges, joint reflection, and practical learning processes—using existing ASEAN WPS governance structures and platforms—to inform regional learning and adaptive support. Particular emphasis will be placed on strengthening monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) capacities that support implementation and alignment across levels, while fully respecting ASEAN norms and national ownership.
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Description: Strengthen vertical coherence
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Normative Support
UNEG Criteria: Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Provide technical support to strengthen national and regional MEL approaches that focus on implementation experiences, learning, and use of evidence, including support for in-country monitoring and learning processes that can inform regional reflection on the implementation of ASEAN WPS commitments. ROAP, with COs as relevant 2026/12 Not Initiated Support will be advisory and aligned with existing national systems; Subject to ASEAN political will and ownership and availability of resources.
Leverage the ASEAN WPS Summit as a primary space for sharing lessons learned Continue using the ASEAN WPS Summit as a key regional platform for sharing implementation experiences, good practices, and lessons learned from national and sub-national levels, helping to connect regional commitments with realities on the ground. ROAP, with relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies, ASEAN Secretariat 2026/12 Not Initiated Builds on an established and politically accepted convening space. Subject to availability of resources.
Recommendation: Consolidate capacity development and institutionalize learning systems Rationale The project successfully shifted mindsets and built shared understanding of WPS but sustained application of learning still needs support.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and agrees that consolidating capacity development efforts and institutionalizing learning are essential to sustain the gains achieved under the project. Building on the strong foundation of training, peer learning, and technical assistance delivered during the current phase, UN Women will focus on embedding WPS knowledge within existing ASEAN and national institutional systems, rather than relying on stand-alone or one-off training activities. UN Women will prioritize approaches that promote continuity, peer exchange, and practical application of learning, while using light-touch monitoring and learning tools to understand how capacity development translates into practice over time. These efforts will be implemented in close collaboration with ASEAN institutions and national counterparts and will be aligned with available resources and national demand.
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Description: Consolidate capacity development
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Institutionalize WPS training in national training systems continue supporting the integration of WPS -related modules into national civil service, diplomatic, and sectoral training curricula, to ensure continuity of learning and reduce reliance on ad hoc training initiatives. ROAP, UN Women CO, with ASEAN training institutions and national partners 2026/12 Not Initiated Subject to funding availability and ASEAN Member States demand.
Recommendation: Safeguard policy momentum and ensure practical implementation Rationale ASEAN’s policy gains are significant, but excessive focus on normative frameworks risks overshadowing practical implementation and results.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and notes that its implementation will depend on resource availability and Member State demand. Implementation of initiatives and costed rollouts requires dedicated financial and human resources, which are currently limited. In this context, UN Women will prioritize strengthening implementation readiness, strategic prioritization, and resource mobilization to ensure that future WPS implementation efforts are better designed, costed, and positioned for funding when opportunities arise. Actions under this recommendation will therefore remain conditional on successful resource mobilization and Member State demand and will be integrated into future programme design rather than implemented as stand-alone activities.
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Description: Practical implementation
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Operational activities
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability, Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Provide technical advice on costing and implementation planning (upon request) where requested by ASEAN or Member States, provide technical advice on developing costed implementation plans and sequencing priorities for WPS policies, without committing to financing or direct implementation. ROAP, UN Women Country Offices with ASEAN training institutions and national partners 2026/12 Not Initiated Advisory support only; delivery contingent on resources and ASEAN Member States demand.
Use learning platforms to reflect on policy-to-practice gaps leverage existing platforms—such as the ASEAN WPS summit and regional learning events—to facilitate reflection on what it takes to move from policy adoption to implementation, including financing, coordination, and institutional capacity constraints. ROAP, with ASEAN counterparts 2026/12 Not Initiated Learning-focused; no implementation commitments implied.
Position implementation priorities within resource mobilization efforts use evaluation findings to inform advocacy and resource mobilization discussions with development partners, positioning practical WPS implementation as a priority area for future investment. ROAP 2026/12 Initiated Subject to donor interest and funding availability.
Recommendation: Maintain and institutionalize UN Women’s proximity with ASEAN Rationale Proximity to the ASEAN Secretariat proved a critical success factor for coordination, trust, and visibility. Maintenance of this arrangement is essential for continuity. Since the creation of this new regional commitment, and the resultant reputational and political benefits for both partners, continued engagement between UN Women and ASEAN is a logical way forward.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and recognizes that sustained proximity to ASEAN institutions has been a critical enabler of trust-building, timely coordination, and effective technical support for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The proximity of the ASEAN WPS team to the ASEAN secretariat has contributed significantly to policy influence, partnership development, and alignment between regional priorities and UN Women programming. At the same time, UN Women notes that the long-term sustainability of this arrangement depends on corporate resourcing decisions, staffing models, and the availability of dedicated funding, which are currently under transition. In this context, UN Women will prioritize maintaining effective liaison, coordination, and technical engagement with ASEAN, primarily through the Liaison Office and ROAP and should resources be available, through some physical presence in Jakarta or functionally equivalent partnership arrangements.
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Description: UN Women’s proximity with ASEAN
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency, Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Sustain an official ASEAN–UN Women liaison mechanism in line with un women’s regional engagement approach, maintain an official ASEAN–UN Women liaison mechanism with clear terms of reference for communication, joint planning, and decision-making. UN Women Indonesia CO and ROAP 2026/12 Initiated
Strengthen internal coordination across ROAP Indonesia Country Office, and country offices: enhance coordination and regularize internal protocols to ensure effective information flow, coherent technical support, and avoidance of duplication in ASEAN-related engagement. ROAP in coordination with UN Women Indonesia CO 2026/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Manage localization to preserve coherence and strengthen implementation Rationale While localization of WPS plans increases ownership, the proliferation of sectoral or departmental plans risks diluting coordination and shifting attention from actual delivery.
Management Response: UN Women accepts this recommendation and recognizes the importance of ensuring that ongoing localization of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda strengthens—rather than fragments—coherence between regional, national, and subnational implementation. While localization is essential for ownership and context-specific action, uncoordinated proliferation of sectoral or departmental plans may dilute strategic focus and create parallel reporting and accountability structures. In this context, UN Women will continue supporting ASEAN and Member States to promote aligned, implementation-oriented localization through technical guidance, learning exchanges, and coordination support, while respecting national ownership and the voluntary nature of WPS implementation across ASEAN. Actions will focus on policy coherence, outcome-oriented monitoring, and whole-of-government coordination, and will be implemented progressively in line with Member State demand and available resources.
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Description: Localization of WPS
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women peace and security, humanitarian action & disaster risk reduction
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Normative Support
UNEG Criteria: Impact
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Continue promoting integration of localization reporting into national WPS monitoring systems: encourage learning-oriented approaches that integrate information from localized WPS initiatives into existing national monitoring, evaluation, and reporting processes, avoiding the creation of parallel reporting structures. ROAP and UN Women Country Offices 2026/12 Not Initiated Advisory support only; delivery contingent on resources.
Continue promoting whole-of-government coordination for localized WPS implementation. Provide technical accompaniment and knowledge products that support inter-ministerial coordination and integrated governance approaches to WPS localization, where requested by Member States. ROAP and UN Women Country Offices 2026/12 Not Initiated Advisory support only; delivery contingent on resources.