Group photo of the Women Parliamentarians Program together with the President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock

MSC Women Parliamentarians Program

With the MSC Women Parliamentarians Program (WPP), the MSC aims to establish a network which connects young female decision-makers globally. The program creates a space for parliamentarians to generate new ideas in foreign, security, and development policy and to connect them across borders, regions, and party affiliations.

As a leading international platform for debating foreign and security policy issues, the MSC is convinced that relevant and effective dialogue must include diverse voices. Yet studies show that politics remains the sector with the largest gender gap globally, and women are still particularly underrepresented in foreign and security policy. That is why, with the Women Parliamentarians Program (WPP) and the support of the Gates Foundation, the MSC aims to strengthen voices that still remain underrepresented in many discussions on security policy today – female, young, from countries in the Global South – and provide them with access to relevant fora and networks. 

Through selected formats, such as participation in MSC events, study trips, and background discussions, we strive to enable participants to engage with international leaders from the MSC network and provide a platform for jointly generating new ideas and approaches for foreign, security, and development policy.

The program will bring together a select group of around 15-20 young, female, recently elected parliamentarians every year, who work in the fields of foreign, security, and/or development policy, from different parts of the globe. 

Women Parliamentarians Program Annual Meeting 2025

The first WPP Annual Meeting, which brought together members from all cohorts, took place in New York City from September 18 to 20, just a few days before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) High Level Week. Members from a total of 12 different countries participated in a program that comprised 16 background and roundtable discussions on a variety of timely issues with high-level speakers from UN organizations, NGOs, press, and the private sector.  

The Annual Meeting started with a series of high-level conversations at the United Nations. The group met with the new UNGA President, Annalena Baerbock, and spoke to her about her priorities and expectations for the ensuing UNGA High Level Week in this decisive period for multilateralism. The exchange with Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, emphasized the erosion of international norms and the pressing necessity to regulate autonomous weapons. Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, shed light on the reform priorities for peacekeeping and peace operations, as budget cuts risk fueling a further escalation of violence. The theme also emerged in the discussion with Pramila Patten, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who shared insights into the brutal reality of the excessive use of rape as a war tactic.  

Over the next two days, WPP members debated the global rise of authoritarianism, the decline of democratic institutions, and persistent human rights violations with Binaifer Nowrojee (President of the Open Society Foundations), Christine Wormuth (former US Secretary of the Army), and Federico Borello (Interim Executive Director of Human Rights Watch). Central to the discussions with Ricklef Beutin (German Permanent Representative to the UN), Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein (President of the International Peace Institute), and María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (former UNGA President) were the need to reform the multilateral system to better meet today’s challenges, including the escalation in the Middle East. The short- and long-term consequences of the substantial cuts to development and humanitarian budgets were a prominent topic in conversations with David Miliband (President of the International Rescue Committee) and a high-level UNDP delegation. 

Other topics that carried through many of the discussions, in particular with Foreign Policy editors and Yasmin Green (CEO of Jigsaw), were threats to free press and the rise of mis- and disinformation, which undermine public trust. Finally, during two roundtable discussions, the WPP members explored the current state of climate cooperation amid geopolitical rivalries and the resurgence of hard security politics, as well as the forces and alliances that are driving the global gender and rights pushback.  

An MSC dinner reception at the Central Park Boathouse on the occasion of the WPP Annual Meeting provided an excellent opportunity for the group to engage with the wider MSC network. The WPP members left with fresh insights into the state of multilateral affairs and new ideas to pursue in their home countries and constituencies. 

New York City

MSC Women Parliamentarians Program Annual Meeting 2025

The MSC Women Parliamentarians Program Annual Meeting took place from September 18 to 20, 2025 on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City. The background discussions and roundtables brought together diverse perspectives on the shift in the multilateral system, the future of development cooperation, and the global gender backlash.

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At this year’s Munich Security Conference, we kicked-off the third cohort of our MSC Women Parliamentarians Program with a global group of young female parliamentarians. On Thursday evening, the group gathered for the first time to get to know each other at an informal Welcome Reception. 

On Friday afternoon, the parliamentarians were joined at the official Kick-Off Event by Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Mjöll Frostadóttir, Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, and former Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo for dedicated background discussions. The exchanges covered numerous foreign policy and security issues, ranging from the rise of populism and developments in Ukraine, to working with the new US administration and strengthening women in political leadership positions. 

On Saturday evening, a WPP Dinner provided a great opportunity for members of all three WPP cohorts to connect. The event was enriched by inputs from former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Afghan political leader and women’s rights activist Fawzia Koofi, who engaged the group in conversations on the uphill battle for gender equality and the key role of women in crises. In addition to the designated WPP events, the parliamentarians were able to attend the entire conference program, including main agenda sessions and side events.

WPP 2025 Members

Aleksandra Uznańska-Wiśniewska

Chair of the Polish-American Parliamentary Group and Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Parliament of the Republic of Poland, Warsaw; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Anna Cavazzini

Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, The Greens/EFA Parliamentary Group, European Parliament, Brussels; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Aura Salla

Member of the Committee on Industry, Technology and Research, EPP Parliamentary Group, European Parliament Brussels; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Elena Motta

Member, Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, Guatemala City; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Fasiha Hassan

Member at Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, Cape Town; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Hanah Lahe

Member of the Committee on the Environment, Parliament of the Republic of Estonia, Tallinn; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Jennifer Dalley Pedraza Sandoval

Member of the Chamber of Representatives, Congress of the Republic of Colombia, Bogotá; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Laura Kyrke-Smith

Member of Parliament for Aylesbury, House of Commons, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, London; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Melanie Ward

Member of Parliament for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, House of Commons, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, London; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

Senator in the National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Sabrina Repp

Member of the Committee on Regional Development, S&D Parliamentary Group, European Parliament, Brussels; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Tsenguun Saruulsaikhan

Member of Parliament, State Great Hural of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar; Women Political Leaders Network; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

Umulkher Harun Mohamed

Member of Parliament, National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya, Nairobi; Women Political Leaders Network; Women Parliamentarians Program 2025

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