2025 Annual Partners Meeting
Oslo, Norway | December 2 – 3, 2025
The 2025 Annual Partners Meeting of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (Call to Action) was held in Oslo, Norway, bringing together over 100 participants from states and donors, international organisations, NGOs, and women-led organisations (WLOs). The meeting focused on strengthening the partnership’s strategic direction, reinforcing GBV as a humanitarian priority, and shaping the development of the next Call to Action Road Map (2026–2030).
Key Themes and Discussions
Evolving Humanitarian Context
Participants highlighted the growing challenges facing humanitarian action, including:
Increasing conflicts and humanitarian needs
Declining funding and shrinking resources
Rising political resistance to gender equality
Across discussions, there was strong agreement on the need to keep GBV prevention and response central to humanitarian action and to reinforce leadership and accountability across the system.
Role of Women-Led Organisations
Women-led and refugee-led organisations emphasised their frontline role in delivering life-saving services while facing continued barriers to:
Direct and flexible funding
Participation in decision-making processes
Participants called for stronger localisation efforts, including increased access to pooled funding, measurable commitments, and meaningful inclusion of WLOs in leadership and coordination.
Strategic Priorities for the Partnership
Discussions identified key priorities for the future direction of the Call to Action:
Strengthening political advocacy and global influence
Defending and increasing GBV funding
Institutionalising women’s leadership
Translating commitments into enforceable standards and action
The importance of maintaining the CtA’s role as a high-level political platform, rather than a technical coordination body, was emphasised.
Towards a New Road Map (2026–2030)
A central focus of the meeting was shaping the next Road Map:
Participants called for a more focused and strategic framework
Emphasis was placed on collective outcomes, rather than individual activities
Priorities include clearer identity, stronger governance, and improved accountability
There was broad agreement on the need to simplify structures, reduce fragmentation, and strengthen collaboration across stakeholder groups.
Partnership Effectiveness and Governance
Participants identified several structural challenges:
Fragmentation across working groups
Limited cross-stakeholder collaboration
Gaps in governance and coordination
There was strong consensus on the need for a more stable structure, including discussions on establishing a permanent secretariat to support coordination, continuity, and institutional memory.
Funding, Advocacy, and Accountability
Key discussions focused on:
Strengthening funding mechanisms, including access for local actors
Enhancing collective advocacy and strategic alliances
Improving accountability and reporting, with greater focus on outcomes
Participants emphasised that funding should be treated as an enabler of change, and that accountability must remain central to the partnership’s work.
Summary
The 2025 Annual Partners Meeting marked an important step in defining the future direction of the Call to Action. It reinforced the need for stronger political leadership, improved coordination, and more effective collective action to address GBV in emergencies. The meeting also laid the groundwork for the development of a new Road Map, with a focus on clarity, accountability, and measurable impact.