Abstract The relationship between the United Nations Security Council and Non-Governmental Organizations has scarcely been considered in scholarship on international security. This lack of academic interest contrasts with accounts on the engagement of NGOs in the production and advancement of UNSC discussions on women and children. By drawing on international relations and social movements’ theoretical contributions, the paper traces NGOs’ strategies to participate in UNSC thematic debates. By looking at the actions of the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security, the analysis finds that NGOs have built coalitions among themselves and maintained networks with friendly countries and UN specialized agencies to capitalize on favorable political and institutional opportunities and expand the access to the security sector.

Este artigo¹ discute os avanços e desafios para se alcançar o equilíbrio numérico entre homens e mulheres que compõem os componentes militares das Operações de Paz das Nações Unidas. Há relativo consenso quanto à importância do aumento da presença feminina em campo; entretanto, necessário se faz analisar em que medida as justificativas para o aumento do número de mulheres contrastam com ideias convencionais sobre os espaços a serem ocupados por elas nos instrumentos de manutenção da paz. Com base em teorias feministas e de gênero, este artigo questiona o discurso apresentado pela ONU em prol da estratégia de Equilíbrio de Gênero.

This article addresses the advances and challenges to achieve a greater balance between men and women who participate in military components of United Nations peacekeeping operations. There is relative consensus about the importance of increasing female military presence in the field; however it is also important to analyze the extent to which the increase in the number of women satisfactorily contests conventional ideas about the spaces to be occupied by them in UN peacekeeping. Anchored by gender and feminists theories, this article problematizes the United Nations' discourse of Gender Balance.