Women still largely excluded from peace processes

It is one of the main conclusions of the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on women, peace and security (WPS) published on Monday.

THE report highlights the role women play as peacemakers, describes how conflict affects women in general, and outlines the UN Secretary-General’s goals for the key agenda.

“Women and girls are being killed in record numbers, excluded from peace tables and left unprotected as wars multiply.. Women do not need more promises, they need power, protection and equal participation,” commented Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women.

25 years later

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the FPS agenda and Security Council resolution 1325a historic decision adopted by the international community at the turn of the century, affirming the importance of women’s participation in conflict prevention and peace processes.

Since its adoption, there has been a growing consensus, supported by concrete examples – from Colombia to Liberia and the Philippines – that women’s participation makes peace agreements more likely and more durable, according to the report.

But the problems persist. Implementing WPS goals requires funding, and since last year’s report, women-led organizations need more funding because conflicts and crises put them at risk.

Women still underrepresented

Women can play a decisive role in conflict mediation. As part of negotiations to finally end Yemen’s long civil war, women leaders managed to negotiate access to natural resources.

Data collected from 2020 to 2024 revealed that the representation of women as negotiators, mediators and signatories in peace processes is far below the target set by the UN.

Last year, women made up only seven percent of negotiators on average worldwide, and nearly nine out of ten negotiation tracks included no female negotiators at all, the report says.

The women were slightly more represented in mediation rolesan average of 14 percent, but two-thirds of mediation efforts did not include women.

In the year open debate on the WPS agenda earlier this month, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that while progress has been made over the past quarter century, “the gains are fragile and – very worryingly – being reversed.”

“Broken promises”

Presenting the report on Monday, UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda highlighted that although civilian casualties among women and children have quadrupled compared to the previous two-year period – and sexual violence has also increased – many women’s organizations working on the front lines are scaling back or closing their doors due to lack of funding.

“These numbers tell a story, that of broken promises“, she said.

Sarah Hendriks, director of the agency’s policy division, warned that if current trends continue, progress made on women’s rights over the past two decades risks being erased.

She reiterated the report’s call for binding targets and quotas for women’s participation, accountability for gender-based crimes and violence in conflict, and other recommendations.

“The evidence is clear: when women lead and their organizations are resourced, peace is more possible, recovery is faster and societies are stronger,” she concluded.