Women still largely excluded from peace processes

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Around 676 million women lived within 50 kilometres of deadly conflict last year – the highest figure since the 1990s. 

That’s one of the key findings of the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) published on Monday.

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

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“Women and girls are being killed in record numbers, shut out of 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 on

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the WPS agenda and Security Council resolution 1325, a landmark 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 real world examples – from Colombia to Liberia and the Philippines – that women’s participation makes peace agreements more likely and durable, according to the report.

But problems persist. Implementation of WPS goals requires funding, and since last year’s report, women-led organizations are in need more funding as conflict and crisis put them at risk.

Women still under-represented

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

Data collected from 2020-2024 found that women’s representation as negotiators, mediators and signatories in peace processes is far below the target set by the UN.

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

Women were slightly more represented in mediation roles, averaging 14 per cent but still, two-thirds of mediation efforts did not include women.

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

‘Unfulfilled promises’

Presenting the report on Monday, UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda stressed that while civilian casualties among women and children quadrupled compared to the previous two-year period – and sexual violence also increased – many women’s organizations working on the frontlines are scaling down or closing due to lack of funding.

“These numbers tell a story, one of unfulfilled promises,” she said.

Sarah Hendriks, the agency’s Policy Division Director, warned that if the current trend continues, 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 when their organizations are resourced, peace is more possible, recovery is faster, and societies are stronger,” she concluded.