Despite growing evidence that women's participation makes peace agreements stronger, more inclusive and more durable, women remain significantly underrepresented in peace negotiations and decision-making worldwide.
To help address this gap, representatives of governments, international organisations, civil society and academia gathered in Strasbourg today to identify how to remove the barriers that continue to limit women's participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery efforts.
Opening this year's annual conference of the Council of Europe's Gender Equality Commission - Women forging lasting peace - Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset highlighted the links between the topic and the New Democratic Pact for Europe:
"We all lose when women are excluded, anywhere, and from any part of our democracies," he said.
Advancing gender equality should never be seen as a women's issue. It is everyone's issue, just like peace itself. And women should be involved at every level of negotiation, decision-making and peacebuilding."
Peace cannot be lasting if it excludes women
Monaco's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, welcomed the conference as an example of cooperation in advancing inclusiveness:
"As we gather today to speak about peace, let us recall a simple truth: peace cannot be lasting if it excludes women," she said. "The evidence is clear: when women participate in peace processes, the agreements reached are stronger, more inclusive and more durable. This reality alone should convince us of the need to ensure that women are given their full place in these efforts."
The conference, entitled "Women as architects of sustainable peace: removing barriers to gender-inclusive conflict resolution and peacebuilding", was moderated by Hajar Yagkoubi, former United Nations youth representative for the Netherlands.
Pramila Patten, the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict, delivered a keynote address, while the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty presented his perspective on the role of women in peace processes.
What is blocking female participation in peace?
Participants stressed that although women play a vital role in conflict prevention, supporting communities during crises and rebuilding societies after war, they remain significantly underrepresented in peace negotiations and decision-making processes. Discussions focused on ways to overcome persistent barriers to women's participation, including sexism, discrimination and gender-based violence.
Particular attention was devoted to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the importance of integrating a gender-equality perspective into responses to the conflict as well as recovery and reconstruction efforts. Discussions highlighted the contribution of Ukrainian women to community resilience while drawing attention to the heightened risks of gender-based violence during and after armed conflict.
The conference also examined how factors such as age, disability, income level, sexual orientation and gender identity can affect participation in peacebuilding processes.
To overcome these barriers, speakers underlined that ensuring the participation of women in all their diversity is essential to building more inclusive, democratic and resilient societies.
The discussions contributed to promoting the implementation of Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)10 on the role of women and men in conflict prevention and resolution and in peacebuilding, while also feeding into international efforts under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
Learn more about the Council of Europe's work for gender equality
