New UN push to ensure women’s equal participation peace

Announcing the Pledge at a Security Council open debate on women, peace and security, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed emphasized that women’s rights are being eroded while they are being denied an equal voice in decision making.

She cited the worsening crises in Gaza, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Yemen, stressing “it is imperative that we reinforce our resolve to support women advocating for their rights, agency and inclusion at every opportunity.”

Ms. Mohammed underscored that no single mediator could make the difference: “Collective action and solidarity are crucial in today’s broader global mediation landscape,” she said.

The Common Pledge brings together global mediators – including the UN, Member States, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations – to take voluntary but concrete steps towards equal participation in all peace processes.

Highlights

It includes appointing women as lead mediators and ensuring women are an integral part of mediation teams.

It also includes advocating with representatives of warring parties to set concrete targets to advance women’s direct and meaningful participation.

In addition, teams will consult “consistently and with a broad range” of women leaders and civil society in all stages of peace processes. It also embeds gender expertise in mediation teams to ensure peace agreements are gender-responsive.

Global pushbacks

Speaking during the open debate, Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women – the lead entity for women’s empowerment – warned that growing opposition to gender equality is eroding women’s rights in many areas.

This backlash, she said, plays out harshly in conflict zones, where the consequences are even more lethal.

Exclusion of women’s rights and taking away their autonomy in decision making, including for themselves and their bodies can mean “the difference between life and death,” she added.

“The weaponization of misogyny for political gain is extracting a price we will pay for generations. That price will be more conflicts, longer conflicts, more devastating conflicts.”

© UNICEF/Oleksandr Osipov

Despite challenges, women lead and enable relief efforts globally. Pictured in this file photograph, a woman aid worker distributes winter clothes to conflict-affected families in Ukraine.

Unmatched bravery

Despite these challenges, Ms. Bahous praised the unbelievable bravery of women in conflict areas.

From running “clandestine schools” in Afghanistan, to delivering aid in Ukraine, to negotiating peace under siege in Syria, women continue to make crucial contributions, she highlighted.

“That is why it is incumbent upon us to match [their] bravery…of the women I meet around the world.”

Addressing obstacles

Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed further emphasized that there should be “no illusions” over the current challenges which include huge geopolitical divisions.

“As long as gender inequalities, patriarchal social structures, systematic biases, violence and discrimination continues to hold back half of our societies, peace will remain elusive,” she said.

However, progress is possible, she stressed, urging everyone to build upon the collective experience and take unified action.

“Together, we can have an impact that is greater than the sum of our individual efforts. By leveraging our respective political capital and roles, let us dismantle the patriarchal power structures and advance gender equality.”

MINUSCA

In conflict zones, female peacekeepers play an important role in building trust with local populations. Pictured here, women peacekeepers from Nepal with women and children from the local community in the Central African Republic..

Making a landmark agenda

The open debate was chaired by Viola Amherd, the President of the Swiss Confederation, which holds the Security Council presidency for October. It coincided not only with the 79th UN Day but also with the 24th anniversary next week of Security Council resolution 1325.

The landmark resolution was adopted unanimously on 31 October 2000 and was the first formal recognition of the gendered dimensions of conflict. Its four pillars – participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery – underscore the essential role of women in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Since then, several follow-up resolutions and global processes have expanded the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda, including resolution 1820 that recognized sexual violence as a weapon of war and called for more deployment of women peacekeepers.