This is what leadership looks like: Meet Fanta Diamande, a local peace mediator in Côte d'Ivoire

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Fanta Diamande, a 32-year-old community leader from northern Côte d'Ivoire, has been involved in the UN Women-supported Network of Women Peace Mediators since its beginning. Today, she is President of its Touba branch and a trainer for early warning monitors, who will flag election-related risks ahead of the parliamentary elections on 6 March.

In the words of Miriam Coronel-Ferrer: “I became the first female negotiator to sign a final peace accord with a rebel group”

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer made history as the first female chief negotiator in the world to sign a final peace accord with a rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines in 2014. Today, she teaches political science at the University of the Philippines and works on mediation with the United Nations.

In the words of Habiba Sarabi: “Our vision is of an Afghanistan where every woman can live in peace and recognize her rights”

Date: Monday, October 19, 2020

Dr. Habiba Sarabi, a trailblazing leader in Afghanistan, is one of only four women negotiating peace with the Taliban as part of the ongoing intra-Afghan talks. Trained as a hematologist, she became a peace activist, politician and reformer in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. She has served as Minister of Women’s Affairs and in 2005 became the first Afghan woman to serve as a governor. She continues to be instrumental in promoting women’s rights and peacebuilding at a crucial turning point for her nation.

From Sudan to the Security Council: Sudanese women lead drive for change

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2019

On 8 April 2019, Alaa Salah took to the streets in protest of the declining economic state of her country, just like thousands of other students and young people in Sudan. She had no idea that she would become the face of the Sudanese protest movement. By 11 April, the President of Sudan had been arrested, and a photo of Salah, standing atop a car in all white and leading a crowd in a chant, had gone viral.

The power of women peacebuilders

Date: Monday, October 28, 2019

Women do groundbreaking work for justice, peace and security. Yet, they continue to be sidelined in formal peace processes. As conflict continues to affect every region of the world, urgent action is needed to ensure that women are part of peacebuilding, and their contributions are visible and valued.

From where I stand: “Young women's inclusion in peacebuilding will create sustainable peace”

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019

At 32, Susan Sebit is an accomplished lawyer and advocate from South Sudan. She works to protect women and children from violence and to ensure the implementation of existing women, peace and security global frameworks.

Inclusive peace in Afghanistan means ‘women at the centre’, urges UN deputy chief in Kabul

Date: Sunday, July 21, 2019

The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts to forge a durable peace, and a truly inclusive political process where women’s voices are truly heard.

Statement: Peace Hut Women of Liberia wins 2019 UN Population Award

Date: Thursday, June 20, 2019

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women, to honour the National Peace Hut Women of Liberia selected as 2019 UN Population Award laureates

A place of peace, reconciliation and growth

Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2019

In 2014, one year after the region was freed from the extremists, a small hut was built in Gao, surrounded by larger buildings and barely visible from the street. Anyone who passes through the driveway and enters the hut in the middle of the dusty courtyard has a specific goal: Dialogue, exchange and cohesion. Welcome to the Women Peace Hut.

Women, peace and security experts look ahead to 2020

Date: Monday, March 18, 2019

As the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking UN Security Council resolution 1325 approaches in 2020, experts and advocates on the women, peace and security agenda came together on 15 March to take stock of progress and the way forward

From where I stand: “It’s men who can convince other men about women’s rights”

Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018

On 5 December we mark International Volunteers Day by celebrating the important contributions of UN Volunteers, such as Albert Mirindi, who is working to build resilient communities in Mali by ensuring that women are drivers of peace and decision-makers.

Take five: “A successful peace process simply demands the active and meaningful participation of women at all levels”

Date: Monday, October 29, 2018

UN Women spoke with Jean Arnault, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, about gender parity within the Mission and its priorities over the next year. The Verification Mission in Colombia has made impressive strides towards gender parity; 58 per cent of its professional level field staff are women and 65 per cent of field office teams are led by women. The Final Peace Agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) was signed in 2016, ending more than 50 years of conflict. Contrary to most peace negotiations in history, women had a significant influence in the peace process in Colombia. The resulting peace agreement addresses core issues that impact women, such as women’s representation in decision-making bodies, access to land restitution or justice and reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

Coverage: Women’s meaningful participation in peace—where are the barriers and what can be done?

Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Taking place on the sidelines of this year’s annual UN Security Council Debate on Women, Peace and Security, an interactive forum organized by UN Women, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, brought together women peace activists from conflict contexts around the world, with UN Security Council members and UN experts to discuss existing barriers to women’s meaningful participation and strategies to accelerate women’s leadership in peace processes.

From where I stand: “The adoption of the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 is only the beginning”

Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Bajana Ceveli is the Executive Director of the Association for Women’s Security and Peace (AWSP) in Albania. Over the past three years, the Association, with the support of UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality, helped draft a National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which was adopted in September 2018. Ms. Ceveli spoke to UN Women about her personal motivation and why the National Action Plan is important for women.

In the words of Tanya Gilly Khailany: “When it comes to women’s rights, there’s no room for diplomacy”

Date: Friday, October 19, 2018

Tanya Gilly Khailany, from Iraqi-Kurdistan, is a former member of the Iraqi Parliament (2006 – 2010) and a co-founder of the SEED Foundation, an organization that works with survivors of violence and trafficking in Iraq. An outspoken women’s rights activist, Ms. Gilly Khailany was one of the key parliamentarians who legislated the 25 per cent quota for women in Iraqi provincial councils.

Coverage: Women’s participation is key for sustaining peace in South Sudan

Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Women of South Sudan urge the visting AU-UN delegation to ensure women’s meaningful participation in the political process and future security arrangements in the country.

Coverage: Fulfilling the promise of women’s meaningful participation in peace processes

Date: Thursday, September 27, 2018

Taking place on the margins of the 73rd UN General Assembly, the side event of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network titled, “The Security Council and Women, Peace and Security: Fostering Practical Action” convened ministers, UN officials and civil society organizations to discuss progress made in the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda and ways to increase women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, as well as protect them from conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, especially through the WPS Focal Points Network.

Malian women call for urgent action to sustain peace and ensure women’s participation

Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Three years since the signing of the peace agreement, Malian women are impatient to see its provisions at work.

Syrian women come together to create a common framework for their movement

Date: Thursday, July 5, 2018

On June 25 – 26, June 2018, almost 200 Syrian women leaders met in Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss ways to safeguard and advance women’s rights in Syria, as part of a conference titled, “Toward a Framework for the Syrian Women Movement”. The conference was grounded on UN Women’s ongoing advocacy and coalition-building work with Syrian women leaders and activists. Despite their significant differences and diverse backgrounds across political, ideological and...

In the words of Major Cleo Bigwood: “Many of us are working tirelessly to make things better for you.”

Date: Friday, May 25, 2018

Major Cleo Bigwood is the Force Gender and Child Protection Officer at the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). She participated at a UN Women training on ‘Mainstreaming gender in UN Peacekeeping to End Conflict Related Sexual Violence’, which took place in New Delhi in February 2018, funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy. The course trained 41 military and police officers and humanitarian actors from ten Member States on strategic, operational and tactical approaches to end conflict-related sexual violence.