Investments in Women, Peace and Security Agenda Vital ‘for Preventing Conflict, Achieving Sustainable, Inclusive Peace’, Senior Official Tells Security Council
Amid an era of conflict and violence, the Security Council and the international community at large must include women and girl peacebuilders in discussions at the highest levels, engage with them at the local levels and provide adequate financial support to help ensure the success of their efforts, delegates heard today during the 15-member organ’s briefing on intergenerational leadership on women, peace and security.
“Intergenerational dialogues are critical opportunities for building trust and articulating shared aspirations,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, pointing to rising violence, growing geopolitical contestation and diversifying threats to peace and security. “Amid these crises, young women peacebuilders are demonstrating that a better world is possible,” she underscored, spotlighting the brave efforts of Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan, Greta Thunberg from Sweden and Ilwad Elman from Somalia in “bucking the status quo”.
Stressing that “peace cannot be achieved through deals made by elites alone”, she said the international community must embrace new approaches to cultivate a new generation of leaders — especially young women and girls — who are at the forefront of reshaping power structures and advancing peace. Facilitating dialogues, fostering inclusive peace processes and investing in young women’s leadership are three key areas in advancing intergenerational leadership, she emphasized.
Detailing the Organization’s support for “multi-track efforts that promote peace from the bottom up”, she pointed to, among others, the Peacebuilding Fund’s support in Chad for local dialogue platforms that brought together youth associations with traditional authorities to peacefully resolve disputes and lead prevention campaigns, as well as the organization in Yemen by the Office of the Special Envoy for the Secretary-General of consultations for an inclusive peace process, which has framed the women, peace and security agenda as a broader community priority rather than just a women’s issue. Recalling the “Common Pledge on women’s participation in peace processes” launched by the Secretary-General earlier in 2024, she urged all stakeholders to join the UN in taking concrete actions to ensure women’s participation in peace processes.
“Investments in women, peace and security agenda are not an option; they are a necessity for preventing conflict and achieving sustainable and inclusive peace,” she underscored, urging the international community’s more robust and consistent financial backing to ensure that young women peacebuilders’ work flourishes. Noting that “young women around the world are envisioning and demanding a world of justice and peace”, she declared: “Together, we must cultivate leadership from the ground up, placing young women and women’s rights at the heart of our efforts.”
Also briefing the Council, via videoconference, was Tahani Abbas, who said she is a human rights defender and peace advocate. Noting her decades’ long work with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, “having fled from Khartoum on my own two feet as the war rained down around me”, she said that women have been on the front lines of conflict response in creative and adaptive ways. Sudanese women “in the latest version of the war” in their country have created networks of resistance like emergency response rooms, where “humanitarian mechanisms” they designed provide medical services, daycares, communal kitchens and other services to women and girls throughout Sudan. When the war broke out, women who had participated in de-escalation and dialogue processes at the local levels prior to the war and had used their skills and capacities to mediate, negotiate and manage tensions and conflicts in their communities during the war, she added.
Stressing the importance of including women civilian expertise into “dialogue processes that affect their fate”, she recalled the meeting of the ALPS [Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan] Group in Switzerland in August where she, “along with over a dozen of my Sudanese sisters […] over half of them young”, advised the Special Envoy and other members of the Group on priorities and solutions. They continue to inform the technical committees about needs and opportunities to support the Sudanese, she said, emphasizing: “Without this kind of participation at all levels of dialogue, we will not see the enduring peace that the Sudanese people desire and deserve.”
She called on the Council to protect and support women on the front lines of conflict — both as victims and first responders — and to support women peacebuilders before, during and after crises, highlighting that the “Mothers of Peace” group in Blue Nile are among others that are engaged in influencing “rank-and-file” within warring parties. She further called on the Council to partner with and for young women in Sudan and ensure that youth perspectives are meaningfully included in dialogues at all levels around ending the war and building Sudan’s future.
In the ensuing discussion, many speakers echoed the Under-Secretary-General’s calls for inclusive peace and security processes that ensured women’s participation and highlighted their respective Governments’ efforts to this end.
The representative of the United States, who organized today’s briefing as Council President for December, spoke in her national capacity to recall the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize, 13 years ago, to three women — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee of Libera, and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen. Describing a photograph of the three, hand in hand, “soaking in their historic accomplishment”, the oldest awardee in her seventies, and the youngest in her thirties, she underscored the need for both “hard-earned wisdom and a fresh perspective; a keen understanding of the past and unrelenting hope for the future” in tackling intractable challenges to peace and security. “Let us follow their example, and create more coalitions like that one, of emerging and experienced peacebuilders,” she said, detailing her Government’s work to that end.
The United Kingdom’s delegate similarly spotlighted her Government’s work with Afghan women leaders to discuss tangible steps to support women’s inclusion in Afghanistan’s future. Voicing alarm over the sharp rise in conflict-related sexual violence, she stated that the Prime Minister’s newly appointed Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ray Collins, will drive international action to tackle this issue. She also highlighted its support to the Peacebuilding Fund, and its $900,000 programme with the International Civil Society Action Network, through which it helped bring together over 40 women peacebuilders across generations to assess challenges and plan collective action.
Likewise, the representative of Switzerland, noting her delegation’s work as co-chair, with Sierra Leone, of the Informal Expert Group [on women, peace and security], emphasized the need to interact with women on the ground, stating: “We have tried to promote this through a trip by members of the expert group to South Sudan and during this year’s Council trip to Colombia.” In October, her delegation facilitated a joint dialogue between the young peace ambassadors of the African Union and the ambassadors of the Security Council of the UN and of the African Union. Further, the Council must commit to increasing the number of women mediators and contributors — a point also made by Guyana’s representative.
Malta’s delegate, noting her delegation’s work as coordinator of the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security, said: “We stand firm in our belief that in its deliberations, this Council must keep the daily — and disproportionate — challenges that women peacebuilders face at the forefront of its considerations.” Ecuador’s representative pointed out that women can act as “probes”, transmitting their knowledge and helping train new women leaders.
“Generation equality, not just gender equality, must be our goal”, underscored Algeria’s representative, stressing that youth, especially young women, bring energy and creativity that are essential to shaping sustainable peace efforts. He spotlighted his country’s National Action Plan adopted in July 2023, and its strong focus on improving women’s inclusion in decision-making processes, and the Higher Council for Youth established in 2021 to give younger generations a meaningful voice in shaping policy and peace initiatives.
The speaker for France urged support for civil society funds and organizations, noting his country’s financial support to the Global Survivors Fund set up by Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege in 2019, and, through its Feminist Organization Support Fund, the disbursement of $250 million over the period 2023-2027. Women’s participation in peace talks must be strengthened, and all peace agreements must include gender equality provisions, he added, noting his country’s investment of more than $1 million over the last three years in training women officers and creating military gender advisers for peacekeeping operations.
Slovenia’s representative pointed out that while women remain disproportionately affected by conflicts, specific needs and vulnerabilities of different age groups remain largely invisible due to gender- and age-based discrimination. She called for the inclusion of comprehensive gender analysis, including gender- and age-disaggregated data in all policy planning and implementation, which are crucial to addressing that gap. A survivor-centred response, which ensures access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, is also needed, she added, noting that survivors must be empowered by engaging them in designing the response.
The Republic of Korea’s representative cited his country’s experience in prioritizing women’s education for empowerment, pointing out that its First National Constitution in 1948 guaranteed women access to education on equal terms with men; “something unimaginable” during the country’s prior history. This measure led to a steep decrease in women’s illiteracy, he stated, allowing Korean women to “serve as community leaders, peace advocates and economic drivers — roles critical to nation-building”. Spotlighting its launch in 2024 of the “Action with Women and Peace Fund”, his country’s first contribution will support the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, focusing on Sudanese women’s participation in peace processes, he said.
Japan’s representative advocated for leveraging the Peacebuilding Commission’s advisory role, noting that its convening power can bring together diverse actors, including civil society and women peacebuilders, to inform the Council’s deliberations. Moreover, by requesting the Commission’s inputs and advice, the Council can better incorporate the voices of these diverse actors and reflect upon cross-generational efforts and initiatives on the ground.
On that point, the Russian Federation’s representative, questioning how the women, peace and security agenda is being implemented in the Arab-Israeli conflict, said that fostering intergenerational dialogue is a task for the Peacebuilding Commission, not the Security Council. While the UN should create equal conditions for the participation of women and men in peacekeeping processes, the most valuable contributions are made by women living in conflict-affected regions, he said, urging the Council to take a “practical” approach that considers cultural specificities and avoids “cookie-cutter approaches or the interest of donors and other external players”.
“Without creating the conditions for women’s security, the Council’s discussions will be nothing more than empty platitudes for women who have suffered so much from war and conflict,” underscored China’s representative. Echoing Sierra Leone’s delegate who cautioned against tokenism, he said the Council’s discussions on women, peace and security issues should not be for the sake of political correctness or soundbites. Urging concrete and pragmatic measures, he once again called on his fellow Council members to stand united in upholding the authority of the organ’s mechanisms and resolutions and support robust action to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Mozambique’s delegate, highlighting the contributions of young women in his country’s struggle against colonialism, said: “This legacy continues to inspire successive generations of women peacebuilders who are now working towards a brighter future for women’s empowerment in Mozambique. Similarly cautioning against “lip service”, he called for enhanced capacity-building measures, through mentorship programmes aimed at women peacebuilders, and financial support for women-led organizations.
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