“Looking around the room @ #betterpeace – like being in presence of many #mandelas – sadly not known by world” @sanambna

On June 22-25, 2014, the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), UN Women (UNW), US Institute of Peace (USIP), Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), and Cordaid, with assistance from the Institute for Inclusive Security, Women in International Security (WIIS), Swisspeace, and Athena Consortium, hosted a gathering for representatives from civil society, governments, international organizations (UN and other multilateral organizations) and academia to move beyond the question of ‘why’ inclusivity matters, to ‘how’ it is being practiced, with attention to effective strategies and ongoing challenges in recent and ongoing cases. The diverse list of attendees allowed for information and experience sharing amongst peace process actors who do not often get a chance to connect.

Watch the short event video, including interviews with women peace activists.
Read the full concept note and event description in English, español or عربي.

“UN must appoint mediators+experts who understand including women at #peace tables if we are ever going to achieve sustainable + #betterpeace” @SenJaffer

Read below for an update on how women and civil society are participating in peace processes around the world, as well as a brief history of each conflict, conflict timeline, and links to recent ceasefires, agreements and other documents:

Syria – English
Afghanistan – English
Myanmar – English عربي español
Colombia – English عربي
South Sudan – English
Philippines – English عربي español

“Moderates (political, civil society) are necessary for successful dialogue & peace negotiations. #betterpeace” @Bettymurungi

The symposium reflected on the existing precedence of inclusive peace processes as well as practical strategies used to promote gendered and inclusive mediation and peace negotiations and overcome common obstacles. The meeting addressed three key topics:

1. Experiences of women civil society leaders who have participated in peace processes; the range of processes and mechanisms being used to ensure women’s active involvement and access of civil society voices to negotiations; as well as approaches to overcoming the most persistent obstacles.

2. Experiences and importance of ensuring inclusivity and gender sensitivity in the negotiation agenda and the range of issues negotiated during peace talks.

3. The development of standards of practice and tools to enable governments, multilateral organizations and other international actors to improve peace processes through practical means of enabling the inclusion of civil society, particularly women’s rights focused and women-led organizations.