Ukrainian peacebuilder Nina Potarska sails to challenge illegal blockade of Gaza
Nina Potarska, a member of the ICAN-spearheaded Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership, is currently at sea with the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian-led mission organized with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, en route to Gaza.
The Odd Couple: Women Peacebuilders and Security Actors Bridging Positions, Building Trust
The WPS agenda has proven a vital entry point for women peacebuilders to engage with the security sector and build trust within affected communities. These efforts—often invisible—are contributing to the reform of the sector, reshaping local security environments and mitigating violence.
The War Against Ourselves: Afghan Women Peacebuilders’ Response to the Mental Health Crisis in Afghanistan
This case study describes the drivers of the mental health crisis in Afghanistan, its gendered and cultural dimensions, and the strategies used by Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations to provide solutions. The authors conducted interviews with representatives of Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations and thematic experts, which were complemented by a desk review of project documentation and […]
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Press Release: BPI Executive Seminar & Certification Course on Inclusive and Gendered Mediation
Press Release: BPI Executive Seminar & Certification Course on Inclusive and Gendered Mediation
14 July 2018
PRESS RELEASE
Better Peace Initiative (BPI)
Executive Seminar & Certification Course on Inclusive and Gendered Mediation
Washington DC – July 13, 2018
The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) at the University of Ottawa are delighted to announce the launch of the first comprehensive Better Peace Initiative executive seminar on inclusive and gendered mediation to better address the world’s most complex conflicts today. The Honorable Senator Mobina Jaffer, Chair of ICAN’s Board of Directors and former Canadian Envoy to Sudan, will open the event. The Honorable Senator said, “We are delighted to host the women peacemakers who are at the frontlines, making the change for peace in their communities. Canada supports their endeavours in making the world a more peaceful inclusive place.”
With wars in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere growing in complexity and international mediators facing a proliferation of warring parties, traditional methods of peace making are no longer effective. Peace processes must include state and non-state armed actors, but research shows that they alone cannot bring sustainable peace. It is imperative to include peace actors and other civilians, not least women, in the peace process. With knowledge of on-the-ground realities, they are active in every sphere, from providing relief to the refugees, to mediating local ceasefires, negotiating peace, countering violent extremism, disarming fighters and helping with reconciliation and transition to sustainable peace and development. Yet this know-how and commitment is still all too often absent from peace processes.
The Better Peace Initiative (BPI) seminar will tackle these issues drawing on ICAN’s pioneering work in this field and its innovative Better Peace tools and resources. 25 women peacemakers from Myanmar to Colombia and from Kenya to Afghanistan, who have been at the frontlines of peacemaking in their communities and nationally, will attend the 5 day program at the University of Ottawa, July 16-21, 2018.
“We are aiming to establish a ‘gold standard’ of practice and a cadre of women with depth of knowledge and practical expertise in negotiating and mediating peace that can be inclusive, just and sustainable,” says ICAN’s Executive Director and co-founder, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini.
“We are delighted to link arms with ICAN and host this amazing group of women leaders from around the world with the aim of contributing to more effective peace processes in everyone’s interest”, adds John Packer, Neuberger-Jesin Professor of International Conflict Resolution and Director of the HRREC at the University of Ottawa.
This endeavor is supported by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), as part of Canada’s demonstrable commitment to gender equality in its international foreign policy and development aid.
The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) Statement: The Escalating U.S.-Israeli War on Iran and its Regional Ramifications
On October 6, 2025, the U.N. Security Council holds its annual open debate on Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. Today, we are not issuing a new statement. Instead, we are honoring our community of women peacebuilders—who appeared before the Security Council throughout these 25 years, speaking for the millions they represent—by echoing their messages.
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On behalf of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and members of the global Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL), we are honored to nominate Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
در عرصه صحت روانی، افغانستان با بحران پیچیدهای مواجه است که این بحران به طور جدایی ناپذیر با ناامنی شدید فیزیکی، سیاسی و اقتصادی در کشور گره خورده و این نا امنی ها بحران را تشدید میکند. برای رسیدگی به آسیب های روانی، صحت و بهداشت جامعه به شیوه های پاسخگو به جنسیت و با مد نظر گرفتن حساسیت های فرهنگی، سازمانهای فعال در عرصه صلح سازی به رهبری زنان افغان در موقعیتی منحصربه فرد قرار دارند. این سازمان ها خدمات ابتدایی ارائه میدهند، مهارتها را توسعه میبخشند و در شکلدهی هنجارهای فرهنگی و جنسیتی نقش مؤثر ایفا میکنند.
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In a powerful departure from traditional advocacy, ICAN—guided by our Afghan partners and women peacebuilders—hosted the event “Watan e Ma – وطن ما – Our Homeland: Women of Afghanistan Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive” on March 17, 2025 at Blue Gallery in New York City. Held during the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), the event celebrated Afghan cultural heritage and the resilience of Afghan women peacebuilders, who persist in their leadership for peace, justice, and equality under the Taliban’s regime of gender apartheid.
On May 5, 2025, ICAN's Sanam Naraghi Anderlini delivered the keynote speech at the two-day international conference "25th Anniversary Conference of UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace and Security."
As Senator Mobina Jaffer concludes 23 years of distinguished public service in the Canadian Senate, we extend our deepest thanks for her steadfast leadership as Chair of ICAN’s Board of Directors from 2014 to 2024.
Together with André Mundal, our new Interim Chair of the ICAN Board of Directors, we are delighted to welcome two new members to our Board of Directors.
