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Our Global Reach
10 September 2026
Staff Accountant (Remote, US Based)

ICAN is hiring a Staff Accountant to provide financial and administrative support to ICAN’s Finance Director and broader team.

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Resource Library
12 May 2025
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.

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21 April 2025
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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News & Media
10 September 2026
Staff Accountant (Remote, US Based)

ICAN is hiring a Staff Accountant to provide financial and administrative support to ICAN’s Finance Director and broader team.

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Country - Uganda

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About the Organization

The Coalition for Action on 1325 (COACT) is an alliance of 45 member organizations working to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Uganda. COACT inspires women’s leadership, amplifies their voices, and coordinates civil society action to prevent and resolve conflict and contribute to building sustainable peace.

COACT’s work includes promoting women’s participation in conflict prevention and conflict resolution, promoting women’s participation in decision making in politics and the security sector, women’s economic empowerment, and promoting social accountability and inclusive governance.

ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund has supported CoACT since 2020.

Core Areas of Work:

  • Democratic Governance
  • Economic Empowerment and Livelihood Support
  • Peacemaking
  • Security Sector Reform
  • Women's Participation

The role of women like me—women peacebuilders—becomes very critical because we work with communities where conflict and sexual violence happens. And when it happens, it’s women peacebuilders who are on the ground and are the first responders. We see the faces of these women, we give international organizations the data they need to design their programs. But for us, they are the faces, of women, of men and of children.

– Robinah Rubimbwa National Coordinator, COACT, Uganda

Stories & Features

The Odd Couple: Women Peacebuilders and Security Actors Bridging Positions, Building Trust

Trust between communities and the security sector is critical for effective governance and peace. So is a vibrant civil society. When women peacebuilders are recognized and engaged as independent, strategic partners and security actors—in their own right—the results are transformative. Twenty-five years on from the launch of the WPS agenda, women peacebuilders’ creativity and contributions to societal peace and security are not only timely, they are even more essential.

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May 12, 2025
Read Post The Odd Couple: Women Peacebuilders and Security Actors Bridging Positions, Building Trust
Bridging Positions, Building Trust:  Women Peacebuilders & Security Actors

ICAN, in partnership with the Permanent Missions of Norway, Sweden, and Canada, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (UKFCDO), the Ministry of Gender, Child and Welfare of South Sudan, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI), convened a 1.5-day workshop to discuss how to strengthen community security as a localized, transformative approach for sustainable peace.

Allamin Foundation AWAPSA AWAW CIASE CoACT Exclude from RSS GEN Myanmar ICAN Featured ICAN Updates Mobaderoon PAIMAN PCID Policy Advocacy Women's Alliance for Security Leadership
April 9, 2024
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Five Steps for Sustainable Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict

Drawing on two decades of research and practice by women-led organizations specializing in women, peace and security issues and as first responders to sexual violence in fragile contexts, the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) presents the following practical guidance to inform governments and policymakers committed to effective prevention of sexual violence in conflict (PSVI).

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November 28, 2022
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CoACT: Engaging Youth to Build Peace and Prevent Election Violence in Uganda

On June 2, 2021, the Coalition for Action on 1325 (CoACT) and the Embassy of Sweden in Kampala hosted a ‘Democracy Talks’ event to discuss youth participation in democratic processes in Uganda. The event was the culmination of over a year of CoACT’s efforts to mobilize youth to build sustainable peace in Uganda. Since May 2020, CoACT has implemented a program to increase inclusiveness and youth participation in election processes, funded by ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF).

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June 7, 2021
Read Post CoACT: Engaging Youth to Build Peace and Prevent Election Violence in Uganda
She Builds Peace in Uganda: CoACT

In Uganda, the Coalition for Action on 1325 (CoACT) organized a conference to launch the She Builds Peace campaign.

CoACT Exclude from RSS She Builds Peace Countries
December 3, 2020
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More Countries & Partners

OUR PARTNERS MAP
Empatiku Foundation Indonesia

Empatiku is a civil society organization based in Indonesia that fosters empathy in the security and education sectors and addresses the rise of violent extremism. Since its establishment in 2015, Empatiku has innovated its programs to ensure the involvement of civil society, especially women, in bringing about social change.

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Women for Justice Foundation (WJF) Egypt / Canada

Women for Justice Foundation (WJF) is an Egyptian-Canadian nonprofit organization based in Ottawa, Canada and established in 2019.

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Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network India

Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network (Yakjah) is a youth and women-led nonprofit organization and social innovator for peacebuilding, based in India. It is a non-partisan platform for women and youth vulnerable to marginalization, polarization, and radicalization by conflict experiences.

Read Post Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network
Knowledge Workshop (WHRD MENA Coalition) Lebanon

The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) is a group of women human rights defenders – individuals and groups – who have established a coalition of women defenders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

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IMAN Research Malaysia

IMAN Research is a think tank based in Kuala Lumpur that focuses on issues of security, peacebuilding, and sustainable development. It provides academic and informal research to governments, development organizations, and specialists working in policy-development.

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Qadims Lumiere School and College Pakistan

Qadims Lumiere School and College was founded by Bushra Qadim Hyder in Peshawar, Pakistan. The institution provides a positive alternative to violent extremism through education, actively addressing divisions among Pakistani identity groups and gender inequalities that are exploited by extremist outfits.

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Digital Shelter Somalia

Digital Shelter is an initiative founded in March 2018 by human rights defenders in Somalia who are committed to advancing digital safety, digital rights, internet freedom, and digital inclusion.

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National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI) South Sudan

The National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI) was launched in 2016 as a partnership between the University of Juba, the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, and UN Women South Sudan. Created to meet South Sudan’s urgent need for ethical, inclusive, gender-responsive policies and visionary leadership in the aftermath of conflict, NTLI has quickly risen as a regional center of excellence in East Africa.

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Afghan Women News Agency Organization (AWNAO) Afghanistan

Afghan Women News Agency Organization (AWNAO) is a nonprofit, non-political, and non-governmental organization that supports women’s participation in social activities. Its work amplifies women’s voices through news and magazine publications, advocacy, capacity building, and education.

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