November 5, 2018: In many of the world’s most intransigent conflicts, women are mobilized to address the most urgent issues in their communities. Syrian women are negotiating humanitarian relief at the local level and are in the top ranks of the Syrian opposition negotiating team. Women in Central African Republic mediate between local armed groups. Former Central African Republic head of state Madame Catherine Samba-Panza co-chairs a senior level network of African women mediators. In Myanmar, Rohingya women are documenting the crimes carried about by the Tatmadaw and women are negotiating ceasefires in Kachin State.

Yet, whether in Syria, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, or almost any other situation affected by conflict, women are also overwhelmingly excluded from efforts to prevent, resolve, and rebuild from complex crises. Their exclusion runs counter to research that increasingly shows that peace processes that substantively include women tend to result in more durable and sustainable peace.

This disconnect between women’s exclusion from formal peace efforts and their active engagement in building and sustaining peace is at the heart of what we know as the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. On October 31st, the anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325, we take stock of why this agenda is still necessary.

Read the full article: Why Women, Peace, and Security? Why Now? (reliefweb.int)