Women in Peace Negotiations

Abstract

The adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000 brought Women, Peace and Security (WPS) onto the UN agenda, yet women remain significantly underrepresented in peace negotiations. This landmark resolution called for increased awareness of women as actors for peace, rather than only as victims of armed conflict, and has led to important further developments in the WPS field, as well as a surge of attention in both academic and policymaking circles. Most policy and academic debates tend to focus on women’s presence in, rather than their actual impact on, peace processes. Yet, research shows that it is not the inclusion of women per se, but rather women’s actual influence on peace negotiations that is positively correlated with a higher likelihood of reaching sustainable peace agreements: in other words, it’s not about counting women, but rather about making women count. This chapter thus provides insights on how women participate in, influence and impact peace negotiations, by focusing on the various avenues through which they can participate, and the process and context factors that enable or constrain their involvement.