Women’s meaningful participation in negotiating peace and the implementation of peace agreements: Report of the Expert Group Meeting

This report reflects discussions held during the May 2018 Expert Group Meeting hosted by UN Women on women’s meaningful participation in negotiating peace and the implementation of peace agreements. The meeting included some 50 experts from a diverse range of countries and contexts, including Bosnia, Colombia, Kenya, Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244), Georgia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

The report highlights how far the international community and Member States have come in advancing women’s meaningful participation in conflict resolution since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). The report highlights the aims and outcomes of the convening, which included:

• the exchange of current research and good practice on women’s representation and “meaningful” participation in peace processes;
• the exploration of the concept of “meaningful participation”—what it includes and how the United Nations, Member States, civil society, and other relevant actors can best effectively advocate for it and consistently operationalize it;
• discussion of the barriers to women’s meaningful participation; and
• assessment of the trends and challenges in gender-responsive provisions of peace agreements and their implementation.

The report includes a menu of actions for relevant actors and recommendations that reflect on nearly 20 years of implementation of the women, peace, and security agenda.

Click here to see the report.