What role for women in peacebuilding?

Ukraine-Russia war or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as much war as the cease-fire or peace agreements are discussed by men. Last March, the European Parliament stressed the imperative to encourage the active participation of women in promoting dialogue and building peace. Women represented only 13% of negotiators in the major peace processes between 1992 and 2018, 4% of signatories and 3% of mediators. However, when they are present, the agr…

Briefing by Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, to the Security Council meeting on peace consolidation in West Africa

3 April 2025 Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Founding Director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, said that West Africa, which accounts for 5.67 per cent of the world’s population, “has suffered military rule, undemocratic Governments, wars and conflicts, putting the enjoyment of rights and women in contestation”. She said that women and girls in West Africa have a 58 per cent chance of not being enrolled in secondary school, a 20…