Despite a growing awareness that the fullequalsafe and meaningful participation of women leads to more sustainable peace agreementswomen remain largely excluded from formal peace negotiations. We strengthen women's participation in peace negotiations by finding creative ways to link formal and informal women's initiatives.

Studies show that women's participation makes peace agreements more sustainable. One reason for this is that women at the negotiating table are connected to women at all levels of society. This enables them to bring diverse concerns into peace agreements and improve their quality and durability. Neverthelesswomen remain largely excluded from formal peace negotiations: according to United Nations datawomen make up only a fraction of the negotiatorsmediators and signatories of peace and ceasefire agreements.

Promoting trust and solidarity

There is often a lack of connection between peace activists working locally and at grassroots level and the women and men involved in formal talks. Together with our partnerswe develop creative approaches that promote this exchangeas well as connections between them. This includes building alliancesinformal exchange meetings and working groups. This collaboration leads to an exchange of knowledge between different womenpromotes mutual trust and solidarityprovides access to decision-makerswhich in turn strengthens the legitimacy of female peace brokersexperts and mediators at the negotiating table. Togetherthey contribute to more comprehensive and sustainable peace agreements with a higher implementation rate.

In this area of activitywhich was launched in 2024we are working together with our partners in pilot programmes in Colombia and Sudan to ensure that women's perspectivesvisions and demands are better taken into account in formal peace negotiations – leading to more comprehensive and sustainable peace agreements.

More information about the overarching goals of our programmes and how we apply our "ABC of feminist peacebuilding".