UN Women Urges Nations to Boost Women’s Role in Peace Processes

Addis Ababa, October 31, 2025 (ENA) – The UN Women has called on countries to take stronger measures to ensure women’s active participation in peace negotiations and conflict resolution efforts around the world.

Harriette Williams Bright, the WPS-HA Compact Lead at UN Women, said women remain vastly underrepresented in high-level peace processes despite decades of global commitments to equality.

“We have a challenge currently, because we are not seeing women at the peace table at the rate in which they should be,” she said. “In 2024, on average, only seven percent of negotiators and twenty percent of signatories were women, so a lot more has to be done on that.”

In her video message, Bright underscored that this call reflects the core principle of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, which demands equal participation of women and men in peace and security matters as outlined in the UN Charter.

“The resolution is simply about equal rights for women and men,” she explained, adding that women’s full involvement is key to achieving “inclusive, peaceful and sustainable societies.”

Since the adoption of Resolution 1325, its goals have been translated into 115 national action plans and numerous local initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s roles in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Bright further stressed that the women, peace and security agenda is not just a policy framework but a matter of real-life impact.

“It’s about having a safe place to live. It’s about being at the table to shape what is going to happen in your community. It’s about economic security,” she said. “Investing in women peace builders is simply building and investing in long-term peace.”

She also noted the success of gender parity initiatives in peace support operations, noting that women’s inclusion helps ensure community engagement and cultural sensitivity in mission areas.

“When women are involved and included meaningfully, fully and safely in peace processes, peace outcomes last longer because WPS principles are at work,” Bright underscored.