Good Practice: Pro­mot­ing wo­men’s par­ti­cip­a­tion in peace pro­cesses in the Middle East

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted the Resolution 1325 with the aim of increasing the involvement of women in crisis prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding and protecting them from sexual violence in armed conflicts. The participation of women is crucial for the success and effectiveness of peace and security initiatives. To date, however, the implementation of the Security Council resolution 1325 remains a major challenge, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, the so-called MENA region: Women traditionally participate less in political processes than men. Thus, effective and equal participation of women in peace and transition processes still does not exist.

The aim of the project is to improve and strengthen the political participation of women and their influence in peace processes in the Middle East and North Africa in the long term.

The project promotes the substantial and effective participation of women in peace processes for sustainable peace in the MENA region. The focus countries are Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria. The implementation is carried out together with UN-Women. Peace activists, mediators and selected women's groups learn how to participate in and lead peace negotiations. They are given access to a specially developed online portal and the Peace Agreement Database and PeaceFem App, which contains strategy documents, individual case studies and training materials. Another focus of the project is the promotion of transnational networking and exchange of experiences. In addition, governments and other actors in peace negotiations are advised on the participation of women and the integration of gender-sensitive perspectives. An important component of the project is the cooperation with renowned international think tanks and research institutes. These underpin the project's approaches with qualitative and quantitative research and guarantee a fact-based and effective approach.

Several regional conferences have been held to promote the exchange of experiences among women peace activists in the MENA region. In Tunis, for example, participants developed innovative ideas for faltering peace processes; in Cairo, the transnational capacities of 22 women diplomats were strengthened; and in Beirut, the focus was on intergenerational cooperation. In 2018, 470 women were able to take part in local, regional or national processes to build political will or prepare a decision in peace processes; in 2019, 397 women took part. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has increasingly focused on digital formats.