Conciliation Resources

Today, we had a highly fruitful exchange with the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediators, co-organized with CMI — Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation and Conciliation Resources, both members of EPLO’s network. 🗣️💬At a time when the space for women mediators continues to shrink, this discussion was essential to highlight their strategic role in peacebuilding and explore how stronger collaboration with the EU can enhance their impact. ✨A big thank you to all participants for their insights and contributions!

The absence of women in peace 🕊️processes is startling 👀. Recent data collected by UN Women show that women made up only 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators and 26.6% of signatories to peace and ceasefire agreements. None of the peace agreements reached in 2023 included a women’s group or representative as a signatory. And this, despite plenty of experience and against all better judgement: it has been proven time and again that women are key for achieving more sustainable peace agreements. All over the 🌎, security is deteriorating, with a devastating impact on the living conditions of women and girls. While we celebrate the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution #1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the rights of women and girls face major backlashes. In order to tackle the severe under-representation of women in peace mediation and negotiations, the EU 🇪🇺 takes action: This week, we 🇪🇺 joined the United Nations 🇺🇳 Secretary General’s initiative for Women’s Full, Equal and Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes. We are proud to be part of its signatories. And today, I met with Regional Women Mediators from all around the world. I was impressed and moved by their dedication, their courage and the stories they shared. Huge thanks to Janna Greve and Guillem Riutord Sampol for bringing us all together! The 🇪🇺 EU is committed to continue: 💪🏽Appointing women as lead mediators and ensuring women are an integral part of EU mediation teams; 🤝Advocacy with conflict parties to advance women’s direct and meaningful participation in peace processes, including as members of their delegations; 💡Consultations by EU mediation teams with a broad range of women leaders and women-led civil society in all stages of peace processes; and much more. In my daily work on peace, security and partnerships, I meet amazing women mediators and peacemakers active on the grassroot level and up to the highest political spheres. It is people like them who give me hope for the future. Often, they don’t get enough credit because the nature of their work means that they operate outside the limelight. But their role and merit is huge. My thanks go out to them! #WPS #StrongerTogether #EUSecurity Stella Ronner-Grubacic Julia Koch - de Biolley

March is Women's Month in the Philippines. We are taking this moment to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the women in the Bangsamoro region in promoting a culture of peace, equality and inclusivity. Their pivotal role in advancing peace and fostering unity within the community is essential. Learn more about how women are shaping peace in the Bangsamoro and beyond here: https://buff.ly/4Dv1Asg #WEcanbeEquALL

The Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks holds strategic meetings this week in Brussels! Today marked the start of an important in-person meeting of the Global Contact Group of the Global Alliance, a collective of six regional women mediator networks representing over 800 women mediators across the globe. Now hosted by Women Mediators across the Commonwealth (WMC), the Alliance is holding this strategic meeting with the support of and in partnership with the European External Action Service Mediation Support Team. This gathering serves as a key planning and exchange moment in the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. There is still much progress to be made to ensure women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in peace processes. This meeting will: • Develop collective priorities and a work plan for the anniversary year • Mark the transition of Global Alliance coordination from FemWise Africa to WMC • Explore opportunities for deeper engagement with EU institutions and Member States in advancing the WPS agenda This week is about looking forward with strategy, solidarity, and a renewed commitment to women’s leadership in peace and security as the world reflects on 25 years of UNSCR 1325. #WPS #WomenMediators #GlobalAlliance #UNSCR1325 #PeaceAndSecurity #WomenInPeacebuilding #WMC #Mediation #EEAS #BrusselsMeeting Quhramaana Kakar Conciliation Resources

JOB ALERT: We are seeking a Senior Finance Business Partner to deliver accurate management information, provide finance technical support, budgeting and planning, financial analysis and problem resolution to budget holders and our teams. Apply here: https://buff.ly/yEhKEst

Work on masculinities can help to  #AccelerateAction for gender equality in #peacebuilding. Together with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation / 公益財団法人 笹川平和財団 and Integral Knowledge Asia, our research in Aceh, Maluku and Bangsamoro Mindanao explored how ideas of masculinity prior to, during and after armed conflict influence the power and place of women in post-conflict societies. We looked at the complex and dynamic ways masculinities shape violence and unequal gender relations in families and communities and how peacebuilding policymakers and practitioners can equitably include women in achieving sustainable peace. This #IWD2025, learn more about how innovative work on masculinities can advance gender equality and peace here: https://buff.ly/PytQSCq

This #IWD2025, we’re looking at ways we can #AccelerateAction towards gender equality in #peacebuilding processes. Despite increasing efforts to discredit and stop work on gender across the world, we know that gender transformative approaches help to reduce violence and build sustainable peace. In West Africa, our gender transformative approach has resulted in local leaders and security officials changing how they resolve conflict and make decisions, to ensure the experiences, concerns and requests of women and young people are taken into account. Now, women from religious minority groups who previously experienced intense discrimination and were denied access to basic needs are working directly with community leaders for change. How did we do this? ➡️ By carrying out gender-sensitive conflict analysis with religious leaders, police and former members of armed groups, we helped them to understand how different people are affected by violence, and how attitudes, behaviours and decision-making structures can perpetuate these issues. ➡️ By facilitating discussions on gender norms, we supported older leaders and younger men to value qualities such as listening over physical strength and violence. ➡️ By bringing together men from different backgrounds - such as unemployed youth, former armed group members and traditional leaders - we helped them to understand how levels of power affect people’s experiences of violence and their opportunities to shape peace. Now they apply that lens to their work with women and other excluded groups.  Learn more about our approach here: https://buff.ly/tEHEdbH Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

JOB ALERT: We are seeking an Interim Financial Controller to help us maintain our business processes and controls, expenditure and balance sheet transactions, and ensure smooth and timely project and statutory audits. Apply here: https://buff.ly/Jt0sB7J

CONSULTANCY: We are recruiting an external consultant to conduct a mid-term review for our 'Integrating mental health in gender-responsive peacebuilding in the Central African Republic' project. The project is piloting an approach in Bangui and Bossangoa that aims to establish mental health and psychosocial support mechanisms and processes that generate gender-responsive peacebuilding and reconciliation outcomes. The mid-term review will assess how project implementation is progressing in relation to the logic and assumptions underpinning its design, and provide recommendations for adaptation. Apply here: https://buff.ly/4km8leE

The UK Government’s decision to cut the overseas development aid budget from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% is short-sighted. People living in the most insecure and conflict-affected environments will suffer directly as a result. The UK faces new security threats, uncertainties and choices in its international relations. However, the choice of either international development aid or defence spending is wrong; both serve to enhance national and international security. ➡️ UK aid prevents and resolves conflict  The UK aid budget funds effective conflict prevention and resolution efforts around the world. This is now at risk. The UK provided diplomatic and financial support to peace processes that led to historic agreements in Colombia and the Philippines after decades of conflict and negotiations. The aid budget supports organisations in the UK and many conflict-affected contexts to reduce tensions, build bridges and stable societies able to manage conflict through peaceful and political means. In so doing, the UK helps societies to mitigate and manage climate change and helps people to remain in their homes and communities, free from the fear of conflict. This work, happening quietly beyond media headlines, is funded from a diminishing fraction – just 2% – of the aid budget. Yet it is cost effective. Conciliation Resources’ support to negotiations in the Somali Region of Ethiopia over six years helped bring an end to the 25 year civil war in 2018 – all for half the price of one Challenger tank. The Institute for Economics and Peace estimates that for every dollar invested in peacebuilding now, the cost of conflict would reduce by 16 dollars over the long run – and the total dividend for the international community would be $2.94 trillion.  ➡️ Peacebuilding at risk The UK Government’s decision will compound the impact of cuts to US aid, which accounts for 40% of aid globally. While the Foreign Secretary has rightly signalled continued support to Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, it is vital that peacebuilding continues in less high-profile contexts to prevent and resolve conflict. ➡️ How can you help? Share this message with your networks; if you are a UK voter, write to your MP asking them to oppose the cuts; continue to advocate for peacebuilding as a means to reduce violent conflict and create safer communities around the world. Read our full statement here: https://buff.ly/41aCh4E #Peacebuilding, #UKAidCuts, #UKAid Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Bond UK, Saferworld, International Alert, European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), Alliance for Peacebuilding, Chatham House, Royal United Services Institute, Lucy V. Moore, Christine Cheng, Jonathan Cohen, Teresa Dumasy, Alastair Carr