United States Institute of Peace

We are living through a time of exceptional gravity.

Remarkable progress that has been made over two decades in every region in decreasing conflict, reducing poverty, combatting gender-based violence, advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, and expanding access to education and other rights – all this is in jeopardy.

Depleted by the pandemic, divided by growing polarisation, undermined by growing environmental harm and corroded by digital disinformation, hatred and disregard of the rule of law, many societies are evolving – or plunging – into increased repression and violence; rising poverty; anger; and conflict.

The military action by the Russian Federation in Ukraine creates a new threat to the global peace and security that is the basis for sustainable development and all human rights. We are also witnessing the ongoing and widespread denial and erasure of women's role, voices and legitimate demands in Afghanistan.

Across the globe, women are at the heart of efforts to ensure equal and just societies. Women human rights defenders and peacebuilders are at the forefront of efforts to build peace and social transformation.

But despite this powerful role, women human rights defenders and peacebuilders – and their families – are increasingly being subjected to threats and attacks, in a widespread backlash against decades of progress for women's rights.

I want to underscore the convergence between UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other fundamental human rights agreements.

Women's meaningful – not tokenistic - participation in peacebuilding is inextricably linked with gender equality, non-discrimination, freedom of expression and the right to participate fully in public affairs.

It is the key that can unlock support for the whole range of women's and girls' human rights that may be harmed by conflict and insecurity. They include women's equal rights to life, personal integrity and security, bodily autonomy, sexual and reproductive and health and rights, right to land and an adequate standard of living, and protection from gender-based violence and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called human rights "inescapable, and powerful". They are the measures that prevent war, and the levers that build peace.

Focusing on human rights brings mediators and conflicting parties a perspective that advances inclusive and sustainable outcomes – because they unearth root causes of conflict and have at their centre, the dignity and wellbeing of all human beings.

The exclusion of women from peace processes severely distorts both the full narrative of the conflict, and the relevance and power of negotiated outcomes. It undermines the sustainability of peace.

Yet between 1992 and 2019, only 13 per cent of negotiators, 6 per cent of mediators and 6 per cent of signatories in major peace processes worldwide were women.

And that was before the pandemic – and before a wave of intensifying conflicts, unconstitutional overthrows of Government, and deepening humanitarian crises, including environmental disasters, took hold in many regions, increasing the damaging impact on women's rights.

Implementing Resolution 1325 requires consistent policies for public recognition, effective protection and vastly increased financing for women's and girl's civil society organizations and movements, including women human rights defenders. And it requires action to end the violence that targets women and girls who stand up for human rights and peace.

Today, barely 1 per cent of funding in fragile or conflict-affected countries goes to women's rights organizations. It is fundamental to significantly increase financial support for women human rights defenders and peacebuilders, and ensure that funding is flexible, timely and accessible to those who need it most. In this light, I appreciate efforts such as the new funding window for women human rights defenders of the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund.

The enabling environment that lies at the heart of the women, peace and security agenda is also largely absent. In 2020, my Office verified 35 killings of women human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in seven conflict-affected countries where data could be retrieved. This number, which is certainly an underestimate, is an increase from previous years. These killings and other human rights violations significantly undermine global efforts to prevent conflict and sustain peace and further deter women from participation and leadership in peace processes.

There is an urgent need to significantly increase accountability for attacks and intimidation. We must establish effective, gender-responsive and holistic individual and collective protection mechanisms designed with and for those who face threats and attacks.

The international community must stand united and push back against attempts to attack, silence, delegitimise and criminalize women human rights defenders – including those who express dissenting views. We also need to ensure safe spaces for women human rights defenders to interact with all United Nations bodies without fear of reprisals, both at headquarters and at country level.

There is no peace, security or development without the full participation of women in all their diversity, and the organisations and movements they lead, And meaningful participation simply cannot happen without effective protection of their space, voice, and demands – their human rights.

Addressing discrimination, inequality, threats, attacks, gender-based violence and denials of women's civic space is an essential and immediate priority for building peace. And peace is what we need, now.

I thank you for your attention, and encourage further efforts by all stakeholders to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda embodied in Resolution 1325.