More than 600 million women and girls lived in conflict-affected countries in 2022, recording a 50% increase since 2017. Meanwhile, countries are instead increasing military spending, which topped USD 2.2 trillion in 2022, according to the newly- issued annual UN Secretary-General report on women, peace, and security.
“These negative trends are setting back both gender equality and global peace. However, this dire picture is not inevitable. We can reverse it by investing in women’s organizations in crisis settings; increasing the meaningful participation of women in mediation and peace processes; promoting parity in political and electoral processes; and using accountability tools to strengthen the protection of women in conflict-affected countries”, stated Sarah Hendriks, UN Women Deputy Executive Director ad interim.
Events of political violence targeting women increased by 50 percent in conflict-affected countries between 2020 and 2022.
A key recommendation issued in the report is for at least one-third of all participants in mediation and peace processes to be women, but the reality shows that women remain sidelined from the main negotiations. While women participated in 80 % of UN-led or co-led peace processes, their actual numbers remained low, at only about 16 % of total participants—a proportion that has decreased for two years in a row. Women were almost completely absent from many other peace processes and political talks on situations on the agenda of the Security Council, including in Ethiopia, Kosovo, Sudan, Myanmar, and Libya.
Additional recommendations from the report include:
- Investing $300 million in new funding pledges for women’s organizations in crisis settings over the next three years;
- Setting ambitious targets for women’s direct participation on delegations and negotiating teams, and appointing women as lead mediators in peace processes;
- Reducing military expenditures and increasing funding to women’s peacebuilding efforts which have repeatedly shown to be effective and sustainable;
- Ensuring women human rights defenders can work safely in their home countries or relocate as necessary.
The UN Secretary-General’s report calls on all conflicting parties to ensure the safety of women and girls and women’s full involvement in peace processes.
