Today's Edition
By: Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Dhaheri*
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, a global turning point that recognised the essential role of women in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, humanitarian relief and recovery, and in ensuring their protection during and after crises.
The United Nations framework has since fostered greater inclusion of women in regional policy discussions through multilateral platforms such as the League of Arab States and the Mediterranean Women's Mediator Network. It has also encouraged alignment between national strategies and global commitments on gender equality, peace, and security. Yet, despite progress, implementation gaps persist. These underscore the need to deepen regional cooperation within the WPS agenda, facilitate experience-sharing, and strengthen cross-border partnerships among women engaged in peace efforts.
While women's participation in decision-making has expanded globally, mediation remains among the most under-represented fields. Across many contexts, women who play vital roles in community reconciliation and humanitarian response are excluded from formal negotiation tracks, even though their involvement is critical to rebuilding social cohesion and ensuring lasting peace.
Empirical evidence reinforces this. The UN reports and academic studies show that when women participate in negotiation and mediation, peace agreements are more inclusive and durable. UN data indicate that women's involvement can increase the likelihood of the accords lasting by up to 35%. Their participation broadens peace agendas to include justice, reconciliation, and reconstruction, all key to sustainable recovery.
Experiences from diverse regions illustrate this impact: the role of women in Liberia in ending the civil war; Colombian women's participation in talks with FARC; and women's contribution in Northern Ireland to the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, all affirm that integrating women into mediation is not merely a moral commitment but a practical necessity for sustainable peace.
In recent years, women's participation in UN peacekeeping operations has expanded significantly. By 2022, women accounted for 7.9% of military, police, and justice personnel, compared to just 1% in 1993, with their representation in civilian leadership roles reaching 30%. These figures reflect their growing contribution to this vital field.
The UN affirms that women's presence in the field makes peace operations more effective by building trust with local communities, improving communication, and serving as role models for women and girls to engage in public life. Diversity within peacekeeping teams enhances performance and representation, embodying the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the UN Charter and Security Council Resolution 1325.
Yet formal mediation remains one of the tracks with the lowest female representation. Historical UN data show that between 1992 and 2019 women made up only 6% of mediators and 13% of negotiators in major peace processes worldwide. More recent UN reporting finds that in 2023, women accounted for 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators, and 26.6% of signatories to peace and ceasefire agreements, evidence that compels a reconsideration of representation frameworks so that women's expertise is integrated not only as participants, but as principal peacemakers.
This persistent gap stems from interlocking factors: prevailing political cultures that still marginalise women in decision-making; institutional norms that overlook gender balance in appointing mediators; insufficient professional support and sustained funding for training and capacity-building for women mediators; and the late engagement of women's organisations in negotiation processes, which limits their influence over agreement design.
Structural patriarchal systems and discriminatory practices mean that peace will remain elusive unless constraints on half of society are removed. Enhancing women's equal participation in mediation is therefore both a human-rights obligation and a strategic necessity for a just, lasting peace that reflects the interests of all groups.
Accordingly, there is a need to move from recommendations to action: build regional and international networks of women mediators to enable experience-sharing and coordination among women working in negotiation and conflict management; invest in systematic professional preparation, from mediation-skills training and political-social conflict analysis to managing complex dialogues and drafting agreements; and establish specialised women-mediator platforms under the auspices of the UN and regional organisations such as the League of Arab States and the African Union to ensure sustained, non-tokenistic participation in negotiations as essential partners in decision-making.
Success depends on political will and institutional commitment by governments and international organisations to embed gender parity at every phase of peace processes. Integrating women into mediation must be built into UN and regional organisational structures. Elevating women's presence in mediation is not just a humanitarian imperative; it is a precondition for more inclusive, sustainable peace.
Experience shows that peace shaped with women's leadership is better able to address root causes and rebuild community trust. We therefore call on the international community to translate the WPS agenda from a political commitment into operational reality, a reality that reflects genuine co-decision and charts a future grounded in justice, equality and sustainable human security.
In this context, Emirati diplomacy has witnessed a growing presence of Emirati women who have demonstrated high capability in representing the state in regional and international fora amid today's complex global landscape.
The UAE has become a recognised model for women's empowerment and for expanding their participation in external affairs, emerging as an influential voice in negotiations and international meetings that embody national values of tolerance, peace, and global cooperation.
In line with its international commitments on gender equality, the UAE has strengthened women's presence in diplomacy and political leadership and has ensured women's appointment to decision-making roles central to shaping and implementing foreign policy.
It is also fitting to highlight the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Women, Peace and Security initiative, launched in 2019 to advance women's participation in the peace and security sectors through capacity-building, including increasing the number of women qualified for military service and peacekeeping. To date, the initiative has trained more than 600 women across Africa, Asia and the Middle East in this vital field.
Furthermore, the UAE has enabled effective, equal participation of women alongside men in negotiations and peace talks between states in conflict, playing a pivotal role in supporting mediation efforts and reinforcing the principles of international peace and security.
Numerous UN sources affirm that integrating women in peacebuilding is decisive for the long-term sustainability of outcomes, an approach that has positioned the UAE experience as a model for balancing humanitarian values with the imperatives of comprehensive development.
*The writer is Deputy Director-General of Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy
