How involving women in peace deals reduces chances of conflicts from re-rupturing

A new study supported by the United States Institute of Peace shows that including provisions for women’s participation in post-conflict society within peace agreements substantially reduces the likelihood of renewed violence.

The findings affirm long-standing principles of women’s involvement in peacebuilding first emphasized 25 years ago with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which reaffirmed “the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction” and highlighted the “importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security”.

According to the research’s findings, integrating measures to include women lowers the probability of conflict recurrence by an average of 11%. When this is paired with leadership by the United Nations, the probability drops by 37%, as featured in an article by The Conversation.

This demonstrates the compounded effect of women’s involvement and international support. Yet despite these encouraging findings, UN Secretary General António Guterres used the October 6 annual debate on women, peace and security to warn that the UN still “falls short when it comes to real change in the lives of women and girls caught in conflict”. He pointed to the persistent exclusion of women from peace negotiations, insufficient protection from sexual violence, and chronic underfunding of women peacebuilders.

The women, peace and security agenda has expanded significantly since Resolution 1325, with nearly 1,000 related resolutions passed over the past 25 years. Resolution 2242, adopted in 2015, sought to integrate this agenda more systematically across “all country-specific situations on the security council’s agenda”, prompting the creation of an informal group of experts.

Guterres observed that “gender provisions in peace agreements have become more common, and women’s organisations have helped transform post-conflict recovery and reconciliation in communities worldwide”. He further noted that “women-led civil society and women peace builders … are the drivers behind holistic and sustainable peace.” Yet a UN Women survey in early 2025 revealed that global cuts to foreign aid are hampering women’s ability to fulfill these roles.

The study on preventing civil war recurrence analyzed 14 protracted peace processes across conflicts with recurring violence. It found that the UN, working alongside local women’s organizations, consistently helped build multi-level coalitions dedicated to negotiating, upholding, and implementing peace accords.

A broader statistical test of 286 peace agreements from violent conflicts worldwide confirmed that the combination of UN engagement and women’s inclusion markedly improves the chances that a peace agreement lasts beyond five years.

To understand the mechanisms behind these outcomes, researchers conducted detailed case studies in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao in the Philippines, and in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. They found that women’s participation often brought the needs of marginalized groups into the peace process and ensured these needs were addressed. 

One example was Unifem’s sponsorship of an all-party women’s conference during the 2000 Arusha peace negotiations in Burundi, which led to robust provisions for women’s socioeconomic inclusion in the final agreement.

Collaboration between the UN and women-led groups also helps ensure broad-based participation in implementing peace accords. Liberia’s peace huts, supported by UN Women and adapted from the traditional palava hut system, illustrate how community spaces for dialogue, mediation, and information-sharing can sustain peace locally.

These partnerships also strengthen early warning systems, enabling communities to identify tensions before they escalate into violence. Women-led civil society organizations, often backed by the UN, played such roles before, during, and after negotiations across the peace processes examined in the study.

By Nazrin Sadigova