INTRODUCTION FOR THIS INPUT
This input is a collective exercise between various of the organisations involved as co organizers of activity https://fsm2026benin.org/activites/1747/ . it somehow reflects the progress of discussion in the group that started a conversation in march 2026 with this public online activity https://intersectionsglobal.net/fsmi/activites/245
Women leaders, peacebuilders, civil society organizations, humanitarian practitioners, researchers, community leaders, disability advocates, and development practitioners from across Africa, united under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, can reaffirm commitment to building a peaceful, inclusive, just, and prosperous Africa.
Recognizing the disproportionate impact of conflict, violent extremism, terrorism, displacement, food insecurity, and humanitarian crises on women and girls, is also recognizing that women are not merely victims of conflict but indispensable leaders, mediators, negotiators, caregivers, community builders, and agents of sustainable peace.
African governments, the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the United Nations, development partners, civil society organizations, traditional and faith leaders, and all stakeholders can choose to move beyond commitments toward concrete action that guarantees women's participation, protection, leadership, and empowerment in all peace and security processes.
LISTING KEY CHALLENGES
1. Limited Participation of Women in Peace and Security Decision-Making
Despite bearing the greatest burden of conflicts, women remain significantly underrepresented in peace negotiations, mediation efforts, security governance, conflict prevention, reconstruction, and political decision-making.
2. Weak Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda
Although many African countries have adopted the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and UN Security Council Resolution 1325, implementation remains inconsistent due to inadequate political commitment, weak accountability mechanisms, and insufficient financing.
3. Gender-Based Violence and Human Rights Violations
Conflict continues to expose women and girls to rape, sexual exploitation, trafficking, forced marriages, abuse, intimidation, and other forms of gender-based violence, while survivors often lack access to justice and rehabilitation.
4. Under-recognition and Underfunding of Women Peacebuilders
Women peacebuilders continue to play critical roles in mediation, reconciliation, humanitarian response, and community recovery, yet their contributions remain under-recognized, underfunded, and excluded from formal peace processes.
5. Inadequate Protection for Women Peacebuilders and Human Rights Defenders
Women leaders, journalists, peace advocates, and human rights defenders continue to face threats, reprisals, harassment, and violence because of their peacebuilding efforts.
6. Humanitarian and Displacement Crisis
Armed conflicts continue to increase displacement, migration, humanitarian needs, and vulnerability among women, children, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized populations.
7. The Silent Suffering of Widows
Thousands of widows affected by armed conflict receive little attention despite facing severe emotional, psychological, social, and economic hardship while caring for their families.
8. Food Insecurity and Livelihood Destruction
Conflict has disrupted agriculture, destroyed livelihoods, displaced farming communities, reduced food production, and intensified hunger and poverty across Africa.
9. Proliferation of Small Arms, Weak Border Security and Violent Extremism
The illegal circulation of arms, porous borders, terrorism, organized crime, and violent extremism continue to fuel insecurity across the continent.
10. Climate Change and Environmental Pressures
Climate change increasingly contributes to resource-based conflicts, displacement, food insecurity, and humanitarian emergencies.
11. Exclusion of Women with Disabilities
Women and girls with disabilities remain largely excluded from peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance, governance, education, economic recovery, and decision-making while facing heightened discrimination and violence.
12. Limited Economic Empowerment
Women's limited access to finance, land, markets, education, technology, employment, and entrepreneurship continues to undermine sustainable peace and resilience.
13. Weak Regional Collaboration
Cross-border collaboration among women peacebuilders remains inadequate despite the transnational nature of insecurity across Africa.
LISTING RECOMMENDATIONS AND DEMANDS
1. Guarantee meaningful and equal participation of women in all peace negotiations, mediation efforts, reconciliation processes, ceasefire monitoring, security sector reforms, and post-conflict recovery, with strong representation of women from grassroots communities, youth, rural areas, displaced communities, and women with disabilities.
2. Fully implement the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 through adequate legislation, dedicated budgets, measurable indicators, independent monitoring, and institutional accountability.
3. Increase direct and sustainable funding for grassroots women-led peacebuilding, humanitarian, conflict prevention, trauma healing, and recovery organizations.
4. Develop strong legal and institutional protection mechanisms for women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society actors against intimidation, reprisals, violence, and harassment.
5. Strengthen prevention and response systems addressing gender-based violence, trafficking, child marriage, harmful traditional practices, and all forms of exploitation, while ensuring survivor-centered justice and rehabilitation services.
6. Provide gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and accessible humanitarian assistance, including healthcare, psychosocial support, shelter, education, legal services, childcare, and livelihood opportunities.
7. Prioritize targeted support programmes for widows and conflict survivors through economic empowerment, trauma healing, social protection, and livelihood restoration.
8. Promote women's economic empowerment through improved access to land, finance, markets, vocational skills, digital opportunities, and entrepreneurship as critical peacebuilding strategies.
9. Strengthen border governance and regional cooperation to combat illegal arms trafficking, terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational organized crime while protecting human rights.
10. Urge the African Union to strengthen continental leadership on peace and security, including developing stronger regional legal frameworks for arms control and combating illicit weapons circulation.
11. Integrate climate adaptation, natural resource management, environmental protection, and climate resilience into peacebuilding initiatives while ensuring women's leadership in these efforts.
12. Ensure disability inclusion across all Women, Peace and Security policies, programmes, humanitarian interventions, and governance structures following the principle of "Nothing About Us Without Us."
13. Invest in leadership development, civic education, mentorship, and peacebuilding programmes for young women while promoting intergenerational leadership.
14. Strengthen regional and cross-border networks of women peacebuilders to promote collaboration, knowledge exchange, mediation, early warning systems, and conflict prevention.
15. Expand peace education, conflict resolution, gender equality, and civic responsibility within educational systems across Africa.
16. Recognize, protect, and invest in local women peacebuilders as essential partners in conflict prevention, mediation, reconciliation, humanitarian response, and sustainable development.
17. Establish an African Women Mediators Platform to strengthen coordination, professional mediation, mentoring, and rapid response to emerging conflicts.
18. Ensure the meaningful inclusion of women associated with armed groups in appropriate dialogue, peacebuilding, rehabilitation, and reintegration initiatives where applicable.
19. Encourage the establishment of innovative financial mechanisms, including proposals for an African Women's Development Bank or similar continental financing instruments that strengthen women's leadership and economic resilience.
20. Promote evidence-based policymaking through improved data collection, research, monitoring, and evaluation on women, peace, security, disability inclusion, humanitarian response, and conflict prevention.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
There can be no sustainable peace, security, development, or prosperity in Africa without the full participation, protection, leadership, and empowerment of women.
The African Union, ECOWAS, the Alliance of Sahel States, the United Nations, national governments, development partners, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, traditional institutions, academia, the private sector, and all stakeholders can transform commitments into measurable actions that place women at the centre of peacebuilding across Africa.
An Africa where women are recognized not merely as survivors of conflict but as architects of peace, justice, resilience, and sustainable development.
No Sustainable Peace Without Women's Leadership.