News and Insight

Everyone should have the chance to shape their future; to make peace possible. But to do this we need to ensure everyone has equitable access to peace. Peace that is inclusive, acknowledges the diversity of those affected by conflict and doesn’t discriminate. This International Women’s Day, we’re shining a light on the diversity of women bridging religious, ethnic and political divides to make peace possible. Because when we embrace equity, we can embrace peace.

In the run up to the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council 1325, the UK has launched its fifth National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Though a positive step, the government must take an ambitious approach to implementation if it wants to make genuine progress towards peace and gender equality. 

Leading figures in the transition to a political process in the Bangsamoro, in the Philippines, visited the United Kingdom in February, to learn from key politicians and peacemakers in the Northern Ireland peace process. 

On 25 February, Nigerians across the country voted for a president, vice-president and National Assembly representatives, and will later vote for state governors. Our Nigerian partners have been working to encourage peace and participation in the, historically volatile, election process.

For peace to last, the views and experiences of everyone impacted by conflict, must be included in finding solutions. But too often, peace initiatives centre around a small group of elites. The needs, values and potential contribution of large segments of society are overlooked. Including them in building peace is critical.

Join us in Brussels for a lunch discussion on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

Brendan’s career in mediation and peacebuilding began in Northern Ireland. During some of the darkest days of the conflict Brendan worked across all sectors of Northern Ireland to show that another way of being was possible, and quietly made a huge contribution to peace on the island of Ireland. 

"The UK’s peacebuilding approach achieved meaningful results”, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) confirmed in its latest report published on 9 December 2022, “but a more reliable and long-term funding approach would make them even better”.

Peacebuilders from the Pacific took part in a two-week course to explore the complex relationship between peacebuilding and climate change. The course was delivered by Transcend Oceania, in partnership with Conciliation Resources.

It can seem impossible for those caught up in violent conflict and its consequences to find space to imagine what peace might look like – let alone start taking the difficult steps to get there. In a ‘hot’ conflict or crisis situation conflict parties may be too focused on dealing with an immediate crisis and struggling to survive. In protracted wars or ‘stuck’ peace processes that from the outside may appear frozen for many years, long-held grievances and entrenched positions make it difficult to consider alternative futures and block potential pathways to dialogue or reconciliation.

2022 has seen the outbreak of more violent conflicts around the world, as well as new challenges to peacebuilding. The unpredictability of conflict requires innovative and creative ideas to respond quickly and explore new ways to build peace. 

It’s becoming increasingly clear that climate change can exacerbate fragility and conflict. However, we still lack evidence to help us understand precisely how this happens. Gender provides a lens that can help us analyse and understand this, which in turn can support the development of effective conflict prevention and resolution strategies. Yet, gender, climate change and conflict have mostly been looked at in siloes, rather than in an interrelated way, when it comes to peacebuilding.