As part of Geneva Peace Week 2024, IPI in partnership with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), International Gender Champions, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), and the Berghof Foundation cohosted a peace panel on the topic of “A Feminist Peace Built by All: Pathways to Inclusive Visions of Peace” on October 15th.

Despite well-established normative frameworks for gender equality within the UN system, such as the WPS agenda, challenges still exist to achieving the vision of a sustainable and just peace. The theme of the 2024 open debate on WPS in the UN Security Council will focus on inclusive peacemaking by highlighting women’s roles in mediation especially in a changing geopolitical and technological environment.

This event provided a moment to reflect on these issues in advance of the open debate on WPS and the 24th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Panelists analyzed and identified strategies to mitigate these challenges to fully realize an inclusive peace. The event further connected different audiences in discussing how to build an inclusive feminist peace, because these efforts cannot be siloed across different agendas and agencies; they are strongest when they connect feminist actors across different sectors and locations.

Welcoming Remarks:
Thomas Greminger, Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Opening Remarks
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, President and CEO, International Peace Institute

Speakers:
Madeleine Rees, Former Secretary-General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and co-chair of the WPS Impact Group in Geneva
Ingrid Münch, Mediation Support Officer, Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Peacemaking, Co-lead of the Gender and Inclusion Team, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
Callum Watson, Gender Coordinator, Small Arms Survey
Victoria Sandino Simanca Herrera, feminist leader, former Senator of the Republic of Colombia, negotiator during the peace process in Colombia, and ex-combatant of the FARC-EP

Moderator:
Phoebe Donnelly, Senior Fellow and Head of Women, Peace, and Security Program, International Peace Institute

Closing Remarks:
Ambassador OIKE Atsuyuki, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations Office at Geneva