From Margin to Centre: Acknowledging & Strengthening Minority Women’s Role in Peacebuilding

The link between violations of the rights of national minorities and the emergence or exacerbation of violent conflict has long been recognized by the international community. At the same time, the critical contributions of women to peace and security have been highlighted through frameworks like the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. However, the intersection of gender and minority identity is still insufficiently addressed in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes, and policy frameworks. 

The panel "From Margin to Centre: Acknowledging & Strengthening Minority Women’s Role in Peacebuilding" aims to highlight the necessity of inclusive approaches for sustainable peace and showcase some of the pivotal efforts to empower minority women to participate in conflict resolution. It will gather experts from institutional, civil society and activist backgrounds, who will share experiences and offer insights from their work on the intersection of gender, minorities and peacebuilding.

The panel will serve as a platform to consider obstacles to minority women's participation, including structural, legal, social, and economic barriers, to explore strategies for overcoming these and discuss collective action that can bring marginalized voices into the centre of peacebuilding processes. It will focus on questions of meaningful participation and transformative justice, examining the conditions necessary to achieve both. By demonstrating successful approaches and providing a platform for dialogue, this panel intends to spotlight minority women as agents for change, highlighting key takeaways and actionable recommendations for their empowerment.