Peace talks – the negotiations between parties to conflict, usually states but increasingly including armed non-state actors – are complex and fraught with compromise. Yet they remain the most important vehicle for resolving conflict and building sustainable peace. A successful negotiated agreement can set the course for political and economic transformation of a country, as well as provide a window to a more hopeful future.
Achieving such an agreement requires a willingness to make difficult and painful trade-offs and the capacity to rebuild trust. The context and content of these negotiations also shape the prospects for success, as do how they are managed, guided, and structured.
Third-party negotiators play an essential role in keeping the process on track, supplying positive reassurances, and offering innovative ideas about how to bridge differences. This is especially true where the negotiating parties have exhausted their own internal mechanisms and cannot come to an agreed position.
When designing and conducting a peace process, there is a need to ensure that women are not only on the sidelines observing, but an integral part of discussions and decision-making on their country’s future. This can be done by ensuring that mediators, Groups of Friends, and parties to the conflict guarantee that women are involved in full and equal participation, and that any barriers to their participation, whether institutional or cultural, are removed. Furthermore, there is a need to support and fund local, community-based processes that include civic voices, especially those led by women.