Centre SGD Demands End to Women’s Exclusion from Africa’s Peace and Security Governance
Oru Leonard
The African Centre for Security, Governance and Development (Centre SGD) has called on African governments and regional institutions to dismantle structural barriers preventing women from participating fully in peace negotiations, security governance and decision-making.
The organisation made the call as the global community marked the 26th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), adopted on October 31, 2000, which recognises the critical role of women in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the Executive Director of Centre SGD, Theresa Chigozirim Odinkalu-Okoro, said sustainable peace could not be achieved without the meaningful participation of women in security and governance structures.
She noted that UNSCR 1325 established four fundamental pillars of women’s participation in peace and security: participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery.
According to her, the resolution provides a framework for ensuring women’s involvement in peace negotiations and security leadership, protecting women and girls from conflict-related violence, incorporating gender perspectives into conflict-prevention strategies, and addressing their specific needs during humanitarian and post-conflict interventions.
Odinkalu-Okoro stressed that women’s participation in peace processes should not be viewed merely as an issue of gender equality but as an operational necessity for achieving lasting peace.
She explained that research has shown that peace agreements are more likely to endure when women participate meaningfully as negotiators, mediators, conciliators, signatories and witnesses.
The Centre SGD Executive Director acknowledged progress recorded across Africa in implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, including the adoption of National Action Plans, regional inclusion frameworks, state action plans and the establishment of women mediator networks and peacebuilding initiatives.
However, she expressed concern over the persistent gap between policy commitments and actual institutional practices.
Citing the United Nations Secretary-General’s 2025 report on Women, Peace and Security, she disclosed that 87 per cent of peace talks conducted in 2024 took place without a single female negotiator, while women accounted for only seven per cent of negotiators globally.
She attributed the situation to entrenched patriarchal structures, unequal power relations and institutional barriers within security and diplomatic establishments.
Against the backdrop of Africa’s growing security challenges, including insurgency, violent extremism, election-related tensions, unconstitutional changes of government and regional instability, Centre SGD urged governments, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), international security partners and civil society organisations to take concrete steps towards implementing the resolution.
Specifically, the organisation called for mandatory and equal participation of women in formal peace negotiations and mediation teams.
It also urged governments to strengthen the implementation of National and State Action Plans through dedicated funding, capacity building, institutional support, effective monitoring and clear means of verification.
Other recommendations include gender-responsive reforms in the police, military and intelligence services to promote women’s career advancement into strategic leadership positions, as well as stronger protection for women human rights defenders, mediators and peacebuilders operating in conflict-affected communities.
“Peace agreements that ignore half the population cannot hold. If we are serious about sustainable peace and security in Nigeria and across the African continent, we must dismantle the institutional barriers keeping women away from the high table of security governance,” the statement quoted Odinkalu-Okoro as saying.
Centre SGD maintained that the 26th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 should serve as a renewed opportunity for African governments to move beyond policy declarations and translate commitments into measurable institutional reforms that guarantee women’s meaningful participation in peace and security governance.
