Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes: Challenges and Opportunities

Women play a critical role in reducing conflict, advancing stability, and building sustainable peace.  Women’s meaningful participation in peace agreements has been shown to critically affect their sustainability, with 35% of agreements more likely to last beyond 15 years. Similarly, in cases where women played a critical role in the peace processes, the probability of reaching a final and sustainable agreement is much higher than when women were absent. However, women continue to face unique challenges, sidelined, underrepresented, and pushed into supporting roles.  Join Dr. Houda Abadi in conversation with Karin Ryan, Senior Advisor for Human Rights and Special Representative on Women and Girls at The Carter Center, for a discussion on women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, how we can advance a more inclusive agenda, and engender effective outcomes that bring peace and dignity to women and men

About Karin Ryan: 

Karin Ryan is the Senior Advisor for Human Rights and Special Representative on Women and Girls at The Carter Center. She has served at the Center since 1988, advising President and Mrs. Carter on human rights issues and assisting them with efforts on behalf of victims of human rights violations. Ryan has represented the Center in negotiations at the United Nations addressing the human rights of women, human rights defenders, and establishment of the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council. Ryan has convened the Annual Human Rights Defenders Forum since 2003, which gathers courageous and effective activists and leaders from around the world to examine pressing challenges for the human rights movement. Ryan holds Bachelors degrees in Political Science from Emory University and in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music in Boston.