Women, Peace, and Security

Nearly three decades after the end of conflict, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) struggles with the legacy of war-related trauma, persistent gender inequality, and the exclusion of women and marginalized groups from decision-making processes. Conflict-affected women remain among the most vulnerable groups, often facing inadequate social support, while women peacebuilders and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence continue to encounter stigmatization and limited recognition for their contributions.

Despite longstanding efforts to implement the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, women in BiH still face significant barriers to participation in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and decision-making at all levels. Their perspectives and experiences remain underrepresented in processes that shape reconciliation, security, and social cohesion.

Through the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF)-supported joint programmes “Women Lead the Way Towards Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina” and “Partnerships for equality: No to hate speech and divisive narratives in BiH”, implemented in partnership with UNFPA, IOM, UNESCO and UNDP, UN Women is advancing a holistic approach to strengthening women’s participation in peacebuilding, supporting institutional accountability, and promoting gender-responsive service delivery. These efforts also engage human rights defenders, journalists, and cultural institutions to foster dialogue and collective action against hate speech and disinformation across communities, while ensuring gender-sensitive approaches and informing policymaking.

Our results:

Since the establishment of the WPS portfolio in 2023, UN Women BiH has achieved significant milestones:

• Institutional Strengthening: Supported the Agency for Gender Equality of BiH in developing a new monitoring and evaluation framework, aligned with the upcoming Fourth Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, enabling institutions to track progress more effectively.
• Localization of the WPS Agenda: Advanced the localization process in diverse communities in BiH, empowering women leaders and local actors to adapt national WPS priorities to local needs.
• Sarajevo WPS Conference and the Sarajevo Pledge: Convened the first international WPS Conference in Sarajevo, resulting in the Sarajevo Pledge - a landmark commitment to accelerate WPS implementation over the next 25 years.
• Art and Peacebuilding: Collaborated with artists, writers, and filmmakers to explore WPS themes through creative expression, including a partnership with the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) to promote women’s leadership in peacebuilding and healing, through cinematic storytelling and support for women directors.
• Academic Partnerships: Partnered with the University of Sarajevo’s Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies to embed the WPS framework in academic curricula, including new modules on gender perspectives in peace and security, an international summer school, and field-based learning.
• Global Engagement: Brought Bosnia and Herzegovina’s post-conflict experiences and lessons to international fora, contributing to global dialogue on the implementation of the WPS Agenda.

Ongoing Projects and Activities in BiH

UN Women BiH continues to strengthen the WPS ecosystem through coordinated, multi-level interventions:

• Strengthening institutional capacities to adopt and implement accountability frameworks on WPS.
• Supporting women-led civil society organizations (CSO) to lead the localization of the WPS agenda and influence local decision-making.
• Enhancing the ability of public institutions – including health, police, social welfare and justice systems – and CSOs to deliver inclusive, gender-responsive services for conflict-affected and marginalized women.
• Promoting social cohesion and a culture of peace by engaging both traditional and non-traditional actors from communities, media, and creative industries.
• Countering hate speech and disinformation by mobilizing human rights defenders, journalists, artists, and activists to foster dialogue and collaborative action that promotes gender equality and trust-building.
• Empowering women human rights defenders and journalists through enhanced digital security, legal awareness, and peer networks to strengthen resilience and collective advocacy.
• Amplifying women’s voices and leadership in peacebuilding through media engagement, storytelling, and local and national dialogue on WPS.