Local to Global: Syrian Women Leaders Launch Campaign for Peace in Syria

By Manar Marouf

As part of our ongoing work to create change by amplifying the voices of grassroots women peacemakers, WILPF, in collaboration with UN Women, facilitated a delegation of six Syrian women activists who are launching a campaign for peace in Syria.  As part of the Syrian Women’s Initiative for Peace and Democracy (SWIPD), these leaders are calling for the promotion of a political solution to the Syrian crisis with women’s full and meaningful participation and rights at the core to any emerging national dialogue or negotiation process.

Building on their ongoing work, the delegation participated in several key events during the opening week of the General Assembly, in order to increase pressure for concrete action. The delegation sought to place pressure on key actors such as the Syrian Special Envoy, Member States, and other UN entities to ensure that any next stage of conflict resolution takes a gender perspective that brings the experience and priorities of women and marginalised groups to the table as the basis for sustainable peace. This includes providing 30% quotas in the working groups proposed by Syrian Special Envoy De Mistura as well as developing innovative political spaces such as a Feminist National Assembly to ensure women’s participation and rights are central to transitional processes.

In the now fifth year of the Syrian conflict, it is critical to move beyond apathy! Demand that your government supports a democratic and inclusive political process to address the Syrian humanitarian crisis and end the conflict in Syria.