Paper Example on Women Mediators: Advocating Peace and Conflict Resolution

Introduction

Actors in the mediation process include those who get a seat at the table and the ones that mediate. Mediators can be defined as those who help two or more parties to achieve a mutual agreement and resolve or manage conflict. International actors are turning the conflict resolution into an innovative process by including women as mediators. Thus the UN, in its momentous Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, ordered the appointment of more women into senior peace-related positions (International Peace Institute 2013, p. 2). Yet since the 1325 agenda, the number of women holding the peace positions is still meager. Women participation as mediators in the peace table is beneficial as it improves the process of negotiation, gives comprehensive peace agreements, and fosters sustainable peace.

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Importance of Having Women as Conflict Mediators

According to the International Peace Institute (2013, p. 3), women involvement as conflict mediators is essential in addressing the issue of equality and equity. Equality and equity are vital because negotiations generate direction for peace reconstruction, which affects the lives of all women and also the community as a whole. Also, women may present various styles of meditation and experiences at the time that they are mainly needed. For instance, research shows that both male and female are both active mediators; however, women are much more effective in reaching binding decisions (International Peace Institute 2013, p. 4). Women also have the greatest impact on the period of peace. This is because more sustainable peace is achieved when women are the mediators. Importantly, women should be included in the peacemaking process with men because of an inclusive procedure likely results in lasting peace. The lasting peace is achieved because inclusion makes it easier to identify sources of conflict and the exact things needed to bring peace.

How Conflict Mediation is Linked to Gender

Mediation makes an enormous difference when it takes seriously dimensions in Gender. For instance, in the case of Northern Ireland, political structures created space for women in peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement (Palmiano and Gasser 2016, p. 15). In this case, women formed parties across the conflict lines in a call for a coalition agreement to enter into peace talks; an act that was tremendously successful in the mediation proceeds across the conflict lines. Conflict mediation also links with gender in the development of peace architectures and designs that are gender-sensitive. In the case of Colombia, after a long period of conflict between political groups, the government appointed a submission of gender in the process of reconciliation (Palmiano and Gasser 2016, p. 15). The role of the sub-commission was to ensure that agreements had adequate gender focus. This submission made sure to push for topics concerning women, including the social and cultural rights of women, among others. Conflict mediation is also linked to gender through the involvement of a gender-inclusive team of mediators. This can be explained through the case of Kenya, where Kofi Annan as the chief conflict mediator appointed a group that also included women (Palmiano and Gasser 2016, p. 15). The named women also sort to include some other women in their sub-teams. This method ensured a successful gender-sensitive process of mediation that helped end the county's conflict.

Conclusion

In conclusion, women constitute the largest population of all genders in society. However, few women are appointed to be among the small influential groups of conflict mediators. Nevertheless, women are important in the meditation process since they not only make the best parties in conflict resolution but also lead to long term peace agreements. It is additionally important that women take on mediator positions because it will increase opportunities for further understanding of their impact on serious conflict resolution processes.

Reference List

International Peace Institute (2013). Women in Conflict Mediation: Why it Matters. (online) Opertaionspaix.net. Available at: http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/8119~v~Women_in_Conflict_Mediation__Why_it_Matters.pdf

Palmiano Federer, J. and Gasser, R., 2016. International Peace Mediation and Gender: Bridging the Divide.