IJR Hosts Southern Africa Women, Peace, and Security Lab
The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) hosted the Southern Africa Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Lab in Pretoria from 8 to 10 March 2025, bringing together participants from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The event aimed to strengthen the WPS agenda by fostering a deeper understanding, promoting leadership, and developing innovative solutions to contemporary peace and security challenges.
IJR Executive Director, Prof. Cheryl Hendricks, emphasised the importance of the Peace Lab in driving meaningful progress in women’s leadership within peace and security.
“The Peace Lab aims at strengthening the Women, Peace, and Security agenda by creating a deeper understanding of WPS, promoting leadership, and developing innovative solutions to current peace and security challenges,” said Prof. Hendricks.
The discussions at the Peace Lab revolved around leadership, norm-setting, and strategies for overcoming challenges in the WPS domain. The key themes included:
- Leadership for peace leaders
- Leadership styles and creating spaces for others
- Sustaining momentum amidst global and continental backlash against peace efforts
- Integrating a gender perspective in peace and security decision-making
- Forming structures to promote women’s participation in mediation
The event also reflected on significant milestones, particularly the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. While progress has been made, participants acknowledged that much work remains to achieve the overall objectives of the WPS agenda, including:
- Meaningful participation of women in peace and security processes
- Protection of women during conflict situations
- Prevention of violence against women
- Gender mainstreaming in relief and recovery efforts
Africa’s leadership in implementing the WPS agenda over the past three decades was highlighted during the Peace Lab, with notable contributions including the 1994 Kampala Action Plan on Women and Peace, which influenced the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; the 2000 Windhoek Declaration on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multi-Dimensional Peace Support Operations, which fed into UNSCR 1325 and Namibia’s role in chairing the United Nations Security Council in October 2000.
It was also recognised that African women have historically played a critical role in shaping the WPS agenda, drawing from their experiences as actors in armed liberation movements, victims of conflict, and peacebuilders at both local and national levels. However, they have often been excluded from formal peace processes, including peacekeeping, peace-making, and peacebuilding.
The Peace Lab also incorporated a global perspective, addressing issues such as media, culture, and technology’s influence on WPS and the state of women worldwide.
Additionally, a session on responding to the global context featured clarifications on key WPS terms and concepts, country reports, and 21st century leadership skills. Participants engaged in real-life case studies, analysing conflicts in the region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. The discussions also focused on improving leadership skills, crafting interventions, and making compelling arguments.
The Peace Lab concluded with an exploration of feminist leadership through case studies, reinforcing the need for a collective and sustained effort to advance the Women, Peace, and Security agenda in Southern Africa and beyond.