Peace processes that involve women are more likely to be agreed upon and last, making female participation a crucial part of negotiations, Gender Commissioner Josie Christodoulou said on Tuesday.

“Women’s voices must be heard in peace processes as an essential part of the dialogue,” she said, speaking at a training seminar of the security and defence academy.

“In 2023, women constituted approximately 9.6 per cent of negotiators, 13.7 per cent of mediators and 26.6 per cent of signatories to over 50 peace and ceasefire agreements, (…) women’s participation in peace processes led or jointly facilitated by the UN was approximately 16 per cent (…),” Christodoulou said.

She added that according to the UN Women’s Women in Peace Processes Monitor, women continue to remain underrepresented in negotiating roles and called for the integration of the gender dimension into the European Common Security and Defence Policy.

“Women’s participation increases the probability of a peace agreement lasting at least two years by 20 per cent, and by 35 per cent the probability of a peace agreement lasting 15 years,” she said.

Christodoulou emphasised that conflicts affect women and men differently, with women often exposed to gender-based and sexual violence, loss of education or increased care burdens.

“Security professionals, policymakers and civil society actors include a gender perspective and apply gender analysis at every stage – before, during and after conflicts,” she said, stressing the importance of female participation at the negotiating table, at the defence ministry, in peacekeeping missions and in foreign affairs.

She said that Cyprus had made progress in including women in peace and security building, such as the voluntary military service for women in the National Guard and eight Cypriot women leading diplomatic missions abroad. But, the number of said diplomats amounted to ten in 2023, two more then in 2025.

Christodoulou emphasised the importance of including women in the Cypriot peace process, stating that it was a matter of direct concern to the island.

“The issue of peace and reconciliation is not theoretical – it is deeply personal. Cyprus has experienced division. We know from our own experience that women’s voices must be heard in these processes – not as an afterthought, but as an essential part of the dialogue,” she concluded.

The role of women in the Cyprus peace talks has been marginal, with no female leaders involved in the peace process in recent years.

In April 2022, the Technical Committee on Gender Equality proposed an action plan aimed at transforming the peace talks in Cyprus for the better and ensuring women’s active participation in the process.

The plan addresses how to ensure women’s full and meaningful representation in the settlement process and how to incorporate a gender perspective into it.