Peace talks are a crucial element of addressing armed conflict. Yet, they are often fraught with failure and, when they do work, aren’t always sustainable. Understanding how to make them better is key to advancing the goals of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Peace negotiations can take place at different levels, from pre-negotiations with the warring parties to multilateral processes. A number of factors determine whether they succeed or fail, including the context in which they are held and the specific issues on the table.
During the conflict in El Salvador, for example, the leftist guerrilla FMLN and the rightist government were engaged in UN-brokered talks to resolve their differences and bring about an end to violence. The first two rounds of talks, known as the Geneva and Mexico agreements, focused on military power sharing, a new constitution, and transitional justice.
But there are other critical elements that need to be addressed for peace talks to work, including the ability to identify and address root causes of conflict and a willingness to compromise. It is also important to ensure that women are able to participate in all phases of peace processes.
All actors involved in official peace processes should commit to raise, as a matter of course and routine, the inclusion of gender issues in ceasefires and negotiations and in political and economic recovery arrangements, such as temporary special measures for women’s political engagement, specific gender quotas in leadership roles in post-conflict commissions, and gender-responsive provisions in administrative and financial accountability structures. They should also commit to mediate between women’s organizations and dominant national political leaders and to encourage negotiating parties to include them in their delegations.
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