Kinshasa, August 11th, 2026 (CPA). – The representation of at least 50 per cent of women in delegations and peace process mechanisms in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been claimed on Tuesday in Kinshasa, by civil society, following the National Women’s Forum for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace in Congo.
“We reaffirm our demand for the representation of at least 50 per cent of women in delegations and peace process mechanisms, as well as their involvement in all stages from the prevention and preparation of negotiations up to the implementation and monitoring of agreements,” has declared Nathalie Yoka, a civil society representative.
“Our position is clear. Women’s participation in the peace process is neither a favour nor a symbolic gesture. It is a right and a necessity for building a truly sustainable, inclusive and equitable peace.
We therefore call on all stakeholders to ensure a meaningful, effective and diverse participation of women, particularly women victims and survivors, young women, rural women, women with disabilities, women experts and representatives of different communities,” she has added.
Ms Yoka, who is also in charge of programmes for the movement ‘Nothing without Women’, has called for reinforcement of technical and financial support for women’s organizations and initiatives who, in the provinces, work on a daily basis on conflict prevention and peace-building. Furthermore, a plea has been made for a real place for women’s protection in the peace agreements.
“We also ask that the peace agreements provide real place for the women’s protection, justice, reparations and reintegration of victims of conflict-related sexual violence,” she has stated. “We do not simply want to be present in the dialogue rooms.
We want our voices to be heard, our proposals to be taken into account and our priorities to be translated into concrete commitments,” has emphasized the representative of civil society organizations.
For her part, Esther Kamwanya, General Secretary of the Ministry in charge of Gender, Family and Children, has invited Congolese women to develop resilience to tackle the challenges of peace and security in DRC in accordance with the resolution 1325.
“The time for lamenting is over. We must build resilience to provide solutions rather than complaints and unconstructive criticism; instead, let us roll up our sleeves, join hands and tackle the challenges of peace and security together, in accordance with the Resolution 1325 of United Nations Security Council on women, peace and security, which has been translated into our third-generation action plan,” she has indicated.
The General Secretary has recalled that from June 15th to 16th, 2025, the Ministry in charge of Gender, Families and Children had brought together women from all walks of life to elaborate women’s terms of reference with a view to their participation in the on-going peace process in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The National Women’s Forum for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace, taking place on August 11th to 12th, is organised in order to enrich the terms of reference for women, promoting their active participation in the on-going process of inclusive national dialogue, by the Ministry in charge of Gender, Family and Children (GFAE), through the Permanent National Secretariat for the Resolution 1325, with financial support from UN Women. ACP/