Dialogue on Youth, Peace and Security in Africa – 5th Edition and Women, Peace and Security Forum

Day One:

Dialogue with His Excellency President Évariste Ndayishimiye on the state of play of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda and the Women, Peace and Security Programme

Intervention and Remarks By

Lady Justice Rtd Effie Luhombo Owuor Co-Chair, FemWise-Africa Network

10 August 2026 Bujumbura, Burundi

1. Your Excellency, President Évariste Ndayishimiye, Chair of the African Union and AU Champion for Youth, Peace and Security, Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, Allow me to stand on existing protocol,

2. It is a privilege to address this Continental Dialogue on behalf of FemWise?Africa, the African Union Network of Women Mediators.

3. I welcome this opportunity to refl ect on the progress we continue to make in advancing women’s leadership in peace and security across our continent.

4. FemWise?Africa was established by African Heads of State to ensure that women are recognised as leaders in preventing confl ict, mediating disputes and building sustainable peace.

5. The Network was created to move women from the margins of peace efforts into positions where their voices shape decisions.

6. Today, FemWise?Africa is becoming a stronger institutional mechanism for turning this vision into practice.Our work over the past year shows clear movement from advocacy to meaningful inclusion.

7. Women are taking on more visible roles in peace efforts, and their contributions are helping to strengthen the legitimacy and sustainability of mediation processes.

8. Excellencies, allow me to highlight four areas of focus.

9. First, we have deepened our engagement with women mediators and peacebuilders in countries facing confl ict and political transition.

10. In Sudan, South Sudan, the Sahel and the Great Lakes Region, we have accompanied women who continue to lead dialogue under very diffi cult conditions.

11. Their work supports social cohesion, maintains channels of communication and helps prevent further escalation.

12. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sustained advocacy by FemWise?Africa and the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security supported the appointment of women as High?Level Facilitators in the peace process.

13. This is a signifi cant step forward for women’s meaningful participation in mediation and an important milestone for inclusive peace efforts.

14. Through the Sahel Women’s Dialogue, we brought together women mediators from grassroots, national and insider networks. They addressed challenges linked to violent extremism, intercommunal tensions, climate?related confl ict and displacement.

15. These engagements further reinforced the need to link women’s community?level initiatives with formal peace processes at national and continental levels.

16. Second, FemWise?Africa is expanding its presence at regional and national levels. National chapters have been established and are now active in Chad, Morocco, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia and other countries.

17. These chapters give women mediators a platform to organise, build skills, share knowledge and contribute more directly to peace efforts in their own contexts.

18. Preparations are underway for new chapters in Kenya, Algeria, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Discussions are also progressing on regional chapters in the Great Lakes Region and with the Community of Sahel?Saharan States.

19. This decentralization is helping to build a stronger and more coordinated network of women mediators across Africa.

20. Third, FemWise?Africa is becoming more integrated into AU?led preventive diplomacy and mediation. Women mediators and peacebuilders continue to be deployed alongside the Panel of the Wise and the WiseYouth Network, including in electoral contexts.

21. Technical expertise from FemWise is also being deployed to support African?led peace processes. These experiences show that women’s participation strengthens the legitimacy, inclusivity and sustainability of peace efforts.

22. Fourth, we are investing in intergenerational solidarity. Our collaboration with the WiseYouth Network refl ects our belief that the Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security agendas must work together.

23. Young women, in particular, bring essential experience and leadership to Africa’s peace and security landscape. Their engagement is vital for the future of preventive diplomacy and mediation.

24. Excellencies, FemWise?Africa is looking ahead with determination.

25. We will remain engaged in confl ict settings. We will broaden the Network. We will invest in women mediators and young peacebuilders. And we will nurture partnerships that support Africa’s peace efforts.

26. Our task is clear. We must move from presence to infl uence. We must move from participation to leadership. And we must move from commitments to accountability.

27. Going forward, FemWise?Africa will strengthen national and regional chapters. We will support women mediators in countries facing confl ict and transition.

28. We will expand women’s deployment in AU?led mediation and preventive diplomacy. And we will deepen collaboration with the Panel of the Wise, the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, and the Peace and Security Council.

29. These steps will help ensure that women’s leadership is recognised and sustained across all levels of peace efforts.

30. We also remain committed to ensuring that the voices of grassroots women are connected to national, regional and continental peace processes. Women should not be invited into peace efforts after decisions have already been made. They should be present when those decisions are shaped.

31. Let us continue working toward a future in which African women are not only represented in peace processes, but recognised, supported and empowered as leaders in shaping Africa’s peace and security agenda.

32. I thank you!

LADY JUSTICE RTD EFFIE LUHOMBO OWUOR 5
BUJUMBURA
BURUNDI
10TH AUGUST 2026

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