World leaders and international civil society will gather in New York on 22-23 September 2024 for the UN Summit of the Future. The Summit is an event where world leaders meet and address current international issues and challenges to find consensus on how to create a better and safer present and future. This blog article takes issue with how the climate-gender-conflict nexus is (not) discussed in the lead-up to the summit. Reviewing the summit documents, I argue that the (draft) Pact for the Future treats gender justice, climate crisis, and conflict as separate silos of challenges, overlooking their interconnectedness. Instead, I emphasize the need for the Summit of the Future to take the climate-gender-conflict nexus seriously, recognizing the climate crisis as a risk multiplier that exacerbates gender inequalities and conflict dynamics.
Kategorie: Serie Feministische Friedensforschung
Blogreihe zu feministischer Friedensforschung

Keeping up the Ban against FGM/C: A Strong Signal for Reproductive Health and Rights from The Gambia to the World
Despite a 2015 ban, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) remains practiced in The Gambia. A recent bill to repeal the ban now endangered legislative progress so many Gambian women have been holding onto as well as longstanding efforts of civil society organizations. On 15 July 2024, following extensive community engagement and advocacy, the bill was successfully rejected. In the face of a global backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), what can activists worldwide learn from this success? This blog features an interview with Fatou Baldeh, founder of Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL) and a leading activist in maintaining the FGM/C ban.
Backlash Against LGBTIQ+ Rights in Peacebuilding: Raising Awareness During Pride Month
June is celebrated as pride month worldwide. It highlights the achievements that have been made regarding the rights of people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, or sex characteristics. It also raises awareness about ongoing structural discrimination, inequality and violence. In peacebuilding contexts, individuals with diverse SOGIESC encounter severe backlash from anti-feminist actors aiming at the reversal of achievements as well as resistance from those trying to maintain the status quo.
Shattered Lives: The Global Crisis of Sexual Violence in Conflict
June 19th is the international day for the elimination of sexual violence in conflict. It is a day of silent remembrance, as the crime of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is not a priority on political agendas. Survivors are often too traumatized to report, or experience further criminalization and stigmatization. The recent annual report of the UN Secretary General stresses the continuous prevalence and the global scale of this horrific crime. This blog summarizes its core findings.
The 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference: An opportunity to push gender responsive action
In preparation of the UN Climate Change Conference, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November of 2024, subsidiary bodies will meet 3-13 June at the Bonn Climate Change Conference to discuss which urgent issues shall be decided in Baku. Compared to the early years of the UN Climate Change Conferences that were established in the 1990s, it is no longer contested to see gender among the focal points. Gender has become an established topic to be addressed, and the necessity is recognized of implementing climate policies in gender-responsive ways. Nevertheless, related political practice still leave a lot to be desired.
Time for True Stories: Stereotypes Absolve Gendered Violence against Indigenous in Canada
Across North America, May 5 is a day to commemorate the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, and gender diverse people. Beyond giving space for remembrance and mourning, May 5 is connected to the aims of building knowledge, raising public awareness, stimulating solidarity and underlining the need for action to end the disproportionate deadly violence. While politics and the judicial system are reminded on this day to deliver rights and justice, another important factor for change should also gain attention: the collective imagery of the Indigenous needs to be decolonized to transform the systemic structures of violence.

Beyond the Code: Unveiling Gender Dynamics in AI and Cybersecurity for International Security
Emerging technologies are transforming foreign and security policy as they challenge traditional understandings of power, influence and security. Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing importance of cyberspace are some of the most prominent in this regard. Yet, not only are there repercussions for security when narrowly conceived as state security, but they also affect gender relations and human security more broadly. Gender as an analytical category allows us to shed light on the impact of emerging technologies on inequalities, power and violence.
Zum Internationalen Frauentag: Die Situation von Frauen in Afghanistan
Seit der Machtübernahme der Taliban am 15. August 2021 hat sich die Situation von Frauen und Mädchen in Afghanistan dramatisch verschlechtert. Anlässlich des Internationalen Frauentags haben die PRIF-Forscherinnen Dr. habil. Simone Wisotzki und Irem Demirci mit Dr. Alema Alema gesprochen, die in Afghanistan stellvertretende Friedensministerin war und heute als Afghanistan-Referentin bei Pro Asyl tätig ist.
Beyond Zero Tolerance: The Persisting Challenge of Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers
The United Nations (UN) deploys peacekeepers worldwide to help build peace and security. Meanwhile, a serious problem persists: sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated by peacekeepers. Despite extensive efforts, including codes of conduct, sanctions, and training, reports of sexual abuse by peacekeepers continue within mission contexts. By drawing on UN documents aiming at ending SEA by regulating peacekeepers’ behaviour, this blog article examines the gender dimensions of the rules. I argue that a military masculinity culture is reflected in the UN rules that perpetuate instead of fight the risk of SEA.
New Guidelines for Germany’s Feminist Foreign Policy: The Need To Translate Norms into Political Practice
Feminist foreign policy (FFP) should aim at revising patriarchal and colonial power structures, changing exclusive male-dominated decision-making processes, and designing international politics from a perspective of gender justice. With their new guidelines, the German Foreign Office promises ambitious aims to promote gender-sensitive human rights, strengthen the participation of women at all political levels and ensure a gender-equal access to resources and budgets. However, the implementation of these guidelines remains a key factor for success and some feminist challenges have not been properly addressed.