War has been raging in eastern Ukraine since 2014. In 2022, Russia expanded its war of aggression in eastern Ukraine and to other parts of the country. As early as summer 2021, we launched a pilot programme in conflict-affected communities along the then-contact line between Russia and regions in eastern Ukraine, where women for years have been affected by rampant poverty, social insecurity and gender-based violence. Our Ukraine programme gave them the space they needed to work together on strategies for safety and security in their daily lives and equal participation in peacebuilding. We continue building peace with them during the war.
Women living in communities close to the contact line are affected by the war between Ukraine and the autonomous Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in multiple ways. At the Women’s Peace Tables they can both network and freely share their experiences and visions of peace. We interview Board member Margret Kiener Nellen and our project coordinator Annemarie Sancar after their project visit in September
"I had to close my heart and soul to work." Valentina Cherevatenko, Russian PeaceWoman, human rights defender and member of Women's Initiatives for Peace in Donbas(s) describes her despair after the Russian war of aggression began.
Ever since a team around our founder and president gathered the names of 1000 women peacebuilders from across the globe and nominated them collectively for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, we have understood how fundamental networks are to peacebuilding and specifically to women’s peace work. We also know: networks need to be cultivated and cared for. With this in mind, we invited 12 women peacebuilders to come together in Bern in February 2024.
On the start of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023, we ask the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis in an open letter to what extent the commitments of the Women, Peace and Security agenda will be taken into account at the conference. We also express our regret that civil society, especially women's organisations, are not included in this important conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine.