PeaceWomen Across the Globe is an internationally active feminist peace organisation based in Bern with an office in Colombia. We support women and feminist peacebuilders in contexts affected by armed conflict in their diverse efforts to build lasting peace. To ensure their full, equal and meaningful participation in all stages of peace processes, we amplify their visions and demands, boost their efforts to shape peace processes and connect women and feminist peacebuilders within conflict-affected countries and across regions impacted by armed conflict.

The International Office in Bern is responsible for the operational implementation of all our activities. The team plans, manages and implements our worldwide activities in close cooperation with our partner organisations abroad.

Our programmes create spaces where women can develop and advance their diverse efforts to achieve lasting peace. Our goal is the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women in all phases of peace processes. Together with them, we advocate for a feminist understanding of peace that questions power relations and strives for transformative change.

In this programme, we focus on the point in time when there is little or no talk of peace and narratives revolve primarily around military and humanitarian measures. But peace work is relevant long before negotiations begin. The conditions must be actively created long before that: peace intentions and visions need to be developed and peace activists and their networks can be supported even during armed conflict. In this way, we can ensure that women are prepared to engage with the post-conflict period and to strategically plan for and participate in structural, transformative change. 

The programme, launched in 2026, was jointly developed with Palestinian and Israeli organisations to address women’s exclusion from formal peace negotiations. It supports and gives visibility to a coalition of women advancing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and women’s meaningful inclusion in Palestinian-Israeli peace processes.

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.

“Ukraine talks,” “peace negotiations,” “US-brokered peace talks”: for weeks, the media have been reporting on the so-called “peace process” for Ukraine led by the United States. The reporting largely ignores whether such negotiations can be effective. Nor does it address the question everyone should be asking: who should be determining Ukraine's future?

Two workshops for 60 women peacebuilders directly affected by the armed conflict focused on strengthening their capacity to increase the visibility of their peace work and to advocate for their inclusion in peace processes. The workshops, organised by Badya Centre for Integrated Development Services, took place in Dilling, South Kordofan State, in southern Sudan in February 2025. We supported these workshops with our Feminist Peace Initiatives.

With Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the UN Security Council passed a milestone in feminist peace and security policy in October 2000, marking the launch of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The WPS agenda lies at the core of our work across our programmes, in our advocacy and in our work with our global network Feminists Connecting for Peace.

What images do the words "peace processes" evoke in your mind? Do you imagine years of negotiations culminating in a ceremony where the parties to the conflict sign an agreement, followed by a photo of the handshake that goes around the world? We questioned and deconstructed this common perception and took an in-depth look at peace processes focusing on the question: "How do women influence peace processes?’"

In this issue of our newsletter, our Ukrainian partners report on the changes they have noticed over the last two years in the participants of our meetings with war-affected women from Ukraine. In another article, you will find out which topics were at the centre of discussions for 17 peace activists from 10 Asian countries at the network meeting in Manila. You can also find out what was on the programme during the visit of Sudanese peace activist Rabab Baldo and Colombian human rights lawyer Luz Marina Monzón Cifuentes in Bern.

How do you talk about peacebuilding during an ongoing war? It’s hard and challenging, but 20 Ukrainian women gathered in Lviv from 17-20 November 2025 and did just that.

Fostering connections and exchange among women and feminist peacebuilders from countries affected by violent conflict is a central aim across all our programmes. To advance this goal, we invited two Sudanese and two Colombian peace activists to Switzerland. Over four days they shared experiences, strategies and approaches to feminist peacebuilding. They also met with decision-makers to highlight the challenges faced by women peace activists, particularly young ones, in their respective countries – and to voice their expectations.

Undoubtedly the world is experiencing a phase of radical change and uncertainty. The year 2025 has shown how negatively these developments impact feminist peacebuilding. In the annual report, you can find out how we and our partners are dealing with this.