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Remarks by H.E. Annalena Baerbock

President of the 80^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

at the High-level Forum on the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace

Wednesday, 2 September 2026, 10:00 A.M.

Trusteeship Council Chamber, ±¬ÁÏÍø HQ, New York

[As Delivered]

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

80 years ago, our United Nations was created with the express purpose of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

 

Yet our founding mothers and fathers had the wisdom, foresight, and especially experience to know that peace is more than the absence of war.

 

Therefore, they sought to build an institution not focused narrowly on peace and security, but upon the mutually reinforcing pillars of human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security.

 

So while today some call for the United Nations to go ¡°back to basics,¡± we should remember that the pursuit of a just, sustainable, and lasting peace is, indeed, one of our basics.

It is embedded in the very foundations of this Organization.

 

And it lies at the heart of the Culture of Peace: the conviction that lasting peace requires replacing violence with dialogue, division with mutual understanding and cooperation, and exclusion with participation.

 

Since the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace in 1999, at the initiative of Bangladesh, this Assembly has continued to advance that vision of a more peaceful, just, and inclusive world.

 

Central to this effort is the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women in peace processes.

 

That is why the theme of this year¡¯s High-Level Forum¡ª”Women¡¯s Leadership to promote a Culture of Peace¡±¡ªcould not be more important and timley.

 

Including women at every stage of the peace process is not just a ¡°nice to have¡±.

 

It is not doing a favour to women.

 

It is not even simply a matter of fairness.

 

It is fundamentally a question of whether peace succeeds.

 

Research has shown that when women participate meaningfully in peace processes, the probability of an agreement lasting at least two years increases by 20 per cent and the probability of conflict returning is reduced by 37 per cent.

 

That is because women bring the experiences, knowledge, and priorities of half the world¡¯s population to the negotiation table. The society approach.

 

They broaden negotiations beyond the conduct of war and armed actors to the communities and people that are affected by it.

 

And they raise issues that create the conditions for peace to firmly take root¡ªfrom conflict-related sexual violence and access to justice to economic opportunity and political participation at all levels.

 

Or as the women I who I met at the front lines told me: if women are safe, everyone is safe.

 

Because when more voices and perspectives are included when shaping peace, the outcome will better reflect the realities of the people who will benefit from it, and peace will be more likely to endure.

 

History has given us powerful examples of women¡¯s role in peace.

 

In Colombia, women-led advocacy helped ensure that the landmark 2016 agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces addressed critical issues, such as victims¡¯ rights, land access, and conflict-related sexual violence.

 

And in Liberia, Christian and Muslim women came together across religious and social divides to pray, organize, and demonstrate for peace.

 

Through the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, they pushed political leaders and armed actors towards peace by bringing their demands directly to the negotiating process in Accra.

 

I am therefore especially honoured that today we are joined by Ms. Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and one of the pioneering leaders of that movement, to learn from your experience.

 

Ms. Gbowee¡¯s unwavering bravery and tenacity to mobilize communities and demand accountability is not simply an inspiration to admire from afar¡­it is a rallying call to give women the power to shape peace in every conflict.

 

This Assembly has affirmed that principle time and again.

 

The 2025 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture recognized that the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women at all decision-making levels in conflict resolution is key to achieving durable solutions and long-term stability.

 

The Architecture recognizes the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, in peacebuilding, and in building critical foundations for promoting a culture of peace.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Our commitments are clear.

The history speaks for itself.

And the data is unequivocal.

 

Yet there remains a profound gap between what we know and what we are doing.

 

At a time when the number of armed conflicts is at a record high, too many negotiating tables still exclude the women that hold the keys to unlocking peace.

 

Frankly speaking, you only have to look at the most recent photos or media coverage of the latest peace negotiations, where there are hardly any women in the room.

 

And also frankly speaking, if we also look at regular governmental consultations these days, so often there is not a single woman present.

 

And even in teams programming the next AI algorithm ¨C even when we know that AI will play a crucial role in the conflicts of the future – still they are not designed with the voices of women.

 

So it doesn¡¯t only start at the end, at the peace negotiation table.

 

It starts here today, in our own meetings, in our own CEO set ups, in our own culture.

 

As said, this is not only a question of injustice, it is a missed opportunity for sustained peace, to leave women out of the group.

 

If we are serious about fulfilling the promise made 80 years ago to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, then our commitments must be matched by our actions.

 

A Culture of Peace is not an abstract aspiration, it is a choice every one of us makes every day throughout societies.

And it is our collective responsibility to build societies¡­

• Where we uphold the principles of the ±¬ÁÏÍø Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Where we safeguard justice and dignity for all.
• And where we ensure that women are not observers of peace, but are actively building it. Because if women are safe, everyone is safe.