Queering Peacebuilding: Reflections on the Women, Peace, and Security Toolkit Workshop

Alex Richardson is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Religion, Trinity College Dublin whose research focuses on novel forms of multi-gendered, intersectional peacebuilding.

On Friday 6 December, a group of academics, activists, and peace and security practitioners met at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, for a workshop that explored how we can make peacebuilding in a UN context more inclusive for queer communities. The workshop was supported by Trinity College Dublin’s School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies and it centred on a novel and groundbreaking Toolkit developed by Dr. Jamie Hagen, Dr. Anupama Ranawana, Valentina Parra, Laura Beltrán,  María Susana Peralta Ramón and Nathalie Mercier.

Colombia Diversa, a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation in Colombia, played a pivotal role in developing the Toolkit. Their contributions were grounded in their extensive experience supporting LGBTQ+ individuals during the Colombian peace process and their involvement in transformative justice practices. Specifically, Colombia Diversa provided insights from their work advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within transitional justice frameworks and from helping to shape the country’s first National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS in 2023.

The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda

WPS, rooted in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, provides a policy framework for addressing gendered experiences of conflict and peacebuilding. Since 1325, the UN has grown its gender-sensitive peacebuilding approach through a suite of UNSCRs collectively grouped under WPS (UN Peacekeeping, 2020: 2). WPS is defined by the UN as ‘a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of UN policies and programmes’ (ibid). Unfortunately, this peacebuilding framework has to date made no mention of LGBTQ identities in its concept, policy, or practice (Hagen, 2016; 2021).

WPS emphasises four key pillars for implementation: participation, which ensures inclusive involvement in decision-making and on-mission processes; protection, which safeguards individuals from violence and discrimination; prevention, aimed at addressing the root causes of conflict; and relief and recovery, focusing on post-conflict support and rebuilding. While WPS has been praised for centering women in these discussions, its focus has often been increasingly criticised for relying on binary gender norms and failing to account for the lived realities of LGBTQ+ people from conflict-affected regions. This is where the Toolkit aims to intervene, offering actionable recommendations to embed queer perspectives into WPS concepts, practices, and policies.

Rethinking the Framework: The Workshop

The workshop broke into three thematic groups, each addressing a core element of the Toolkit: (1) queering WPS (practically, theoretically, philisophically, etc.), (2) coalition-building between LGBTQ and feminist organisations in WPS work, and (3) inclusive peace practices and agendas between and beyond WPS itself. Participants generated a wealth of ideas and key takeaways, revealing both challenges and opportunities for change.

Group 1. Queering WPS: Rethinking the Framework

The first group discussed what it means to queer WPS both practically and theoretically. Participants noted that queering requires rethinking the ontological and epistemological foundations of WPS, emphasising the need to challenge binary gender norms and engage with diverse positionalities.

Key findings included:

• Queering Irish WPS (NAPs And Beyond): Participants highlighted the importance of revisiting national and international frameworks to ensure inclusivity for diverse queer communities.
• Breaking Down Binaries: The group explored how the binary view of domestic versus international peacebuilding is itself gendered and exclusionary.
• Openness to Different Positionalities: Emphasising inclusivity of diverse lived experiences.
• Listening and Translating: Language and cultural context were seen as essential for fostering openness and engaging with different understandings of reality.
• Practical Pathways: “Meeting people where they are” and finding innovative routes to achieve shared goals were seen as critical to embedding queer perspectives in peacebuilding practices.
• Funding: Highlighting the importance of securing financial resources for queer-inclusive initiatives and the impact these funding cycles can have on the ‘form’ of peace being advanced via WPS contemporarily.

This discussion underscored that queering WPS is not just about adding LGBTQ+ individuals into existing structures ‘and stirring’ but about transforming the policy framework itself.

Group 2. Coalition-Building: Bridging Feminist and Queer Movements

The second group tackled the question of how to foster coalitions between feminist and LGBTQ+ organisations in WPS efforts. The participants stressed the importance of multi-level collaboration and shared commitments while respecting cultural and historical contexts.

Key findings included:

• Multi-Level Approaches: Advocating for collaboration across different levels of organisations and governments.
• Cultural Sensitivity: The significance of cultural context in building coalitions was repeatedly emphasised. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work; instead, partnerships must reflect local realities of peace and security.
• The Power of Storytelling: Narratives that resonate across divides can help build solidarity and mutual understanding between feminist and LGBTQ+ movements, such as shared drive for gender justice and deconstruction of patriarchal notions.
• Historical Research and Indigenous Practices: Participants suggested looking to historical and indigenous ways of coalition-building – “reaching back into our histories” – for guidance and inspiration in future coalition-building practices.
• LGBT Network in Irish Defence Forces as a Leading Example: Using the Defence Forces’ network as a model of effective institutional advocacy.
• Coalition Building Through Social Meet-Ups: Strengthening ties through informal and social interactions.
• Protecting Those Who Don’t Want to Be Public: Ensuring privacy and protection for individuals who may not want to publicly identify with LGBTQ causes.

This group theme highlighted the importance of building trust and creating safe spaces where organisations can engage without fear of judgment or exclusion.

Group 3. Inclusive Peace Practices: Creating Broader Connections

The third theme delved into how inclusive peace practices could better connect queer and youth perspectives within the WPS framework. The group explored actionable steps to make peacebuilding more intersectional and relevant to a wider range of communities.

Key findings included:

• Queer-Led Training: Building the capacity of peacebuilders through queer-led initiatives was seen as vital to changing entrenched norms.
• Everyday Peace Practices: Participants emphasised the importance of embedding inclusivity in everyday practices, not just policy discussions.
• Intersectionality and Allyship: Efforts must be multi-dimensional, addressing intersections of race, class, and gender while fostering solidarity across diverse groups.
• Community Education and Intergenerational Exchange: Sharing experiences across generations and communities was seen as key to sustaining inclusive practices over time.
• Multi-Cultural Approaches: Considering diverse cultural contexts in peace practices.
• Sharing with Context: Tailoring peacebuilding strategies to local and situational needs.
• Need to Dismantle Information: Addressing information hierarchies to create equal opportunities for participation.

The group agreed that inclusive peace requires dismantling hierarchical information structures and building partnerships that empower marginalised voices.

What’s Next? Toward Queer-Inclusive Peacebuilding

The workshop highlighted both the potential and the challenges of queering WPS. While frameworks like Ireland’s NAPs have begun to acknowledge LGBTQ+ concerns, much work remains to operationalise these principles effectively. The Toolkit provides a clear roadmap for moving forward, offering practical solutions while challenging UN peacebuilders and academics alike to rethink traditional WPS approaches. By centering queer voices and fostering collaboration across movements, it has the potential to transform peacebuilding into a truly inclusive peace practice.

An outcome report from the workshop is currently being developed, synthesising the discussions and ideas generated during the event. For those interested in learning more or contributing to this ongoing conversation, the report will be made available in the coming weeks. This workshop demonstrated that inclusion is not just about representation; it’s about reimagining systems and structures to reflect the diverse realities of those most affected by conflict.

References

Hagen J (2016) Queering Women, Peace and Security. International Affairs. 92(2): 315-332.

Hagen J (2021) LGBTQ Perspectives in Peacebuilding In: Richmond O and Visoka G (ed) The Oxford Handbook of Peacebuilding, Statebuilding and Peace Formation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

UN Peacekeeping (2020) Gender Equality and Women, Peace and Security. Available at: https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/gewps19_respack_v7_eng_digital.pdf (Accessed 22 January 2024).