Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at and with the African Union: Insights from the AU Panel of the Wise

Description

The 25th anniversary of the United Nation Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) presents
an opportunity to celebrate progress made in the field of Women, Peace and Security (WPS),
while critically assessing the road ahead. The African Union has pledged to work towards
gender equality since its establishment in 2001, drafting policies and frameworks, upholding
gender equality quota at its Commisson and creating directorates and programmes. This
webinar is is dedicated to the practices of the AU Panel of the Wise, one of the five pillars of
the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), which represents an actor working
towards gender equality, while not devoted solely to gender issues.

Conceptualized and established as a continental conflict prevention mechanism, the five-
member institution is shaping and implementing feminist policies amongst other peace and
security operations. Panel members and their team at the AU Department of Political Affairs,
Peace and Security (AU PAPS) have established norms as well as institutions at the African
Union. Their report on women and children in armed conflicts (2014) and their subsidary
mechanism, the AU Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation
(FemWise-Africa) have shaped and are implementing continental WPS policies, promoting the
political inclusion, empowerment and protection of women and their rights.

What can we learn from the actions of the AU Panel of the Wise and its strategies to mainstream
gender? How are panel members and representatives of their subsidiary mechanims
implementing the AU WPS agenda? Do the initiatives and policies of the African Union trickle
down to local politics? Can local policy-makers learn from AU initiatives and what should AU
policy makers learn from local actors? These are some of the questions addressed in this ANCIP
Webinar

Period	13 Nov 2025
Held at	Universität Leipzig, Germany
Degree of Recognition	International