Speech by Dr Sandra Pertek | UKRI Future Leaders Fellow | Senior Research Fellow (University of Birmingham) | Civil Society Forum | UN Headquarters | 14 February 2025

Thematic Session 2: Towards the Second World Social Summit: Safeguarding the Future

Opening: A Call to Prioritise Women’s Rights in Peace and Security

Honourable guests, esteemed colleagues, and dedicated advocates,

As a humanitarian advocate and social researcher, over the years, I have met many displaced and conflict-affected women and girls. These are the voices I am privileged to represent today.

The number of conflict- and climate-induced displaced people has reached unprecedented levels, reaching over 120 million (UNHCR, 2024).

In today’s discussion on social development, we cannot overlook the Women, Peace and Security agenda, which is a key enabler of social change.

In short, there is no social development without gender equality, and there is no gender equality without peace and security.

First, I’d like to pay tribute to the millions of displaced women trapped in the continuum of violence and exclusion. They resist injustice daily—fighting for survival and their children’s futures. Their voices are too often silenced, so we must amplify these as they inspire us with their resilience.

Second, we must renew our commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security agenda—not as an aspiration but as a duty. The intersecting structural factors undermining this agenda must be systematically addressed.

And needless to say displaced women are not passive recipients of aid but leaders, decision-makers, and agents of change, in all their diversity. Evidence shows they excel as mediators, yet they remain excluded from peace processes.

Their inclusion in peace, conflict and post-conflict is not just a moral imperative—it is a socio-economic necessity because when women thrive, societies prosper. More investment is needed in their training in mediation and leadership to enable their political representation.

Women deserve inclusion in decision-making tables – not as a token but as real contributors – to counter the gender backlash and rollback on multiple human rights.

The Human Face of the Continuum of Violence in Displacement: Ayesha’s Story

Women in conflict and displacement endure a continuum of violence—from conflict (as a weapon of war), along forced migration routes, in countries of transit and refuge. They are frequently subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of Gender-based violence (GBV). Yet protection programming is severely underfunded—only 1% of humanitarian aid is allocated to GBV response (UN Women).

Too many women are denied basic needs as war intensifies gender inequalities and economic insecurity. The restrictive immigration laws, double standards in refugee policy and gender backlash in many places exacerbate their exclusion.

I’d like to introduce you to Ayesha from Sierra Leone, whom I met in Southern Tunisia.

She is one from among many forced migrant women subjected to exploitation. Fleeing civil war, her journey became one of violence.

She was subjected to trafficking in transit, and gave birth to twins born of sexual violence.

Ayesha’s story is not just a tragedy—it is a failure. A failure of policy, international responsibility, and systems meant to protect her under international human rights law.

Meanwhile, mainstream humanitarian policies insufficiently address the diverse needs of women shaped by their intersecting identities—cultural, religious, and ethnic and other markers of identity. For example, refugee camp designs often fail to ensure gender-sensitive protection and offer women basic items to protect their dignity. Many survivors cannot access medical support on the move.

Transnational Solidarity: The Antidote to Powerlessness

History shows that transnational solidarity drives change.

From postcolonial feminists to intersectional scholars, we know that solutions must be inclusive, decolonial, and cross-cultural. Women’s struggles are diverse, whether in the Global North or Global South, yet these struggles are interconnected.

We need to appreciate the important role that women-led organisations play in these settings. While they remain heavily underfunded, they are the first respondents to women’s needs.

The Second World Summit for Social Development must centre the needs of displaced women regardless of their background, advancing inclusive, intersectional frameworks to leave nobody behind.

As one priority, we must confront the double standards in refugee policy and response.

Displaced women in the Global South are often seen as less deserving of protection. The international response to crises in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, and Afghanistan reveals how geopolitical interests dictate the distribution of aid.

Civil society is crucial at all levels – local, regional and international. In times when political will, capacity and resources remain insufficient to address the intersecting systems of violence and exclusion, civil society has been playing a significant role in responding to crises and offering life-saving services, especially to stranded migrants at the borders.

Across the world, grassroots organisations drive change, hold governments accountable, and uphold human dignity. Again, women’s organisations require further investment. Southern-led responses—including faith-based initiatives and refugee-to-refugee aid—are among the most effective in providing localised, contextualised support to women in conflict and post-conflict.

The next Social Summit must prioritise the inclusion of displaced women in conflict and displacement at the top of the agenda.

Actionable Solutions: Bridging Systems

So, what can be done?

We need to build on diverse knowledge systems—beyond Western models to bridge humanitarian, migration and asylum systems and to unlock indigenous and local resources – e.g. diverse systems of protection and social capital.

Here, diverse partnerships are key, including faith actors, local networks, and community-led initiatives.

For example:

Faith and Humanitarian Responses

Our UKRI-funded project called ‘Making Aid Work for Displaced Women’, which I lead, explores how Islamic philanthropy can bridge funding and aid gaps for displaced women at different stages of migration.

We explore how faith-based giving—such as Zakat in Muslim faith—can help improve outcomes for displaced women.

Also, it’s time to prioritise Inclusive, Intersectional and Cross-cultural Approaches to Protection & Inclusion.

As different women have different needs, it is essential to operationalise inclusive and intersectional approaches which account for diverse and contextual needs and which ‘leave nobody behind’.

The World Social Summit must embrace culturally informed protection strategies to mobilise alternative narratives to safeguard women in conflict and displacement.

Peace is unsustainable without women’s security, especially as conflict exacerbates VAWG. VAWG fuels and sustains cycles of conflict and insecurity.

Call to Action: It’s A Duty, Not an Option, to prioritise the protection of displaced women at the next Social Summit. Civil society plays a critical role in continuing to demand improved policy implementation from their governments, mainstream protection of all people regardless of their legal status, and amplifying women’s voices who are best positioned to speak about their needs.

It must be at the top of the agenda to engage diverse stakeholders in the Women, Peace and Security agenda, to prevent sexual violence in conflict, support the healing of survivors and strengthen resilience across sectors.

Closing: Ayesha’s Prayer

Before I close, let me share Ayesha’s prayer—one that echoes the hopes of millions of displaced women:

“End violence in the world. Because if there was peace, I would not have faced this violence. That’s why I was raped over and over again. That’s why there is no peace, and in other countries, women and children suffer the same fate.”

Her words are not just a prayer—they are our collective responsibility.

Simply the world cannot achieve peace, security, or development while half its population remains excluded from decision-making, protection, and economic recovery post-conflict.

Thank you.

---

Infographic: Ayesha’s Story of Displacement

Full recording: Civil Society Forum – 63rd Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD63) | UN Web