Gender and Peace in the Balkans: Sites of Challenges and Hopes

The publication has been developed with the support of the project Women Lead the Way Towards Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina, jointly implemented by UN Women, IOM, and UNFPA, in partnership with the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the support of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). 

Anchored in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, it builds on the International Conference “Gender and Peace in the Balkans: Charting the Way Forward” (Sarajevo, February 2025), organized by the TPO Foundation, the University Gender Resource Center, the Center for Human Rights of the University of Sarajevo, and the ZATO Foundation from Zagreb, within the regional UNIGEM Project (Universities and Gender Mainstreaming).

The publication brings together academic, policy, and practitioner perspectives to examine feminist peacebuilding, gendered impacts of conflict and anti-gender trends, as well as women’s activism and community-based reconciliation.

As such, it serves as a practical resource for bridging research and practice—supporting the localization of the WPS agenda, strengthening regional dialogue, and informing programme design and advocacy in support of sustainable peace.