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The Sarajevo Pledge affirms its signatories’ commitment to advancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS Agenda), which aims to strengthen women’s participation in peacebuilding and security processes. Although not binding, the document sends a strong message that women’s voices must be heard and reflected in decisions that affect peace and security. The Pledge was first presented to the public at the International Conference on Women, Peace and Security held in Sarajevo in June 2025. It forms part of the broader Women Lead the Way Towards Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina initiative, supported by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). From Sarajevo, it has since grown into a global commitment connecting individuals, organisations and institutions working to advance the WPS Agenda in different contexts around the world.To date, the Sarajevo Pledge has been signed by 60 individuals, organisations and institutions from 30 countries. From local non-governmental organizations to government institutions, signatories contribute through their work to progress in the six priority areas covered by the Pledge: women’s participation and leadership; justice and survivor-centered accountability; protection and early warning; relief, recovery and resilience; closing the financing gap for implementation of the WPS Agenda; and greater recognition for women peacebuilders.The Pledge provides a common framework for action by different actors, grounded in the understanding that meaningful implementation of the WPS Agenda requires action at multiple levels. This means connecting the experience and work of civil society organizations on the ground with legislative and institutional commitments. In this way, the needs of women in local communities can help shape policies and decisions, while institutional commitments, through cooperation with activists on the ground, can be translated into concrete changes in women’s lives. This connection between local action and institutional responsibility is key to advancing the WPS Agenda.The Sarajevo Pledge continues to carry forward an important achievement of the PBF-supported WPS programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina, building on the momentum generated by the International WPS Conference in Sarajevo. Signatories across different countries are putting its principles into practice through advocacy, community-based initiatives and efforts to advance the WPS Agenda. Their experiences show how the Pledge is being translated into action in different contexts, while also highlighting the challenges women peace activists continue to face and the support needed to sustain their work.When There Are More of Us, We Are BraverSince participating in the International WPS Conference in Sarajevo and signing the Sarajevo Pledge, Ivanna Khodos (Shkolnytskaya), a Ukrainian expert on refugee rights, gender equality and the prevention of human trafficking, has continued to expand her advocacy for the rights of Ukrainian refugees. Over the past year, in Bulgaria, where she sought refuge because of the war in Ukraine, she founded Refugees International Women Empowerment (R.I.W.E.). Across Europe, she has advocated for the inclusion of displaced Ukrainian women in policymaking, including by speaking before the European Parliament, while also connecting her newly established organization with other movements working to advance the WPS Agenda. As she explains, the Sarajevo Pledge has given her a framework she can rely on and a sense that she is not alone in her work. Knowing that other organizations are working towards the same goals gives her additional courage, as it is much harder to believe in change when you are fighting for it alone.„Although the Sarajevo Pledge is non-binding, it is a powerful and inspiring tool. It gives us language, legitimacy and a sense of support. I strongly encourage Ukrainian women’s organisations and activists to look at it closely“, says Khodos (Shkolnytskaya), who moved to Bulgaria in 2023. As a migrant woman with personal experience of war-related displacement and domestic violence, she soon encountered gaps in the support system for survivors herself. This experience motivated her to formally register R.I.W.E. at the end of last year to advocate for improving the position of women who have fled war and sought refuge in the European Union.“I am an ordinary woman who, at the age of 41, had to start over, carrying the heavy burden of trauma, displacement and domestic violence. But I am here – standing before you, and I survived. I am a leader, and I am ready to support other women to stand up and speak for themselves,” says Khodos (Shkolnytskaya), who in recent months has had the opportunity to speak about the experiences of Ukrainian women before the European Parliament and at major international events.Her advocacy has helped bring greater visibility to the needs of Ukrainian women displaced across Europe. Many are well educated and worked in their professions in Ukraine, but today they are often forced to take on other jobs to make a living. Khodos (Shkolnytskaya) advocates for their voices to be heard and for them to have opportunities to participate in decisions that directly affect their lives.The sense of being part of a wider community is also important to Ana Nemsadze of Georgia’s Women’s Information Center, who sees the Sarajevo Pledge as an additional advocacy tool that connects local efforts with a broader international movement.“When you try to do something on your own, you face many challenges. But when you are part of such a large and strong community, you begin to feel its strength. Whenever we run advocacy campaigns, we refer to the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, international conventions and UN Security Council documents, and now we can also refer to the Sarajevo Pledge.”For the Uzbek organization Barqaror Hayot, signing the Sarajevo Pledge has similarly helped connect work carried out directly with communities to the broader WPS Agenda. Over the past year, the organization has focused on the reintegration of women and children who returned to Uzbekistan from Iraq and Syria. Abbos Mansurov, a representative of the organisation, says signing the Pledge was also a way of demonstrating that organisations working at the local level have an important contribution to make to implementation of the WPS Agenda. „For us, signing the Pledge was a way to make this commitment more explicit and to connect our local work with the broader international discussion. I think this is also important because sometimes organisations working directly with communities do not necessarily use the language of WPS in their everyday work, even though what they are doing is very much connected to it. For us, the Pledge helped make that connection more visible“, says Mansurov.From an International Commitment to Local ActionThe experiences of Sarajevo Pledge signatories show how the WPS  Agenda takes shape not only through policies and formal peace and security processes, but also through action in communities.Among other commitments, the Sarajevo Pledge calls on states to increase women’s participation in peace and security processes to at least 40 per cent by 2030. It also places emphasis on combating conflict-related sexual violence, protecting and supporting survivors, and cooperating with women’s civil society organisations. Some of its goals require stronger engagement by government institutions, legislative changes and the adoption of national strategies, while others depend on work on the ground and in local communities, where non-governmental organisations play a key role.„When we talk about peace processes, I would not limit this only to formal negotiations or high-level diplomacy. Peace and stability are also built in communities, families, schools, mahallas and civil society organisations. If people feel excluded, if women do not have access to opportunities, or if vulnerable groups are not heard, these issues can eventually become much broader social problems“, explains Mansurov.Over the past year, Barqaror Hayot has devoted considerable attention to the rehabilitation and reintegration of women returnees and children. Mansurov stresses that reintegration means much more than simply returning home. A person may return physically but still face stigma, psychological difficulties, problems with documentation, financial hardship and challenges reconnecting with the community.For this reason, the organisation has provided different forms of support to women returnees and their children. Some women needed psychological support and a safe space to talk about what they had experienced. Others faced practical challenges related to documentation, access to services, education, employment and reconnecting with the community. Children had their own needs, particularly in relation to education, psychological well-being and participation in social life.„We provided psychosocial assistance, legal and rights-related information, support in accessing relevant services, community-based activities and livelihood-oriented assistance. We also worked with communities to reduce misunderstanding and create a more supportive environment for reintegration“, says Mansurov.Where this approach has been consistently applied, the organisation has seen positive changes. Women have become better connected to local support systems and gained greater access to services and livelihood opportunities, while communities have become more willing to engage with them rather than view them solely through the lens of their past.„For me, one of the most important results is when a woman begins to see herself not only as someone who needs assistance, but as someone who can make decisions about her own future and contribute to her family and community“, says Mansurov.In Georgia, Ana Nemsadze of the Women’s Information Center, another signatory of the Sarajevo Pledge, sees similar value in being part of a broader community working towards shared goals. The organisation has focused its work on empowering internally displaced women and young people, as well as those living in rural areas along the administrative boundary lines of the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.By supporting women leaders from five smaller communities, establishing women’s self-help groups and conducting a survey among local residents, the Women’s Information Center gathered information about their actual needs and supported them in implementing 14 initiatives. These included an English-language course, the creation of a relaxation corner, psychological support, renovation of a small local church, restoration of a library and the purchase of sound equipment for a youth dance group. What is particularly significant, as Nemsadze points out, is that the women are now better equipped to identify their priorities, communicate their needs and approach decision-makers themselves.“They know how to set a direction and identify their priorities, how to verbalize them in the right way and approach decision-makers. This is the result of numerous training and practical sessions we held with these women. For example, just recently, one of these women who lives right along the administrative boundary line was interviewed by a well-known TV broadcaster because she had been recognised as a community leader. Our project has ended, but they are still there, participating in various initiatives and building networks.”In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Napravi razliku Women’s Association focuses on cooperation with other local women’s associations and connecting women across the country who are engaged in peace activism. The association recently became a formal member of the Peace with a Woman’s Face initiative, with which they had previously collaborated. The Association’s President, Vildana Džekman, highlights two activities that have resulted from cooperation with other women’s organisations over the past two years.The first is the regular commemoration of 8 December, the activist Day of Remembrance of Women’s Suffering in the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, through advocacy activities including round tables, work in local communities and networking with other women’s organisations. In addition, last year, an initiative submitted jointly with the New Women’s Initiative from Tuzla was adopted, granting immediate family members of those killed in the Kapija massacre in Tuzla on 25 May 1995 priority access to medical examinations and healthcare services, as well as exemption from administrative fees.Sustainable Financing for the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security AgendaThe experiences of Sarajevo Pledge signatories also point to one of the most persistent challenges facing women peace activists and women-led organisations: securing stable and long-term support for their work.Their contribution is particularly important in smaller local communities, which often remain outside the focus of development strategies and action plans. Yet despite their knowledge of local realities and close connections with the communities they serve, women’s organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to secure the conditions needed for sustainable, long-term work. Women peace activists may also face stigmatisation in the communities in which they operate.The Sarajevo Pledge recognises this challenge, calling for more stable and long-term financing for implementation of the WPS Agenda and greater investment in women-led initiatives. Among other measures, it calls on donors to allocate at least 15 per cent of funding intended for peacebuilding and conflict prevention to women-led initiatives and networks for their protection. It also advocates gender-responsive budgeting, greater transparency in funding allocations for the WPS Agenda, and its systematic inclusion in national and international budgets for peacebuilding, development and security.“We acknowledge with urgency that, despite important normative advances, the implementation of the WPS agenda remains uneven, critically underfunded, and too often excludes the voices and leadership of those most affected by conflict and crisis,” the Sarajevo Pledge states.Signatories themselves identify the lack of stable and long-term financing as one of the most common obstacles to implementation of the WPS Agenda. Reduced donor funding, increasing competition for available resources and a lack of sustainable support make it more difficult to ensure continuity for women-led initiatives.“Due to a lack of financial resources and the withdrawal of donor support, many women’s organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina have closed down. In general, it is very difficult to survive as a feminist,” says Vildana Džekman from the Napravi razliku Women’s Association.Ivanna Khodos (Shkolnytskaya) from R.I.W.E. similarly points to the gap between the expectations placed on organisations supporting women and refugees and the resources available to them.“Despite the trust of their communities, direct access to people in need and extensive knowledge of local circumstances, many small women’s organisations still struggle to access flexible and sustainable sources of funding,” says Khodos (Shkolnytskaya).Commitments That Make a Difference in People’s LivesUltimately, commitments such as the Sarajevo Pledge are meaningful when they reflect women’s actual needs and voices and translate into concrete improvements in their lives.The strength of the Pledge lies in collective action, but also in each signatory taking concrete steps within their own context to advance its principles. Continuity is particularly important in ensuring that initiatives which demonstrate results do not come to an end because of a lack of funding or political will, or because of fatigue and exhaustion within civil society.“WPS should not become a topic that organisations discuss once a year at a conference. It needs to be integrated into regular programmes, budgets, training, monitoring and organisational planning,” says Abbos Mansurov.On the ground, women involved in WPS initiatives continue to demonstrate strong commitment and determination. Ana Nemsadze points to the resilience and dedication of the women with whom her organisation works, many of whom continue organising, participating in initiatives and building networks even after individual projects have ended.“I am more than surprised and impressed by the amount of work these women have done, the resilience they have shown over all these years and the passion they have for their communities. They wait for us each time we are waiting for the next phase of the project, but they keep working because they have that passion. However, they need our support, and we hope that we will be able to continue providing it.”Listening to women and understanding the needs and priorities they identify for themselves are key to meaningful implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Decisions made at different levels – from developing new projects by local non-governmental organisations and amending national laws and strategies to adopting international commitments – should be informed by women’s experiences and priorities.In this way, their experiences and voices can form the basis for concrete steps towards building peace and security.For Mansurov, there is a simple measure of whether an international commitment is ultimately making a difference.“If a woman tells us that her biggest problem is access to a service, safety in her community, economic independence or simply having a voice in decisions affecting her family, that experience should inform our programmes. For me, that is probably the simplest test of any commitment: Does it change something in real life?” concludes Mansurov.The Sarajevo Pledge was developed through the “Women Lead the Way Towards Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina” initiative, jointly implemented by UN Women, UNFPA and IOM, in cooperation 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).