Turkmenistan has called for greater participation and leadership of women in preventive diplomacy and peace processes at a high-level United Nations forum on the implementation of the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.
On 2 September 2026, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Vepa Hajiyev delivered a statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of Neutrality for Peace, Security and Sustainable Development at the High-Level Forum on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, held under the theme “Women’s Leadership to Promote a Culture of Peace.”
The statement highlighted the close connection between a culture of peace and the principles of neutrality. According to the Group, neutrality should be understood not as indifference, but as a principled approach that can contribute to conflict prevention through impartiality, good offices, mediation and confidence-building.
The Group welcomed the recent adoption by the UN General Assembly of resolutions 80/294, “Follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace,” and 80/262, “The role and importance of a policy of neutrality in maintaining and strengthening international peace, security and sustainable development.”
The statement stressed that, amid growing geopolitical tensions, conflicts, mistrust and polarization, peace must be actively built and sustained through “dialogue, mutual respect, inclusion, justice and cooperation.”
The Group also emphasized that “neutrality does not mean standing aside from the cause of peace. It means creating space for peace.” In this context, neutrality can create space for dialogue where confrontation prevails, mediation where positions diverge, and trust where confidence has been lost.
A central focus of the statement was women’s participation in peacebuilding. The Group stressed that “no sustainable culture of peace can be built without the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership of women.”
Women, it noted, should not be viewed only as beneficiaries of peace, but as “mediators, negotiators, community leaders, diplomats, educators, peacebuilders and decision-makers.” Their participation, according to the statement, strengthens the legitimacy of peace processes and brings perspectives that are essential for addressing the underlying causes of instability.
The Group outlined four areas for practical action: ensuring women’s meaningful representation in preventive diplomacy, mediation and peace negotiations from their earliest stages; providing greater support to women mediators, peacebuilders and women-led organizations; integrating women’s leadership more fully into preventive diplomacy; and strengthening education as a foundation for a culture of peace.
The statement also pointed to the role of neutral venues in facilitating inclusive diplomacy. Such venues can help maintain communication when direct engagement becomes difficult and provide platforms for women mediators, civil society and other peace actors.
The Group of Friends called for moving “from declarations to prevention, from participation to leadership, and from dialogue about peace to practical mechanisms for building it.”
It reaffirmed its readiness to contribute to these efforts, stressing that “neutrality, dialogue, trust and women’s leadership are mutually reinforcing instruments for sustaining peace.”
In an increasingly divided world, the Group said, there is a need for more spaces where States can meet without confrontation, opposing sides can communicate, and women can participate “not at the margins of peace processes, but at their very centre.” ///nCa, 4 September 2026