Nordic Women Mediators

Nordic Women Mediators - members
The Nordic Women Mediators (NWM), a network of women from the Nordic countries with experience in professional conflict mediation and peacebuilding.

Read more about the members of the network

CRIC is the Danish operational partner of the Nordic Women Mediators (NWM), a network of women from the Nordic countries with experience in professional conflict mediation and peacebuilding.

Inspired by a similar initiative in South Africa, the Nordic governments endorsed the creation of the network at the Nordic African Foreign Ministers' meeting in April 2015. The NWM was officially launched in Oslo on 27 November 2015, followed by an international launch in March 2016 at the United Nations in New York.

There is a general recognition that despite important gains resulting from the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325), women are still underrepresented in formal peace and mediation processes. Whether as parties to a conflict or as members of the teams facilitating and leading peace processes, there is a need for increasing the  effective engagement and meaningful involvement of women in order to make peace processes more gender equal.

The UN Security Council has on numerous occasions expressed concern at the persistent obstacles to women's full involvement in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. Special attention has been drawn to the constant under-representation of women in peace processes, transitional processes and post-political settlement decision-making, institutions and reconstruction. A UN study has found that only two per cent of chief mediators, nine per cent of negotiators, and four per cent of signatories were women. The NWM network is created to counter this by facilitating women’s involvement in peace processes.

The Nordic Women Mediators’ objectives are to:

  • Increase the number of Nordic women that are actively involved in international peace-making efforts
      
  • Strengthen the role of women mediators in conflict-affected countries and regions, both at a state or country level, and in regional and international organizations
     
  • Make women’s competences in this area more visible to the Nordic governments and foreign ministries and engage with similar initiatives in other countries
  • The members will exchange experiences and provide mutual support


The network aims to reach out to actors engaged in peace processes, transitional processes and post-political settlement processes and institutions. Interacting with other similar women’s networks will be an important component. The NWM also aims to make women’s competence in this area more visible, to counter arguments about the shortage or low availability of women with mediation expertise. The Nordic network meets twice a year.

The Nordic network is comprised of: a contact group representing participating Nordic ministries; together with an advisory group consisting of senior women mediators from the Nordic countries, serving as a sounding board for the network members; and an operational group representing the Nordic Ministries’ operational partners (listed below).

For more information on the network, please contact one of the following operational group partners: