When women lead, peace follows: Building capacity for peacebuilding in Haiti

Haiti is living through one of its most difficult chapters. Recurring political crises, insecurity, and a fragile humanitarian situation continue to test the resilience of its people. And yet, in communities across the country, women are not waiting on the sidelines. They are mediating conflicts, mobilizing their neighbours, and holding together the social fabric of their communities. 

At UNSSC, supporting these women is more than a programmatic priority. We are committed to the belief that sustainable peace is built from the ground up, and that the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda must extend beyond resolutions and policy documents to those implementing change on the ground. 

A partnership forged on the ground

UNSSC’s engagement in Haiti began with a Training of Trainers (ToT) on Conflict Sensitivity and Mediation, delivered in French in 2023. The ToT was implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women Haiti and delivered to their implementing partners. That first step laid the groundwork for something more comprehensive : a full Women's Empowerment and Leadership for Peacebuilding Training Toolkit, a modular, interactive, field-ready resource tailored specifically to the context, developed under UN Women Haiti's project ‘Reinforcement of Leadership and Participation of Women in Conflict Prevention and Resolution for Sustainable Peace in Haiti’.. 

The toolkit forms the practical backbone of the programme ‘Building Skills and Creating a Space for Women in Community Initiatives for Conflict Prevention’, designed specifically to equip women mediators and facilitators with the skills and resources they need for community-level peacebuilding. It was co-developed through structured needs assessments, close consultation with UN Women Haiti, and direct engagement with civil society organizations working on the ground. Every module, every facilitation guide, every participatory exercise was shaped by the realities Haitian women face daily. 

The result was a practical, low-bandwidth digital resource accessible even in areas with limited connectivity, delivered entirely in French, and grounded in feminist and intersectional principles. Guiding videos explain how to operationalize each module within Haiti's specific sociocultural and operational environment, ensuring the toolkit actually gets used. 

Mireille Dorsainvil, WPS Programme Manager at UN Women Haiti, does not soften her words when she describes the stakes. 

“In Haiti, in the current context, contributing to the implementation of the WPS agenda is more than necessary”, she says. “During recurring political crises, women and communities needed to rely on frameworks and tools to promote their inclusion and participation in peace processes.”  

Twenty-five years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the normative framework exists. What has been missing, too often, are the practical tools that translate those commitments into community-level action. The toolkit, developed with the support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) Haiti through its Women for Peace project is a direct response to that gap. It is also supporting the development of Haiti's first National Action Plan on Resolution 1325, a milestone that will give women a formal platform in national peace and security processes. 

150 women. A multiplier effect.

To date, the toolkit has contributed to training approximately 150 women as mediators and trainers, women who now have not only new skills, but the tools and technical resources to continue training others in their own communities. 

“This collaboration has strengthened the capacity of a pool of peace mediator-trainers”, says Mireille. “The production of tools across multiple thematic areas gives women access to content and technical guides to better frame community-level activities”. 

This is the sustainability logic that drives UNSSC’s approach: train the trainers, equip the equippers, and create a self-reinforcing cycle of local capacity. In a context where, as Mireille points out, local civil society organizations face persistent funding shortfalls, stigmatization of women's leadership, and gender-based violence that keeps women away from decision-making spaces, building internal capacity is not optional but rather the only durable strategy. 

Learning that reaches where it's needed 

What makes this initiative instructive for the future of WPS programming is not just what was built, but how. 

The toolkit reflects a learning design philosophy that the Peace and Security Hub at UNSSC has been developing across its work: modular, so it can be adapted to different contexts; digital and low-bandwidth, so it reaches beyond well-connected capitals; and deeply principled, with intersectionality and feminist frameworks integrated into every layer not as add-ons, but as the foundation. 

It also reflects a partnership model worth replicating. When Mireille looks ahead, she points to what she sees as essential: “Strengthening the group of community mediators, increasing cross-sector mobilization, and opening spaces where women's voices, priorities, and forms of organization fully take their place”. She also calls for training that is not only accessible but certified, recognizing women's learning and giving it institutional weight. 

These are not just recommendations for Haiti. They are a roadmap for how the international community should approach WPS capacity development everywhere: locally anchored, institutionally backed, practically designed, and built to last. 

Partnership as a prerequisite for peace 

The UNSSC Peace and Security Hub's work in Haiti is a reminder that meaningful WPS implementation cannot happen through any single actor. It requires the normative authority of frameworks like UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the field expertise of organizations like UN Women, the financial commitment of mechanisms like the Peacebuilding Fund, and the irreplaceable knowledge of local civil society brought together with a shared commitment. 

The 150 women now equipped as mediators and trainers are not a final result. They are a beginning. 

The UNSSC Peace and Security Hub enhances the UN’s capability to work across pillars to prevent and mitigate conflict, build resilient societies, and contribute meaningfully to sustainable peace. Through inclusive, high quality learning solutions, the hub equips UN personnel and partner organizations with essential skills in areas ranging from conflict analysis, data, climate, peace and security, to youth, women, peace and security. To learn more: Advancing Women, Peace and Security: UNSSC learning and advisory solutions.