‘Women are not victims’: Türk calls for women to be at the heart of peace and security

He warned that women and girls continue to suffer disproportionate harm in conflicts, while often being excluded from decisions affecting their security.

Addressing the International Civil Society Action Network’s 2026 Forum on Women, Peace and Security in The Hague in a video message, Mr. Türk said the world was experiencing “seismic global shocks”, with conflicts affecting millions of people.

According to latest data looking at 2024, an estimated 676 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of active conflict, the highest figure recorded since the end of the Cold War.

“Women are the overwhelming majority of victims of conflict-related rape, abductions, human trafficking, and sexual slavery,” he said.

He stressed that discrimination can increase women’s exposure to harm, particularly when conflict erupts.

“The lower the resources allocated to women – in terms of health, wealth and education – the greater their exposure to harm,” he said.

Women and girls from racially and ethnically marginalised groups, as well as those facing discrimination on religious or other grounds, can be particularly vulnerable, including to sexual violence, he added.

Mr. Türk also pointed to what he described as a persistent gap between the role women play in protecting communities and their representation in formal decision-making.

While recognising the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls, the High Commissioner rejected the idea of portraying women solely as victims.

“But women are not victims,” he said. “On the contrary: all over the world, even in the harshest and most violent environments, women continue to lead, organise, mediate, and document violations.”

Women are often among the first to respond to humanitarian crises, he said, drawing on knowledge of local conditions that international organisations may lack.

Stressing the crucial role women have in preventing conflict, Mr. Türk added that “they are very powerful builders of community protection, accountability, and peace.” 

The High Commissioner argued that lasting peace cannot be built in societies marked by discrimination and oppression, and called for greater recognition of women-led civil society organisations as full partners. 

He also called for a broader understanding of what constitutes security.

“Equality; impartial institutions for policing and accountability; economic and social justice; non-violent mediation; and governance that fulfils people's human rights make a society far more safe than spiralling military budgets that choke off spending for essential services,” he said.

For Mr. Türk, protecting human rights is also a means of strengthening societies against future crises.

“Upholding human rights is an investment in enduring social cohesion,” he said. “It builds societies that are resilient to shocks, because they are fair.”

He called for women’s equal participation in decisions affecting their communities and countries: “Gender equality is not a favour that men are doing to women. It is fundamental to humanity, and benefits everyone,” he said.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) is working with women rights defenders and seeking to expand their access to international mechanisms.

Mr. Türk cited support for accountability for conflict-related sexual violence in countries including Colombia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as support for women mediators and leaders across Africa.