On Friday, December 6, a group of academics, activists, and peace and security practitioners met at Trinity College Dublin to explore how peacebuilding in a UN context can be made more inclusive for queer communities. The workshop centred on a novel and groundbreaking Toolkit developed by Dr Jamie Hagen, Dr Anupama Ranawana, Valentina Parra, Laura Beltrán, María Susana Peralta Ramón and Nathalie Mercier.

Colombia Diversa, a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation in Colombia, also played a pivotal role in developing the Toolkit. The group’s contributions were grounded in its extensive experience supporting LGBTQ+ individuals during the Colombian peace process. Specifically, Colombia Diversa provided insights from its work advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within transitional justice frameworks and helped shape the country’s first National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in 2023.

Rooted in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, WPS provides a policy framework for addressing gendered experiences of conflict and peacebuilding. Underpinned now by a suit of UNSCRs, WPS is defined by the UN as “a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of UN policies and programmes”.

Unfortunately, however, this peacebuilding framework has made no mention of queer identities in its concept, policy, or practice to date. While WPS has been praised for centring women in these discussions, its focus has often been increasingly criticised for relying on binary gender norms and failing to account for the lived realities of LGBTQ+ people from conflict-affected regions.

This is where the Toolkit aims to intervene, offering actionable recommendations to embed queer perspectives into WPS concepts, practices, and policies.

The workshop in December explored ‘Queering Women, Peace and Security: A Practice-Based Toolkit’–diving into how WPS frameworks can better include LGBTQ+ perspectives. The discussions were broken into three thematic groups: queering WPS, building coalitions between feminist and LGBTQ+ movements/organisations, and creating inclusive peace practices. Each group generated thought-provoking insights, unearthing both challenges and pathways for meaningful change in a WPS context.

In the queering WPS group, participants reimagined the framework to acknowledge the challenges and needs of queer communities in conflict-affected regions. They additionally unpacked the gendered binaries that shape traditional peacebuilding, such as the separation between domestic and international issues.

As the group pointed out, queering WPS requires moving beyond simply adding diversity to these documents. Instead, the aim should be to fundamentally transform how peacebuilding policies are conceptualised and implemented, ensuring they truly reflect diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and lived experiences.

Building strong coalitions between feminist and LGBTQ+ organisations and movements was the focus of the second theme. Participants here stressed the importance of partnerships that span local, national, and international levels, while respecting the unique cultural and historical contexts of each setting.

Storytelling emerged as a powerful tool for coalition-building, with participants emphasising the shared struggles against patriarchal and heteronormative systems. Participants also discussed the need to protect individuals who may not wish to publicly identify with LGBTQ+ causes while still ensuring their voices are heard.

The final group explored how peace practices can be made potentially more inclusive through embedding queer and intersectional perspectives into everyday practices, not just high-level UN policies. Participants highlighted the importance of tailoring peacebuilding strategies to specific contexts, underscoring the need to adapt to diverse cultural, racial, and socioeconomic realities.

Intersectionality and allyship were central to this discussion. By addressing the intersections of identities like race, class, and gender, participants argued that peacebuilding efforts could foster deeper solidarity across communities.

Overall, the workshop highlighted both the potential and the challenges of queering WPS. While frameworks like Ireland’s NAPs have begun to acknowledge LGBTQ+ concerns, much work remains to operationalise these principles effectively.

The Toolkit provides a clear roadmap for moving forward, offering practical solutions while challenging UN peacebuilders and academics alike to rethink traditional WPS approaches. By centring queer voices and fostering collaboration across movements, it has the potential to transform peacebuilding and peacekeeping to be truly inclusive.

An outcome report from the workshop is currently being developed, synthesising the discussions and ideas generated during the event and mentioned above. For those interested in learning more or contributing to this ongoing conversation, the report will be made available in the coming months.