There will be some 35 countries making statements in Montreux today. But there will be no voice for the people who have the greatest stake in these talks: the women of Syria and civil society. 

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) warns that the decision by the UN and Arab League of Nations not to include women in the Geneva 2 peace talks could hamper efforts to bring about peace in Syria.

Closing remarks by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the Conference on Promoting Syrian Women’s Engagement in the Syrian Political Process, held in Geneva, Switzerland, 13 January, 2014.

We invite you to read the full speech published January 14, 2014 by our partner, UN Women

Women, children and students took to the streets in Syria on Wednesday, lending their voices to a month-long uprising that President Bashar Assad insists is the work of a foreign conspiracy. The protest movement is posing an increasing threat to Assad's iron rule as it attracts an ever-wider following, with tens of thousands of people demanding political freedoms and an end to the decades-old emergency laws that extend state authority into nearly all aspects of Syrians' lives.

16 Mar 2012 - The Arab Spring continues to blow winds of change in the Middle East. There is no doubt the direction these countries are heading in will affect Arab societies and personal rights. But recently, the focus has been on women in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.