UK Envoy: Communities Become Safer When Women Participate in Peace Processes

Linus Aleke in Abuja

United Kingdom’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs. Gill Lever, has said communities are safer, more resilient, and more cohesive when women and marginalised groups participate meaningfully in peace and justice processes.

Lever made the remarks at the North-west Regional Conference on Women, Peace and Security, organised by Global Rights, in collaboration with UKaid, Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative, the Kukah Centre, and Tetra Tech International Development.

The conference, themed, “Strengthening Inclusive Peacebuilding and Access to Justice in Northwest Nigeria: Evidence, Impact, and Lessons from Practice,” brought together policymakers, civil society actors, and community leaders.

Highlighting outcomes from UK-supported programmes, Lever stated that Global Rights had facilitated the establishment of gender-balanced Community Dialogue Committees, achieving 40 per cent female participation.

She described the historic turbanning of women into traditional leadership structures in Sokoto State as evidence of structural — not merely symbolic — change.

She further pointed to strengthened survivor-centred referral pathways and the expansion of gender-based violence prevention initiatives in schools, which she said had enhanced protection and dignity for women, girls, and vulnerable households.

According to her, Partners West Africa Nigeria has also reinforced inclusive peacebuilding by strengthening community safety partnerships, improving police-community relations, and expanding the Police Duty Solicitor Scheme.

Through the intervention, more than 323 detainees, many of them vulnerable individuals, regained their freedom through lawful processes, demonstrating how access to justice can rebuild trust and reduce rights violations.

Across the projects, Lever emphasised a common lesson: inclusive, community-driven and evidence-based approaches deliver sustainable results.

She stressed that women, youth, and persons with disabilities must not only benefit from peacebuilding efforts, but also help shape them.

While reaffirming UK’s commitment to gender-responsive and community-led security governance, she called for sustained collaboration among policymakers, traditional rulers, security agencies, civil society, religious leaders, and the media.

In his keynote address, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, underscored the indispensable role of women in advancing peace and justice.

Kukah cited global examples, including Rosa Parks’ role in the American civil rights movement and women’s contributions to post-genocide reconciliation in Rwanda, to illustrate how women’s leadership strengthened social transformation.

Earlier, Executive Director of Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, Ms. Kemi Okenyodo, said the conference marked not just the end of a project cycle but also a renewed commitment to inclusive peace, accessible justice, and responsive security systems in the North-west.

Despite persistent insecurity, inter-communal tensions, and gender-based violence, Okenyodo highlighted evidence of resilience and strong local ownership of peacebuilding initiatives.

Providing a project overview, Country Manager of Global Rights, Mr. Olubunmi Aweda, said the organisation and its partners recorded measurable progress in strengthening community resilience, expanding access to justice, and enhancing inclusive participation across Kano, Sokoto, and Kaduna states.

Aweda stressed that sustainable peace must be built with communities, not delivered to them.