Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Outline Conditions for a People-Centered Peace in Ukraine

President Donald Trump has pledged to end the war and pursue a “just and sustainable peace.” At the same time, the Trump administration previously suspended military (some of which has been restored) and development aid to Ukraine and is advancing a peace framework that proposes recognizing Crimea and other occupied territories as Russian. The process has so far largely sidelined Ukrainian and European leadership, while women’s voices and perspectives of people who have suffered most from Russian aggression have been excluded entirely.

“In war, we often reduce people to numbers—the number of civilians killed, of women raped, of children abducted, of towns destroyed. But people are not numbers,” said Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. “Every person has a name, a story, a family, a home, and the right to live in freedom and dignity. People, their rights and interests, should be at the heart of any peace deal.”

Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the human toll in Ukraine has been staggering. The United Nations reports that over 12,000 civilians have been killed, with tens of thousands more injured. Residential areas, hospitals, schools, and energy infrastructure have been heavily targeted. International bodies and local human rights groups have documented thousands of war crimes, including torture, rape, detention of civilians, indiscriminate shelling, and deliberate attacks on civilian homes. More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to Russia, in actions widely condemned by legal and humanitarian organizations as cultural erasure and abduction. 

Women in Ukraine have experienced distinct and intersecting impacts as a result of the full-scale invasion. According to the UN, around 90% of the 6.9 million Ukrainian refugees are women and girls. The UN further reports that gender-based violence has surged by over 30%, and the burden of unpaid care responsibilities has grown exponentially. At the same time, women have been at the forefront of keeping life going, with one in two businesses now being women-owned, and humanitarian, rebuilding and recovery efforts largely led by women. 

“Peace isn’t just the absence of war. Peace is the presence of conditions which enable people to live dignified lives,” said Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. “A just peace cannot be achieved by appeasing the aggressor or sidelining the country protecting its freedom. And a sustainable peace can not be achieved without centering in peace negotiations the rights and interests of those who bore the brunt of war and ensured life kept going - the women, the survivors of aggression, and the vulnerable communities.”

Any path toward a just and sustainable peace must include the following conditions:

• Peace negotiations must center the safety, dignity, and fundamental human rights of civilians.

• Women have been instrumental in sustaining communities, documenting atrocities, and leading humanitarian efforts. Women’s voices and rights must be equally and meaningfully included in all peace negotiations.

• All prisoners of war and political detainees must be unconditionally released.

• Over 20,000 abducted Ukrainian children must be returned to their families.

• Civilians in occupied territories must be guaranteed safe passage and protection of rights, whether they choose to stay or relocate.

• Robust security assurances are necessary to enable Ukraine’s reconstruction and the safe return of refugees, including women with children and survivors of violence .

• Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security must be reliably guaranteed.

• Frozen Russian state assets (estimated at more than $300 billion) must be redirected to support compensation and economic recovery efforts.

• Victims of war crimes must receive justice, including compensation and access to rehabilitation services.

• Post-war governance must ensure equal participation of women in decision-making related to reconstruction, justice, and security.

For further reference, please see the 10-Point Compact for Ukraine’s Just and Sustainable Peace developed by civil society and women leaders, including Oleksandra Matviichuk. 

END.

Media Contact:

Daina Ruduša

[email protected]

Nobel Women’s Initiative is led by eight women Nobel Peace Prize laureates - Jody Williams (USA), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala), Narges Mohammadi (Iran), Maria Ressa (Philippines) and Oleksandra Matviichuk (Ukraine). Women are crucial to attaining lasting peace, and yet in times of war and conflict they are seen as victims, and too often excluded from formal peace-building processes. The laureates know the importance of women peacebuilders, and the challenges they face firsthand. At NWI they work together to use the platform and access that the Nobel Peace Prize offers to elevate the voices and support the work of women peace activists around the world.