Conflicts and disputes over borders are relevant in many parts of Europe and Central Asia. The conflict in Ukraine has brought enormous attention to the resulting tensions and border disputes, which remain a major problem in the region today and have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee from armed conflict to other parts of the country or neighboring states. Looking further east, there are spillover effects and consequences of the unresolved situation in Afghanistan on the neighboring states of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The border dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan continues, creating tensions and leading to outbreaks of violence. In addition, relations between Georgia and Russia have remained frozen since the 2008 war between South Ossetia and Abkhazia. More recently, the Western Balkans experienced a natural disaster with major flooding that, again, displaced much of the population, caused material damage to the countries, and led to large-scale humanitarian efforts.
These conflicts and crises have devastating consequences and often lead to increased gender inequality between men and women. In addition to the fact that women and children are often the targets of military tactics such as sexual violence, they make up the majority of the internally displaced population and refugees. Despite the international community’s widespread recognition of the importance of women’s participation in sustainable peace, they are often excluded from negotiation, reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction processes.