Ms Mary Van Lieshout:

We need to broaden our understanding. Clearly, I do not believe it would be held in this forum, but too often we are binary about what is peace and what is not. Many communities are exiting a violent armed conflict and going into a period of chronic instability and fragility. That is the period in which we cannot convince ourselves that it is peace and that we have to keep the work going. Our teams in Haiti speak about the women working in some informal urban settlements there and how they are the front line of building social cohesion on a daily basis. Who would call that peacebuilding? Building social cohesion and the capacity of a community to resolve problems when they are small and still a flashpoint, following a conflict, is peacebuilding. Recognising that those periods can continue to require support, funding and social cohesion investment for years before we can confidently ask if peace has arrived is increasingly part of our work. These fragile settings with protracted conflict require a greater appreciation of the investment and support that is required. Our understanding is that women are playing a critical leadership role in those communities. It is quiet, but they provide strong leadership with considerable skill.