Building Peace with Code: Women Leading Yemen’s Digital Future

Artificial Intelligence holds enormous promise, not just for innovation and efficiency, but as a catalyst for inclusive peacebuilding. At the recent Global AI Action Summit in Paris (February 2025), this potential was front and center.

The Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen (OSESGY), in collaboration with the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, led a groundbreaking initiative highlighting how AI can support the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in one of the world’s most fragile contexts: Yemen.

For those unfamiliar, the WPS agenda, first established by UN Security Council Resolution 1325, recognises that while women and girls are disproportionately impacted by conflict, they are also essential leaders in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. It calls for their full participation, protection, and inclusion in all aspects of peace and security.

Women in AI was proud to be present at this pivotal moment. Alessandra Sala, our president and co-chair of Unesco’s Women4EthicalAI, joined international leaders and changemakers at a workshop that brought together participants from across Yemen to explore how ethical, inclusive AI can empower women and reshape Yemen’s peace process through a digital lens.

From Principles to Practice: AI for Peace

The AI Peace Nexus initiative introduced concrete tools and knowledge designed to strengthen women’s digital security, foster inclusive participation, and reimagine Yemen’s peace process through a feminist, tech-forward lens. The agenda included two high-level panels: one co-hosted by OSESGY and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and another convened by the French MFA on global women’s rights online. These panels featured distinguished speakers including Delphine O, the French Ambassador-at-large for Feminist Policies and Gender Equality, and senior UN representatives focused on WPS and digital inclusion.

Among the summit’s core sessions was a workshop focused on integrating a WPS lens into AI development. This practical, forward-looking session embodied the spirit of the UN’s New Agenda for Peace and UN 2.0, aligning closely with the “Quintet of Change” (digital technology, data, innovation, behavioral science, and strategic foresight) as levers for transformative action in fragile settings.

2025: A Turning Point for WPS

This year marks two major milestones for gender equality and peacebuilding: the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. And yet, while progress has been made, the global community faces a growing backlash threatening decades of hard-won gains for women’s rights.

This makes initiatives like the AI Peace Nexus not just timely, but urgent. As the UN underscores, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda remains one of the most effective strategies for building sustainable peace. And AI, when designed and governed ethically, can amplify that impact.

At Women in AI, we believe technology must be inclusive by design. Our mission is to ensure that women are not just beneficiaries of digital innovation, but architects of it, especially in contexts where peace, justice, and equality are at stake. We are proud to support efforts that place women at the heart of peacebuilding and digital transformation.

Now is the moment to act, with renewed commitment, bolder investments, and a collective drive to ensure a digital future where women lead, peace prevails, and no one is left behind.

Read the report “The AI Peace Nexus”, February 2025. 

Paris Summit Report_Final_28April HiRes (1).pdf

Download PDF • 6.67MB

Further Reading and Resources

As part of this important initiative, the UN Special Envoy’s office has released a series of reports exploring the intersections of gender, peace, and technology:

• From Status Quo to Transformation, Advancing Women, Peace, and Security in Yemen - Madrid Forum Report (2024) 

Madrid_Forum_Report_2024 - HiRes (1).pdf

Download PDF • 4.79MB

• The Power of Solidarity, Reflections on the 7th Feminist Summit (2025)

Feminist_Summit_Report_2025 - HiRes (1).pdf

Download PDF • 13.14MB

We encourage you to read and share these reports and to join us in supporting technology that works for peace, equality, and a future where no one is left behind.