Madam Bineta Diop, is, since 2014, the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security.

She is the Founder and President of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), an international NGO created in 1996 in Switzerland, that seeks to foster, strengthen and promote the leadership role of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa.
With more than 40 years of experience in human rights, gender and development issues, including almost 20 years at the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Ms. Diop has led numerous peace-building programmes to enhance women’s participation in peace processes. She facilitated peace talks among women for the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in 2000 (Burundi Peace negotiations) led by President Nyerere and President Mandela and the Sun City Agreement in 2002 (DRC Peace negotiations) led by President Masire. She supported women participation at the Akosombo Peace talks in 2003 led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, among others.

Through her leadership in civil society, Ms. Diop contributed in the shaping of Africa’s gender normative frameworks, such as the Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA), and the AU Gender Parity Decision. This engagement led her to set up the Gender is My Agenda Campaign Network (GIMAC), a leading network of African women’s and civil society organizations working to empower women and girls in Africa particularly through the implementation of key major regional and international gender equality instruments.

She spearheaded the creation of women’s platforms such as the Mano River Women’s Peace Network, which was awarded the United Nations General Assembly Prize in Human Rights in 2003 as well as the Great Lakes Women’s Platform for Peace, Security and Cooperation in 2013, a unique framework fostering women significant contributions to peace building efforts in the region. In March 2010, she co-chaired the high-level Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) on Resolution 1325 with H.E. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland. Ms. Diop served in the UN Women International Civil Society Advisory Group in 2011. She co-chaired the NGO Working Group on Peace in Geneva next to the UN Human Rights Council.

Following the only women led election observation mission supported by FAS in Liberia in 1997 and in 2004 Ms. Diop initiated women’s mobilization actions as the Women’s situation room towards peaceful elections in Africa, respectively in Liberia (2011), Senegal (2012), Mali (2012), and Guinea (2013). She conducted peace and solidarity missions to countries in conflict including Northern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic and jointly with UN Deputy Secretary General in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin (2018), Horn of Africa and Great Lakes regions. She regularly updated the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council on the countries’ situation with regards to the women, peace and security agenda.

She co-chaired the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in 2014 in Abuja. As Member of WEF Africa Regional Action Group she champions a public-private platform for women economic empowerment and financial inclusion (WEE-FI). She co-convenes the African Women’s Leaders Network, a platform championed by UN and AU to promote women leadership in the agenda 2030 and 2063 under the patronage of H.E. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Former President of Liberia.

In 2014, after her appointment as Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ms. Diop was designated Member of the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan, that was mandated to investigate the human rights violations and other abuses committed during the armed conflict in South Sudan. In 2018, she led a High-Level Committee to investigate allegations of harassment against women at the African Union Commission (AUC).

Madam Diop co-convenes the African Women’s Leaders Network (AWLN), a platform championed by UN and AU, to promote female leadership in the political, economic and social spheres, under the patronage of H.E. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Former President of Liberia. She facilitates the Positive Masculinity Champions Circle to engage men in the fight against violence against women and girls. These efforts led to the adoption of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls, during the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 15-16 February 2025.

Ms. Diop has spearheaded a number of women led initiatives including the Empowering Women in Agriculture (EWA), aimed at building the capacity of women farmers and promoting fair access of women to agricultural inputs. As well as the PanAfrican Centre for Gender, Peace and Development (PAC), dedicated to building women and youth capacity on gender, peacebuilding and development, on particular the Master Degree on Gender and Peacebuilding in collaboration with the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar and UPEACE of Costa Rica. She provided lectures on women, peace and security at academic Institutions including Sorbonne Harvard and Science Po.

Ms. Diop received numerous honours and awards. In 2011, Time Magazine declared Bineta Diop one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2012, she was named one of the 100 personalities in Switzerland by the Hebdo’s “Forum des 100”. She received the “Swiss Award” in 2013 and knighted of the French Legion d’Honneur the same year. She was awarded the 2013 Woman of Distinction Award by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women in New York and in November 2013, the Chirac Foundation honoured her with the Special Jury Prize for conflict Prevention.

In recognition of her leadership and commitment to promoting the Women, Peace and Security agenda, Bineta Diop has been honored with several prestigious academic distinctions. In 2012, She received an Honorary Doctorate from the United Nations-mandated University for Peace. Two years later, in 2014, Middlesex University in London (UK) also awarded her a Doctorate Honoris Causa. More recently, in December 2024, she received an honorary Doctorate from the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Madame Bineta, AUC Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, was also honoured for her outstanding work on behalf of African women, particularly those living in conflict zones, at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 15 and 16, 2025.

Ms. Diop has served on the Board of a number of International organizations that foster peace, security and development, including The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Hunger Project, the Africa Center for Economic Transformation and the WEF Africa Regional Action Group.

Ms. Diop studied Management in Paris and Public Relations and Communication in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is currently pursuing a PhD in International Relations and Diplomacy at the Centre for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies (CEDS) in France.