Selected Women in Peacebuilding across the African continent are taking part in a course designed to widen their learning experience in Gender, Peace and Security.
The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra are the organizers of the certificate course, which has twenty (20) onsite particiapnts from the Northern, North East, Savanna, the Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana, joining virtually by 30 other peace actors Anglophone West and Central Africa in the 5 day training programme.
The course funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, follows an earlier one held in Takoradi, which drew 31 onsite and 12 online participants, and it is tailored towards improving the women peace actors’ capacities in the implementation of policies and harnessing their voices in informing policies that affect women at the grassroots.
Opening the certificate course in Tamale, Deputy Commandant of the KAIPTC, Air Commodore George Arko-Dadzie said the course provides a unique forum that would engage participants and further provide an opportunity to build relationships and develop a viable network within the framework of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1325, adopted in the year 2000.
The Resolution 1325 – acknowledges the changing nature of warfare where civilians are increasingly targeted and women continually excluded from the participation in peace processes. The resolution specifically addresses how women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence, conflict and wars and recognizes the critical role that women can and already play in peacebuilding efforts.
According to Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie, as a lead institution on the implementation of Resolution 1325, KAIPTC continues to provide technical support in developing the capacities of civil society organizations to monitor the implementation and impact of this women, Peace and Security agenda.
“Since the adoption of the Resolution there has been other follow-up resolution that stresses the need to prevent violence against women; protect women in situations of insecurity; promote female participation especially in decision making in various peace processes and ensure that the needs of women are addressed in relief and recovery processes after conflict and insecurity,” he stated.
However, Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie added that despite the evidence and the extensive normative framework there are major gaps in implementation of these.
“While many achievements have been made across the globe as a result of the Resolution, the persistent lack of an accountability mechanism at the global national and local levels has hindered progress, the ability to provide these mechanisms are usually engineered from the grassroots level with local actors leading the initiatives and offering guidelines, however these actors at times may not have the full understanding of the concepts and theoretical underpinnings of women, peace and security agenda” he stated.
Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie said it is against this background that the course was developed to help fill the gaps by partnering with women at the grassroots working in peace and security.
“The Centre developed this course specifically targeting grassroots women who handle the day to day challenges faced by women and girls in situations of insecurity. It seeks to provide an opportunity to enhance the technical and theoretical knowledge of grassroots women leaders drawn from targeted organisations in Ghana and Anglophone West Africa whose work addresses issues of peace and security,” the Deputy Commandant added.
The participants would be taken through topics such as women peace and security agenda, information gathering and analysis, gender, leadership and governance, sexual and gender-based violence among others with experts such as Professor Kwesi Aning, Dr. Naila Salihu, Professor Kweku Osei-Hwedie and Joanna Osei-Tutu facilitating and leading the course.
Story By: Nelson Adanuti Nyadror
