Action plan of UN Resolution on women to be reviewed
The Department of Gender of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is to review the Ghana National Action Plan (GHANAP) of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR) on women, peace and security, to increase women’s participation in peace initiatives in the country.
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The department has also intensified public education on the resolution, by undertaking series of educational campaigns around the country, to increase public awareness of the resolution.
Sensitisation forum
This came to light at a national sensitisation forum on the action plan of the resolution, held in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, last Wednesday, on the theme: “The role of women and men in peace and security.”
The forum, organised by the Department of Gender with support from the government, was to sensitise the public to the UNSCR1325.
The UNSCR 1325, which was adopted and launched in Ghana in 2012, was based on the UN’s recognition of the international needs, rights, experiences and roles of women in areas of armed conflict, peacemaking and peacekeeping.
The GHANAP 1325 (2012-2014) was therefore, to ensure a coherent approach to the implementation of the UNSCR1325 and the promotion of a gender perspective in peace and security.
The National Action Plan consolidates all efforts to enhance women’s position and role in decision-making in conflict prevention, crisis management and peacebuilding activities.
Women’s participation
It is also expected provide for the active participation of women in all aspects of peace negotiations, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction.
Speaking at the forum, Mrs Lena Lai, the acting Director, Department of Gender, said the effective implementation of GHANAP 1325 would lead to an increase in the number of women in leadership positions in institutions in the security sector, if stakeholders would support the local peace initiatives of women.
She said Ghana, as a member state of the UN and by the adoption of the UNSCR 1325, was obliged to prepare a country-specific national plan of action for the implementation of the resolution.
According to her, “Ghana has been described as an island of peace in the midst of turbulent sister states in Africa due to over 20 years of uninterrupted democratic dispensation and the practice of good governance.”
However, Ghana had experienced its own share of intra-state conflicts due to chieftaincy and land disputes in the country.
Implementation
She said the implementation of GHANAP 1325 would prevent gender-based violence and protect the needs and rights of women and girls within the scope of peace missions, humanitarian operations and positions in the international, UN and African Regional and sub-Regional organisations.
She stressed that the forum would go a long way to equip and encourage the full participation of women in conflict prevention, resolution, peace negotiation, mediation and crisis and security management at all levels of the Ghanaian society.
International peace
The Executive Director, Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), Mrs Afi Azaratu Yakubu, said Ghana had played very significant roles in the maintenance of international peace and security, both under the auspices of the UN and the African Union, adding that “our action plan should, therefore, be informed by our local, as well as international experiences”.
She emphasised that the successful implementation of GHANAP 1325 would largely depend on the security sector institutions and Ghanaians.
Ms Yakubu, therefore, urged traditional leaders to not look down on women, solely as people who should be confined to the kitchen and bearing children, but to involve them in their decision-making processes.
She reiterated that peace in a country attracted more investors to contribute to its socio-economic growth to alleviate poverty, and urged leaders of the various political parties to avoid speeches that incite violence, but rather lead the journey of peace and discipline.
Background
The GHANAP 1325, which was launched in Accra in 2012, is based on three pillars, namely: The protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls in situations of conflict and in peace support operations, participation of women in conflict prevention, peace and security institutions and processes and prevention of violence against women including sexual, gender-based and conflict-related violence.