By Iddi Yire
Accra, Oct 02, GNA – The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre’s (KAIPTC), Women, Peace, and Security Institute, will hold a Training of Trainers Workshop on Women Peace and Security Monitoring and Reporting in Niamey, Niger on Monday, October 3.
A statement issued by the KAIPTC and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is funding the project.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of Member States in Africa to apply the Continental Result Framework (CRF) indicators in reporting on the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda on the Continent.
It noted that adopted by the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council in 2018, the CRF aims at enhancing regular and systematic monitoring and reporting of the WPS agenda in Africa and contribute to closing the gap between WPS policy commitment and implementation in Africa.
The statement said two decades after the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 which was an important tool for advancing the WPS Agenda, the exclusion of women from formal peace negotiations among other issues remain a challenge.
It said the CRF had two main objectives – to institutionalise regular and systematic monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the WPS Agenda in Africa, and to strengthen accountability for the implementation of the WPS Agenda in Africa.
It said the KAIPTC with funding support from the Swedish Government was advancing the WPS Agenda in Africa as part of its strategic objective.
“Thus, the Centre through its Women Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy (OSE) on WPS developed a training manual with a simplified template to support Member States on utilizing the CRF in reporting on the WPS agenda as a response to the request made by member states,” it said.
The statement noted that with support from the SIDA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the KAPITC will train focal points in charge of the implementation and reporting on the WPS agenda within the identified member states of the AU.
It said five countries were benefiting from the training; adding that the training took off in Liberia in September, with similar workshops scheduled to be held in Ghana, Niger, Benin, and The Gambia successively.
It said the overall objective of the training was to enhance skills and knowledge on WPS monitoring and reporting.
It said the Course had adopted a “Trainers of trainers” approach and thus, it was expected that the participants would further train more people in their respective Ministries, Departments and Units.
It said gender equality and improved human security were central goals in Swedish Development Cooperation and clearly reflected in SIDA’s result strategies.
Since 2009, the Swedish Government also has been implementing a National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.
It said SIDA supports the WPS agenda, given its broad mandate to contribute to poverty reduction in fragile states as well as its strong focus on gender equality and human security.
The statement said the CRF recognizes that while several commitments towards the WPS Agenda had been adopted at the continental, regional and national levels in Africa, the continent had not established measures to ensure effective assessment of, and reporting on, the delivery of those commitments.
It said thus, the Swedish Government and KAIPTC were collaborating to contribute to the effective implementation of the CRF by strengthening the capacities of AU Member States to advance WPS issues on the continent.
GNA