Accra, July 01, GNA – The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), in collaboration with the USAID, will hold a Regional Conference on the Future Outlook of Women, Peace and Security Agenda in West Africa on July 7.
The meeting will bring together Women, Peace and Security (WPS) stakeholders from across West Africa, both physically and virtually, at the KAIPTC in Accra.
A statement issued by the KAIPTC, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the conference aimed at facilitating fruitful exchanges on the past implementation of the WPS Agenda, its meaningful grounding in West Africa and its future.
“While the African continent is still making strides to advance women’s empowerment, several challenges continue and underscore the need for women to actively participate in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda,” it said.
“KAIPTC has partnered with the Executive Secretariat of the G5 Sahel (SEG5S) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), via the Partnerships for Peace Project (P4P), to convene a regional conference that will provide a platform for stakeholders to exchange evidence-based knowledge and research to support the implementation of the WPS Agenda.”
The semi-virtual regional conference, would be held on the theme: “Our Stories, Lessons and Marching Forward”.
It would feature governments and civil society actors from West Africa and allow them to present their state of advancement on gender, peace and security policies and interventions and highlight initiatives, key interventions, and activities in response to the WPS agenda.
Participants would include subject-matter experts from government agencies in charge of the implementation and integration of gender-related policies, and experts in civil society organisations, academia, and development partners.
It said the UN Resolution 1325: UNSCR 1325 was adopted in October 2000 by the United Nations Security Council to specifically address gender-based issues.
“With women and children accounting for the majority of those adversely affected by armed conflicts, the resolution was considered landmark for many reasons,” it said.
The statement further called on all stakeholders and actors to ensure the inclusion and mainstreaming of gender perspectives in all UN peace and security efforts as well as efforts towards the prevention of conflicts.
GNA