Kofi Ampeah Woode
Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission on Women, Peace and Security – Her Excellency (HE) Mme Bineta Diop has acclaimed the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) as the highest ranked Centre of Excellence on the African continent and globally, in terms of the work it does in peace and security.
“KAIPTC is the number one Centre of Excellence in Africa, and that is recognised by the African Union Commission and globally,” HE Ms Diop said so when the Executive Management Committee of KAIPTC, led by its Commandant – Major General Richard Addo Gyane, called on the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as part of collaborative and cooperative visits to key stakeholders of the Centre.
She said women play critical roles in the peace and security architecture and that their involvement in conflict prevention, peace negotiations, and post-conflict reconstruction should not be underestimated; a notion which informed her decision upon her assumption of office, to train first with the KAIPTC in Accra, Ghana – the Centre deemed by the AU as a Centre of Reference,.
Madam Diop, therefore, commended the KAIPTC for its immense contribution to gender mainstreaming and reinforcing the women, peace and security agenda in Africa, reiterating the Commission’s commitment to work closely with the Centre.
Speaking on the KAIPTC’s 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, Ms. Horname Noagbesenu – Director, Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Department (PPMED), KAIPTC, said that conversations, engagements and consultations with key partners had already begun to consider very critical issues and emerging trends to inform the Centre’s strategy in the next five years.
She reiterated that considering the commitments KAIPTC places on issues of Women, Youth, Peace and Security, the first approach was to elevate the Centre’s Women in Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) Unit into a department – Women, Youth and Security Institute (WYPSI) – to emphasise the critical concerns among women and the youth in peacebuilding processes.
In the last five years, Ms. Horname said, the Centre’s work has been focused on peace and security, and that one of the areas it had worked on closely was the Continental Results Framework, which an evaluation had proved its importance as one of the major programmes the Centre had run on women, peace and security.
The Director of Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation continued that after KAIPTC had been in partnership with the Commission’s Office, dividends are being seen, as different Member States are developing and pulling together data to be able to support the implementation of National Action Plans on women peace and security.
Moving forward in terms of the strategy, Ms. Horname said that issues around gender-based violence would be critically considered, adding that while a lot of work had been undertaken in that area, there was still a lot of work to be done.
Another area of emphasis, she said, is the implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), which remains one of the most progressive legal instruments providing a comprehensive set of human rights for African women.
She said it was important to look at the gains chalked over the last 20 years and better utilise the instrument as a means to further actualize the rights of African women for the next five years.
She concluded that the impact of climate change on women and the effort to bridge the gap between policy and practice to enhance women’s role in society, will be key areas of focus for the Centre going forward.
