WANEP

The 7th Women in Peacebuilding Annual Lesson Learned Conference begins in Accra – Ghana

The 2011 WIPNET conference scheduled for the 17th and 18th of November 2011 started at the Mensvic Hotel in Accra – Ghana today (17- 11 -2001). This year’s conference brought together over 50 women peacebuilding practitioners including participants from southern, central and eastern Africa. The theme of this year’s conference is “West African Women in Post Conflict Situation – Realities and Ideal”

The WIPNET Regional conference is an annual event that brings together representatives of women’s groups from across West Africa and beyond to deliberate on topical issues on women, peace and security and develop strategies that would place women at the centre of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The aim of the conference is to review the barriers to full participation of women in post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding; examine the gaps that exist between governments’ policy and implementation and strategize through a regional action plan for the full participation and involving women in post conflict societies in West Africa.

In his welcome address; the Program Director of WANEP - Mr. Chukwuemeka B Eze, observed that even though there exists several international, continental and sub-regional instruments for ensuring women’s participation at all levels of peace processes, the issue of structural violence against women, particularly in light of post conflict reconstruction, has not been given the due attention and investment it deserves by international, regional and national power structures and other actors.

He urged women to ensure that violence and marginalization is eliminated from the vocabulary of women’s struggle and is replaced with women’s success and active participation in the political, social and economic spheres of society so that every young woman in this sub region shall embrace enlightenment instead of fear, and experience the infinite possibilities

Similarly, the keynote speaker; MS Tolulope Lewis Tamoka; UNDP Seconded Programme Manager to the Women Peace and Security Institute of KAIPTC, Ghana, acknowledged that progress in being made in the national implementation of UNSCR 1325 with 3 more countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire) adopting national action plans (NAPs) and, Ghana the Gambia and Nigeria in the process of developing NAPs but urged the women to consider the development of a regional Action Plan which should ensure that the plans have strong accountability mechanisms for their implementation and resources for proper implementation.

Click on this link to see the Conference in pictures