The workshop, organized by the KAIPTC Women Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) and funded by the Swedish government, aimed to strengthen member states’ capacity to use the Continental Results Framework (CRF) for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in Africa. The workshop drew gender and security experts from across the country and from various organizations. The ‘Training of Trainers (ToT) on WPS monitoring and reporting using the CRF’ workshop was held in Ho from November 21st to November 25th, 2022.

Background

In 2018, the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council adopted the CRF to monitor and report on the WPS agenda’s implementation in Africa. Countries in Africa that have endorsed this framework have National Action Plans (NAPs) based on UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on WPS, which they are working on. As custodian of the CRF, the office of the special envoy (OSE) on WPS at the AU has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at ensuring the full implementation of the WPS agenda. The goal of using the CRF is to improve regular and systematic monitoring and reporting of Africa’s WPS agenda, as well as to contribute to closing the gap between WPS policy commitment and implementation in Africa.

Objective

The ToT workshop intended to improve participants’ skills and knowledge of monitoring and reporting on the WPS agenda in the country. This includes, first and foremost, monitoring the Ghana National Action Plan (GHANAP) on UNSCR 1325 by the various stakeholders present at the training workshop. There are still gaps between monitoring and reporting on WPS and the GHANAP; therefore, trainings like this are a response to the monitoring and reporting challenge. Among the topics covered were, ‘Ghana National Action Plan: Introduction, Design, Implementation, M&E, Reporting,’ ‘Intro to M&E,’ ‘CRF Indicators,’ and ‘CRF Implementation and Coordination.’

FOSDA

FOSDA expects to carry the knowledge acquired and step it down in her WPS programming as well as in her ‘GHANAP 2 assessment project,’ which is an evaluative monitoring of the National Action Plan’s remaining lifespan to ensure effective implementation.

As a member of the Working Group of Women in Ghana on WPS, we identify as a stakeholder with the goal of pushing for significant outcomes in WPS policies in order to make peace and security a reality for African women.

FOSDA reaffirms Catherine Njeru’s statement from the AU’s office of the special envoy (OSE) on WPS, “the National Action Plans do not only belong to conflict-affected countries, because we have women issues regardless of the state of any country. The framework is intended to ensure that the reports are making positive impact on women’s lives.”