By: Precious Miracle Kargbo Snr
The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs has launched a three-day ECOWAS-led workshop aimed at strengthening Sierra Leone’s capacity to monitor, evaluate and report on the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda.
The workshop was officially opened by the Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Hon. Isata Mahoi. The initiative seeks to enhance national accountability, strengthen institutional collaboration and align Sierra Leone’s reporting mechanisms with the African Union Continental Results Framework on Women, Peace and Security.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda is anchored in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions, which call on member states to increase women’s participation in peace processes, protect the rights of women and girls during conflict, and integrate gender perspectives into peacebuilding, conflict prevention and security policies.
To support the implementation of these commitments, the African Union adopted the Continental Results Framework, providing member states with standardized indicators and reporting tools to measure progress and promote accountability.
The ECOWAS-led workshop in Freetown has brought together representatives from government institutions, development partners and key stakeholders to strengthen technical capacity in monitoring, data collection, analysis and reporting. The training aims to equip national institutions with the knowledge and tools required to effectively measure progress and document results in line with regional and continental commitments.
By strengthening monitoring and reporting systems, the workshop is expected to improve accountability for programmes that address the impact of conflict on women and girls while promoting stronger coordination and collaboration among institutions working in the areas of peace, security and gender equality.
The three-day engagement forms part of ECOWAS’ broader efforts to support member states in domesticating the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and fulfilling their reporting obligations under the African Union’s Continental Results Framework.
With the launch of the workshop, Sierra Leone is reinforcing its institutional capacity to track the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, with the goal of producing more coordinated, evidence-based and results-oriented reports that will inform policy and strengthen national and regional efforts to advance peace, security and gender equality.