Announcement

 
The Women Peace and Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) is today delighted to congratulate its Executive Director, Ms Leymah Gbowee (a warrior who fights with no weapon), for winning the 2011 Nobel Prize for Peace along with Liberia's President Ellen Johnson–Sirleaf and Yemen's Tawakul Karman.

Leymah Gbowee mobilized and organized a group of Christian and Muslim women across Liberia that pressured warring factions in Liberia to end the civil war that ravaged the country for over a decade. She fearlessly led women from across the country to defy war-lords and push men to sign the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2003. The group is most remembered for its long peace protests on a football field and government buildings in Monrovia. Dressed in their white- T-shirts they would pray and sing songs of hope in the hot sun and the heavy rain. Armed with nothing but their sisterhood these women pressured the then President, Charles Taylor to agree to hold peace talks with other warring factions to the Liberian conflict.

After the war, Ms Gbowee organised women across religious and ethnic divide to help Ellen President Johnson-Sirleaf's successful campaign for the presidency in 2005.LeymahGbowee continues to play instrumental role in advancing women's right in Africa, particularly in war affected West African countries through WIPSEN-Africa, which she co-founded in 2006.

The award is a testament to the bravery and determination of women in Africa to bring peace and democracy on the continent. Until now, only 12 out of 97 Laureates have been women.

WIPSEN-Africa would like to thank the Norwegian Nobel Committee for recognizing women's role in promoting peace and security in Africa and around the world.

The staff of WIPSEN-Africa and its Board is proud to be associated with one of Africa's women's rights icon. To the Laureate, we say "Leymah, today, your determination and persistence to end conflict in Liberia has been recognized by the international community. We congratulate you on winning one of the most prestigious awards. You have done African women proud again!"
 

2010

Moumorandum of Understanding between the Women Peace and Security Network africa (WIPSEN-Africa) and the Ministry of Defence of Sierra Leone (MOD). 

1. Parties

This Memorandum of Understanding (hereinafter referred to as "MOU") is made and entered into by and between the Women Peace and Security Network Africa (hereinafter referred to as WIPSEN-Africa), and the Ministry of Defence Sierra Leone (hereinafter referred to as MoD). 

2. Purpose

The purpose of this MOU is to establish the general terms of collaboration between the parties to implement projects related to their respective missions in the field of Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSRG) and Gender in the MoD and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). 

3. Term of MOU

This MOU is effective upon the latter date of signature by the parties' duly authorized representatives and shall remain in full force and effect for a period of two years, upon which it may be renewed by mutual consent of the parties. This MOU may be terminated, without cause, by either party upon 30 days' written notice. In case of conflict between this MOU and a contract between the parties as described in art. 5, the contract terms and conditions shall have precedence.      

4. Areas of cooperation

The parties agree to collaborate in the following areas:1)  Organise a workshop to: a) Review the Defence White Paper from a Gender Perspective b) Develop a MoD/RSLAF institution specific Gender Policy c) Develop a MoD/RSLAF institution specific Gender Training Manual.

For more information contact wipsen@wipsen-africa.org

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

2009

Memorandum of Understanding between WIPSEN-Africa,  ECOWAS, and KAIPTC

The Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) has formalized its collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the German Development Cooperation (GTZ) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is aimed at promoting the mainstreaming of gender and women's issues in peace and security in West Africa.

The MoU specifically defines the terms of the tripartite partnership between WIPSEN-Africa, the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) in Dakar, Senegal and the KAIPTC/GTZ to among others,

1. Develop a region-specific gender, peace and security manual to be used for training of military and civilian peace support personnel and field practitioners;

2. Increase capacity to mainstream gender in peace and security policies, programmes and institutions; and

3. Document grassroots women's perspectives on peace and security as a basis for developing informed training curricula and operational guidelines.

The project will be focused on, and implemeted with stakeholders from the Fifteen (15) ECOWAS Member States. Special focus will however be placed on Five (5) countries which provide represntative cases of unique conflict and peace systems with natural socio-cultural, economic, political, and security inter-linkages; namely: Liberia (post-conflict), Guinea Conakry (simmering conflict zone), Cote d'Ivoire (fragile), Niger Delta, Nigeria (a region recently transiting from armed violence) and Ghana ("peaceful").

For more information on the project please contact wipsen@wipsen-africa.org.