Reports

1. STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP FOR LIBERIA FEMALE LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSOCIATION (LIFLEA)

On August 18, 2003, the stakeholders to the Liberian conflict signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which significantly altered  the political environment in the country. Among the vast challenges, free and fair legislative and presidential elections were held and Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf emerged as the first elected woman president in Africa. The new administration inherited enormous social, economic, political and security challenges. Therefore, as part of the overall post-war reconstruction and peace-building processes, the new administration embarked upon the complex and politically sensitive exercise of security sector reform (SSR) in order to address the legacies of long years of poor security sector governance, inadequate gender mainstreaming, and to improve the capacity and professional efficiency of the security sector in the country. In order to achieve the objectives of the SSR, it is important to get the full participation of different actors. The role of women in the SSR process in Liberia is especially important because of their unique experiences during the war and as crucial actors in the security sector; they were not represented in decision-making processes and they could not be easily promoted, even with the appropriate qualifications, competence, experience and knowledge for the post.
 
Agianst the background of the above, the Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) begun a process of collaboration with key partners on the issue of gender and security sector reform. This has involved a series of of consultative meetings as well as a needs assesment targeting SSR stakeholders including parliamentarians and security oversight bodies, female security sector personnel, civil society organisations and community members. These activities have been central to the realisation of the overall goal of the project, one that is intended to strenghten the integration of gender and women's issues in SSR processes and enhance the capacities of female security sector personnel in West Africa.

Through a one-year pilot project implemented in Sierra Leone and Liberia, WIPSEN-Africa and DCAF have undertaken a number of activities one of which is a two-day strategic planning workshop for the Liberia Female Law Enforcement Association (LIFLEA) in Monrovia Liberia on the 12th and 13th March, 2009.

Read the full report here!!!

FINAL REPORT - LIFLEA STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP MARCH, 2009

2. WORKSHOP ON GENDER AND SECURITY SECTOR REFORM (GSSR) FOR LIFLEA

A three-day capacity strengthening workshop on Gender and Security Sector Reform was conducted in Monrovia, Liberia for members of the Liberia Female Law Enforcement Association (LIFLEA) on 20th to 22nd October, 2008 at the conference room of the Ministry of Gender and Development in Monrovia. The workshop was co-organised by WIPSEN-Africa and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).

The training was intended to 1) improve understanding of basic concepts and processes on gender and security sector reform, 2) strengthen inter-agency cooperation among female security personnel in Liberia, 3) to build and/or strengthen individual and institutional capacities to mainstream gender and women's issues into security issues, and 4) facilitate knowledge and information networking between female security personnel.

The workshop brought together thirty-three (33) participants from eight (8) security institutions in Liberia. Institutions represented at the training were: the Liberia National Police (LNP), Liberia Fire Service (LFS), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Ministry of National Security (MNS) and Liberia Seaport Police (LSP).

Read full report of the deliberations during the traning workshop here!!!

LIFLEA WORKSHOP GSSR, 2008

3. EXPERTS CONSULTATIVE MEETING

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EXPERTS CONSULTATIVE MEETING, 21-22 JULY, 2008

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4. STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP

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STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP REPORT

5. GENDER AND SECURITY SECTOR REFORM TRAINING FOR NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS IN SIERRA LEONE

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SIERRA LEONE TRAINING REPORT

6. STRATEGIC REFLECTIVE FORUM TO INSTITUTIONALIZE WOMEN PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA

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SRF REPORT

7. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: FIRST WEST AFRICAN WOMEN'S POLICY FORUM

On the 2nd and 3rd December, 2008, WIPSEN-Africa in collaboration with the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) held the first ever West African Women's Policy Forum at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra - Ghana. The forum which was sponsored by Abigail Disney (a philantropist), the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) brought together women from different parts of the sub-region as well other women activists from different parts of the world. At the end of the two-day forum, the women camp up with some policy recommedations.

Read all the policy recommedations here!!!

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS - FIRST WEST AFRICAN WOMEN'S POLICY FORUM