Work-in-Progress Seminar WIP on “Assessing the role of National Action Plan (NAPs) in implementing the WPS Agenda in Africa: The Sierra Leonean Perspective”

Thomas Jaye Work-in-Progress Series

The Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research (FAAR) at KAIPTC held an internal ‘Work-In-Progress Seminar’.

Topic: Assessing the role of National Action Plan (NAPs) in implementing the WPS Agenda in Africa: The Sierra Leonean Perspective.
Speaker: Ms Ruth Adwoa Frimpong
Chairperson: Ms Belinda Lutthrodt
Venue: Zoom
Date: Wednesday 23rd June 2021
Time: 1000hrs

Abstract: The underrepresentation and exclusion of women from the political and socio-economic tables over the years has necessitated discussions on the need for gender equality. The United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (2000) is one of the resolutions adopted to promote the integration of women in the areas of peace and security. It seeks to recognise the role of women in armed conflicts, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, peace negotiation, peacebuilding processes and in post-conflict reconstruction. At the national levels, member states of the African Union have adopted and implemented significant policies to ensure the achievement of the goals outlined in UNSCR 1325. Prominent amongst them is the formulation and implementation of NAPs for 1325 by governments that serve as blueprints for championing the WPS agenda. This paper seeks to examine NAPs and their roles in the implementation of the WPS agenda. It will assess how the Sierra Leonean National Action Plan (SiLNAP) has contributed to the WPS agenda in post-conflict Sierra Leone. Lastly, by an assessment of the successes and failures of SiLNAP, the paper will provide recommendations for the promotion of the WPS agenda at all levels of governance in Sierra Leone in the wake of the formulation of its second NAP, SiLNAP II.