Women, Peace and Security

In accordance with Agenda 2063, the Protocol to the African Charter und Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the AU Strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the AU Commission Statues, the African Standby Capacity promotes gender mainstreaming and female participation in its civilian expert roster.

Even though the AU has a Gender Policy which seeks to promote a gender responsive environment and practices and to undertake commitments linked to the realization of gender equality and women’s empowerment at the international, continental, regional and national levels, there is no gender policy specific for Peace Support Operations. Therefore, the ASC is currently working on Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines to ensure that gender is mainstreamed into the full cycle of recruitment, training and deployment of roster members as well as on strategies to increase the number of women on the ASC roster.

Why is it important to have female civilian experts in Peace Support Operations?

Having more women deployed in peace support operations leads to more efficiency. Women improve the performance of peace support operations by having greater access to communities, helping in promoting human rights and protection of civilians as well as by encouraging women to become a meaningful part of peace processes.

Improved performance of Peace Support Operations

Greater diversity in skills and perspectives lead to improved decision-taking, planning and effectiveness.

Greater access to communities

Women often have easier access to female members of society and may have a comparative advantage at interacting with local population on matters such as gender-based violence and violence against children.

Mixed teams as examples for the host society

Mixed teams do not only represent societies in a better way but also set an example for the host society to jointly work on difficult tasks to achieve efficient results.

Building trust and confidence

Women serve as essential enablers to build trust and confidence among local communities by supporting local women.

Female civilian experts as inspiring role models

Women serve as powerful mentors and role models for women and girls in post-conflict settings by setting examples on how to advocate for their own rights and on the value of non-traditional careers.

*Sources: African Union Pressreleases, African Union Studies, UN Women, UN Peacekeeping, United States Institute of Peace.