Abyei, 31 October 2022 – In marking the anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security UNISFA Acting Head of Mission and Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr, has reiterated the mission’s commitment to upholding the priorities of the Action for Peacekeeping.
“As a Mission, UNISFA is committed to uphold one of the outlined priorities of the Action for Peacekeeping, which is to implement Women, Peace Security Agenda, focusing on supporting women's participation in peace processes, integrating gender perspectives, and increasing the number of women in Peacekeeping,” said Gen. Sawyerr.

“Equally the Action for Peacekeeping Plus launched in March 2021, advocates for the strengthening of Women, Peace Security as catalyst for progress and effective Peacekeeping. It highlights the centrality of WPS in the pursuit of durable solutions, designed to enhance the impact of Peacekeeping,” he added.

A female ceremonial parade featuring all national contingents representing UNISFA peacekeepers was organized at the mission headquarters in Abyei. The event was attended by representatives of Abyei women leaders and UNISFA personnel. The women leaders shared their experiences in the community and the work they do in collaboration with UNISFA to promote issues affecting Women, Peace, and Security in the local community.

“We are the eyes of our community. Working closely with UN Police, we tackle issues affecting women & girls in Abyei. The conflict that we have recently witnessed in Abyei is disproportionately affecting our women and girls, including those displaced from areas outside Abyei. We therefore need to urgently intensify our efforts to ensure that we tackle the inequalities and violence that our women face,” said Nyanlor Deng Ayom.

The UNISFA mandate 2630 (2022), stresses the importance of supporting community dialogue and efforts by the communities, the local peace committees, the Joint Traditional Leaders Peace Conference to strengthen inter-communal relationship and facilitate stability and reconciliation in the Abyei Area. in line with the Women Peace Security Resolution 2538(2020), UNISFA has also keyed into the Elsie Initiatives for Female Peacekeepers Accommodation Project and has already developed a pilot type accommodation. Equally living conditions in Female living areas in our camps have been improving.

Gen. Sawyerr said that to effectively achieve this, UNISFA needs the participation of Women. UNISFA will therefore reiterate continued mission-wide efforts to employ more women and include them in decision making processes, while protecting women leaders such as women human right defenders and prevent human right violations including Sexual and Gender Based Violence.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is a landmark resolution on women peace and security which urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all UN peace and security efforts. it is also the first Security Council Resolution that calls on all parties to conflict to take special measures to Protect Women and girls from Gender Based Violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, in situation of armed conflict.