GHANA
Ghana’s first NAP (GHANAP 1) covered the period 2012-2015. The second NAP (GHANAP 2) covers 2020-2025.
Objectives of GHANAP2 2020-2025:
GHANAP2 has four strategic objectives:
- Increase women's participation and representation in decision making and peacebuilding processes at all levels.
- Improve measures for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls in situations of conflict and in ordinary times, as well as in peace support operations.
- Reduce incidence of all forms of violence against women and girls at all levels of society.
- Reform relief and recovery systems to cater for all needs of women and girls in times of emergency and disaster.
Each of these objectives is supported by sub-objectives, implementation strategies and indicators that include:
- Eliminate all forms of sexual-based violence perpetrated by peacekeepers during security operations by increasing the training and awareness surrounding WPS and human rights in pre-deployment training.
- Strengthen women and girls’ capacity to resist sexual gender based violence during conflict and ordinary times.
- Provide equal access to relief and recovery resources for women and girls, ensuring the needs of female victims of natural disasters are acknowledged.
- Increase women working in early warning and other peacebuilding activities by 30%.
Commentary:
The NAP begins by acknowledging the failure of the country’s first NAP, GHANAP 1. More specifically, GHANAP 2 notes that GHANAP 1 was not fully implemented due to a lack of dedicated budget, competing priorities, a lack of women trained in WPS issues, and minimal public awareness of GHANAP 1.
GHANAP 2 also recognises the ongoing pockets of violence, and natural disasters, experienced by Ghana over the past couple of decades which have had negative impacts on the security of women. Attention is drawn, in particular, to the legacy of violence brought by the civil war in which SGBV was used as a tactic of war.
GHANAP 2 details in-depth the changing contextual situation that women face in Ghana since GHANAP 1. For instance, following GHANAP 1, the US Department of State found that Ghana had failed to protect young women from human trafficking for three consecutive years. As a result, Ghana was placed on the 'Tier 2 Watch List', drawing attention to the government's failure to meet minimum standards of human trafficking protection. Ghana continues to be faced with prevalent issues of sexual abuse in schools, workplaces and communities, child marriages, and female genital mutilation. Women in Ghana also continue to be highly vulnerable to rape, armed robbery, and attacks from nomadic headsmen. GHANAP 2 reflects upon these threats to women’s security in Ghana, and the urgent need to implement securitised policies domestically as well as internationally.
Regarding strategic partnerships, the GHANAP 2 references the financial and technical support of the Women, Peace and Security Institute, created by the Kofi Annan International Peace and Training Centre (KAIPTC). However, there is no mention of the earlier partnership with the Canadian government, in 2018, regarding technical assistance and training through their Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations.
GHANAP 2 includes a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan with annual and mid-term reviews. There is no budget for implementation of the listed activities, but a note at the end of GHANAP2 makes it clear the agencies assigned to implement each activity will be required to fund those for which they are responsible. Private sector and international donor funding (eg UNDP) is also expected to be made available.
Civil Society involvement in development of GHANAP 2:
Ghana’s government has actively encouraged civil society to hold them accountable to their progress regarding GHANAP 2. In 2022, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Afisah Zakariah, encouraged civil society organisations – alongside metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies – to help ensure that the mandates of the country’s second WPS NAP are fulfilled.
A technical working group on the implementation of GHANAP 2 has been inaugurated in Peduase, the Eastern part of the country. The group has been charged with ensuring all barriers that impede the progress of women in governance and decision making are reduced. It consists of representatives from academia, government ministries, departments and agencies, security organisations, and civil society groups.
UN Peacekeeping Statistics:
At end May 2023 Ghana was contributing 2966 UN peacekeeping personnel, across the following missions: UNMISS, UNOWAS, UNSOM, UNSOS.
At Sept 2023 Ghana ranked as the sixth highest contributor to UN missions, with 2793 personnel deployed (no breakdown by gender).
Women in Peacekeeping:
GHANAP 2 recognises Ghana as one of the largest contributors to peacekeeping forces globally, while noting that there has been little female participation in domestic peacekeeping. It therefore includes provisions for the following:
- Enhanced gender-sensitive training for peace support operations at all levels and across military institutions.
- Undertaking gender and non-violent peacebuilding sensitisation at a community level.
- Supporting the development of gender policies in all security institutions.
- Creating an annual award for CSOs and security institutions that adhere to the guidelines of UNSCR 1325.
- Developing comprehensive programmes and facilities for at least 30% of female participants of peacekeeping operations deployed domestically in Ghana.
References and sources:
GHANAP 2: Ghana National Action Plan on WPS 2020 - 2025 | She Stands For Peace (un.org)
Ghana civil society: Ghana inaugurates GHANAP 2 technical group on UN Resolution 1325 | News Ghana
Government of Canada (page updated Nov 2022): Canada-Ghana relations (international.gc.ca)
Ghana News Agency, 4 December 2022: Ghana must preserve its peace and security initiatives — Dr. Afisah | Ghana News Agency (gna.org.gh)
Ghana News Agency, 21 November 2021: Ghana inaugurates GHANAP 2 technical group on UN Resolution 1325 | Ghana News Agency (gna.org.gh)
UN Peacekeeping Statistics, Sept 2023 (no breakdown by gender) Troop and police contributors | United Nations Peacekeeping
Contribution of Uniformed Personnel to UN by Country, Mission, and Personnel Type (May 2023, disaggregated by gender): 05-Missions Detailed By Country
