GBARNGA: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in collaboration with The Network of Peace and Security in West African Countries (NOPSWECO), Mujeres por Africa, and the Embassy of Spain, successfully concluded a two-day Community Dialogue in Gbarnga, Bong County on September 1, 2024.
The dialogue, themed “Strengthening and Defending the Role of Women in Conflict Prevention and Resolution in West Africa,” brought together newly appointed District Commissioners, Bong County authorities, women from non-governmental organizations, international partners from the ECOWAS Commission, the media, women’s groups, and civil society organizations from Bong and Nimba Counties.
Atty. Mmonbeydo Nadine Joah, President of the NOPSWECO Liberia Chapter, welcomed the team to Liberia and highlighted the significant role NOPSWECO has played in influencing change for women’s peace and security over the past six years. She expressed optimism that the partnership would continue in order for the network to actualize the result it intended to achieve.
Presenting an overview of the project, Dr. Odile Ndoumbe Faye, Program Officer of the ECOWAS Gender Development Center, noted the objective of diaglogues is to understand the impact of conflicts on women and their roles in prevention, maintenance, and post-conflict economic recovery.
She noted, the community dialogues are part of the second stage of the ECOWAS-Spain Project, which aims to engage communities in Benin, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. The outcome of the dialogues is expected to culminate in a common position of West African women, which will be presented to ECOWAS leaders in a high-level regional political dialogue.
Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, delivered the opening statement on behalf of ECOWAS. She emphasized the crucial role of women in prevention and peacebuilding for successful regional integration and highlighted the transformative influence women have demonstrated in peace processes.
The two-day forum aimed to collect the positions of all parties and identify perspectives and ways out of the crisis based on their point of view. Participants were grouped to answer questions on various topics related to conflict and peace and security; and made recommendations to the ECOWAS Commission.
These recommendations included supporting law enforcement agencies, setting up a monitoring and evaluation team inclusive of community members and women, and raising awareness on various ECOWAS protocols and policies among member states.
At the end of the two-day dialogue, a “Draft Call to Action” for presentation at the High-Level Regional Political Dialogue was read by Atty. Mmonbeydo Nadine Joah. In response to the recommendations, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr expressed appreciation for the participants’ significant contributions and pledged the commission’s commitment to supporting women in their endeavors. She also called on participants to help ECOWAS and partners make the proposed recommendations a reality.
