Canada launches National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

(October 5, 2010 - ACCRA) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Canadian Minister of

Foreign Affairs, today announced Canada’s Action Plan for the Implementation of

United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) on Women, Peace and Security.

“I am proud to launch Canada’s action plan today,” said Minister Cannon. “Canada has

long advocated the need to ensure that the rights and well-being of women and girls

are integrated into peace processes and other responses to armed conflict.”

“For Canadians, violence against women and girls is unquestionably unacceptable. Our

government is proud to support and implement meaningful measures such as this action

plan to improve safety and justice for women and girls around the world who are

affected by violence,” said the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works

and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women.

The action plan responds to a series of UNSCRs on the subject of women, peace and

security. Collectively, these resolutions confirm the need to account for equality

between women and men in all stages of conflict prevention and resolution. They are

key to the development of stable countries built on a foundation of human rights and

the rule of law. UN member states were urged by the Security Council to develop

action plans for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000.

This resolution was the first Security Council resolution to deal exclusively with

women in situations of armed conflict. To date 20 countries, including Canada, have

announced national action plans.

“Our action plan will guide the way Canada develops policy, how we select, train and

deploy Canadian personnel, and how we ensure they have the right knowledge and

guidance for implementing Canadian policies effectively in the field,” said Minister

Cannon. “It will steer Canada’s interventions abroad so they encourage the

participation of women and girls, promote their rights and advance their equal

access to humanitarian and development assistance.”

In Ghana, the High Commission of Canada is also working on women, peace and security

issues with Ghanaian stakeholders. In collaboration with partners, the Women Peace

and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa), the African Security Dialogue and

Research (ASDR), the Africa Security Sector Network (ASSN) and the Ministry of Women

and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), the High Commission is co-organising a one-day

National Conference on Implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Ghana's Security Sector on

Oct 14, 2010 in Accra. The Conference is one of many activities planned by

stakeholders to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Security

Council Resolution 1325.

The conference will also mark the culmination of a series of roundtables by

WIPSEN-Africa hosted by the High Commission of Canada in Ghana over a period of

three months with personnel of the different security sector institutions: the Ghana

Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Customs Excise and Preventive Service,

Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Prisons Service, Private Security Companies, Narcotics

Control Board, Ghana National Fire Service, as well as with Parliamentarians. At the

conference, representatives from throughout the sector will present a series of

policy recommendations to the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and other

strategic partners on women, peace and security in Ghana.

Canada is a longstanding partner of the Government of Ghana on peace and security

issues, including through support to peace support missions where both both

countries work side-by-side, such as in UNAMID in Darfur, Sudan, as well as through

the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra.