Ghana: Peacekeeper Named UN Navy Gender Advocate of the Yr

A Ghanaian peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Interim Safety Pressure in Abyei (UNISFA) will obtain the 2022 United Nations Navy Gender Advocate of the Yr Award, it was introduced on Monday.

Captain Cecilia Erzuah, 32, who has served in Abyei since March final yr, because the Commander of the Ghana Engagement Platoon, will obtain the award from Secretary-General António Guterres throughout a ceremony marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers this Thursday, stated the Department of Peace Operations in a press launch.

Abyei is a disputed and resource-rich space between Sudan and South Sudan, which is claimed by either side. The Security Council approved the deployment of a peacekeeping pressure there in 2011, as tensions rose forward of South Sudan’s formal declaration of independence.

UNISFA works to strengthen the capability of police service, in help of the 2011 settlement, and facilitates the supply of humanitarian support, the free motion of support employees, and offers safety for civilians below menace.

‘Main the way in which’

Created in 2016, the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award acknowledges the dedication and efforts of a person army peacekeeper in selling the rules of the landmark UN Safety Council Resolution 1325 on Girls, Peace and Safety.

“Resolution 1325 reminds us that our ladies peacekeepers usually are not solely supporting international peace and safety. They’re main the way in which. By each measure, Captain Cecilia Erzuah of Ghana is a type of leaders,” stated Secretary-Common António Guterres.

“On each entrance, Captain Erzuah’s work has set the usual for making certain that the wants and considerations of ladies are mirrored throughout our peacekeeping operations.”

‘An award for all of us’

Captain Erzuah expressed her gratitude for being chosen to obtain the prize which she known as “an award for all of us,” referring to her platoon members.

An advocate for gender equality and neighborhood engagement, Capt. Erzuah made certain that her 22-strong platoon, composed equally of women and men, performed common patrols and outreach to native leaders in addition to ladies’s and youth teams, to raised perceive and tackle neighborhood considerations and wishes.

Along with civilian UN colleagues, she has additionally hosted discussions on home violence, gender equality and childcare, leading to a rise within the variety of ladies enlisted in Neighborhood Safety Committees, which have been initially male dominated.

The engagement with neighborhood members led to improved early warning about threats of violence towards civilians and broader safety points.

Month-to-month walks

The month-to-month market walks she initiated together with her battalion additionally contributed to constructing sturdy and enduring relationships between merchants, native residents and the UN.

In January this yr, following a spike in neighborhood violence in Majbong, a village in southeast Abyei, Captain Erzuah’s platoon stepped up its presence, frequently checking on the plight of displaced folks within the risky space and enabling the Mission to supply essential help.

Neighborhood members, who had sought sanctuary from the combating within the surrounding bush, step by step started returning to their properties within the village and girls reported feeling a lot safer. “The blended patrols are…boosting the arrogance of members of the neighborhood to go about each day actions safely,” stated Deng Paul Mankuol, a conventional chief in Majbong.

Captain Erzuah is the first Ghanaian peacekeeper, and the primary recipient from a contingent or a unit, to obtain this prestigious award.

Ghana is presently the biggest contributor of ladies army peacekeepers to the United Nations with 375 now deployed.