The Elsie Initiative Fund for Women in Peace Operations has announced that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is the first field mission to receive funding to create an enabling and inclusive environment for women peacekeepers.
The US $357,000 grant will allow UNIFIL to build gender-sensitive accommodation and working conditions for women peacekeepers from the Ghanaian battalion.
It will also enable the peacekeeping mission to attain gender parity and equality.
“For success in peacekeeping operations, we need more uniformed women to participate. Yet, too often women’s equal participation in these missions is deterred by inadequate gender-responsive living and working conditions,” said UN Women’s Executive Director, Sima Bahous.
“The UNIFIL project is setting a great example by specifically tackling this significant structural barrier. Its positive changes will help us attain parity in peace operations.”
The project includes installing four accommodation buildings, an ablution unit, and a welfare area for women.
The improved living conditions come at a time when Ghana, which currently deploys 861 military personnel to UNIFIL (16% of whom are women) is expected to increase its deployment of women peacekeepers.
“Women still face barriers that prevent them from contributing to peacekeeping to the fullest,” said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.
“This includes lack of information about deployment opportunities and not enough access to necessary training, as well as institutional constraints and biases, or inadequate facilities and infrastructure in field missions.
“This project represents an expression of our shared values for gender equality and the promotion of women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in our workforce, in line with the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, which is critical to increasing performance and mandate implementation,” he said.
Over the years, UNIFIL has supported the increased participation of women peacekeepers from five percent in 2018 to nearly seven percent (659 women) in 2021.
With this project, UNIFIL seeks to support troop- and police-contributing countries to achieve the gender targets set in the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy, 2018-2028.
"Our women peacekeepers participate in all types of operational activities, from de-mining to patrolling the Blue Line,” said UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col.
“We are proud to put this funding to remove some of the practical barriers that may deter women's participation in our important work.”
