Front cover Ghana Armed Forces MOWIP REPORT 2020 RESULTS OF THE MEASURING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN PEACE OPERATIONS (MOWIP) ASSESSMENT Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2 Ghana Armed Forces MOWIP REPORT 2020 3 Acknowledgements First and foremost, we would like to thank the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for their support throughout this assessment. Their commitment and willingness to allow frank reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of current institutional practices is a testament to how they strive for excellence through continuous improvement, including in the area of gender equality. Secondly, we would like to express our appreciation for the collaboration of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC). KAIPTC’s Women, Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) facilitated the data collection for the Ghana Armed Forces and worked closely with DCAF and the research team at Cornell University in developing this report. In particular, writing this report would not have been possible without the expertise, hard work, and courage of the KAIPTC Elsie Initiative assessment team comprising Joana Osei-Tutu, Fiifi Edu-Afful, Naila Salihu, Frank Osei-Okyere, Adelaide Ekua Otoo, Irene Fiebor, Sarah Okumo, and Festus Akoto. Their patience and feedback for this pilot methodology, as well as their advice on how to adapt the methodology to the national context, have been critical to producing quality analysis and relevant, realistic recommendations. We also greatly appreciate the support of the Ghana Armed Forces Elsie Working Group (GAF- EWG). This working group was created by the GAF to facilitate work on the Elsie Initiative bilateral partnership agreement between the Governments of Ghana and Canada. The GAF-EWG is composed of representatives from the GAF, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and KAIPTC-WPSI. A special debt of gratitude is extended to Col. Anita Asmah, Col. William Nortey, Col. William Abotsi, and Wg Cdr Ekow Anaman This report was compiled by Sabrina Karim and Laura Huber from Cornell University along with Heather Huhtanen, and Solène Brabant, Ingrid Munch, and Callum Watson from DCAF and Fiifi Edu-Afful, Adelaide Otoo, and Joana Osei-Tutu from KAIPTC. Ann Blomberg, Daniel de Torres, Léa Lehouck, and Lorraine Serrano from DCAF also played a key role in realising the project. This research was funded by Global Affairs Canada and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Graphic design by Rodrigo Amorim and Stephanie Pierce-Conway. Disclaimer The views expressed in this report are those of the authors from Cornell University and DCAF based on the best available information they have. It does not necessarily reflect the views of Global Affairs Canada, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, or the Ghana Armed Forces. 4 Contents Executive Summary 8 Top good practices that can be scaled up and replicated elsewhere 8 Top barriers to women’s meaningful participation in UN peace operations 8 Introduction 10 Rationale 10 Ghana Armed Forces: Profile and national characteristics 11 Ghana’s contribution to peace operations 11 Methodology 14 Overview of the MOWIP assessment methodology 14 KAIPTC: The national research partner institution 15 Implementing the MOWIP in the Ghana Armed Forces 16 MOWIP Assessment Report Review and Validation 17 The ten issue areas shaping women’s participation in peace operations in the Ghana Armed Forces 20 Issue area 1: Eligible Pool 21 Issue area 2: Deployment Criteria 29 Issue area 3: Deployment Selection 33 Issue area 4: Household Constraints 36 Issue area 5: Peace Operations Infrastructure 42 Issue area 6: Peace Operations Experiences 45 Issue area 7: Career Value 48 Issue area 8: Top-down Leadership 51 Issue area 9: Gender roles 56 Issue Area 10: Social Exclusion 60 Gaps Between Perceptions of Personnel and Key Decision-makers 65 Contextualizing the Results 67 Conclusions: Recommendations to leverage opportunities and overcome barriers 69 Summary 70 Top Recommendations to Overcome the Identified Barriers 71 Specific Recommendations - Infrastructure and Equipment 81 Additional suggestions 81 Areas for Further Research 82 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AFISMA African-led International Support Mission to Mali AMISOM African Union Mission in Somalia AU African Union DCAF DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance DPO United Nations Department for Peace Operations ECOMICI Economic Community of West African States Mission in Côte d’Ivoire ECOMIG Economic Community of West African States Mission in the Gambia ECOMIL Economic Community of West African States Mission in Liberia ECOMOG Economic Community of West African States Cease-fire Monitoring Group in Liberia and Sierra Leone ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States GAF Ghana Armed Forces GAF-EWG Ghana Armed Forces – Elsie Working Group FFF Fact-Finding Form (See section 3 on methodology) KAIPTC Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre MINURSO United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara MINUSCA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic MINUSMA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali MONUSCO United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo MOWIP Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations methodology NAP National Action Plan ORBAT Order of Battle PSO Peace Support Operation SEA Sexual Exploitation and Abuse SGBV Sexual and Gender-Based Violence SOP Standard Operating Procedures TPCCs Troop- and Police- Contributing Countries UN United Nations UNAMID African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur UNDOF United Nations Disengagement Observer Force UNFICYP United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNISFA United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei UNMHA United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement UNMISS United Nations Mission in South Sudan UNOWAS United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution WPS Women, Peace and Security WPSI Women Peace and Security Institute 6 01 Executive Summary 7 Executive Summary The Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) assessment for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) (2020) examines the GAF’s ability to deploy women to, and ensure their meaningful participation in, United Nations (UN) peace operations through ten issue areas. It uses three data collection tools, a fact-finding form (FFF), key decision-maker interviews, and a survey. The national assessment partner, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) undertook the data collection for this project from September 2019 to February 2020. Top good practices that can be scaled up and replicated elsewhere • GAF women and men report being well prepared for peace operations; • Cross-training for women and men in peace operations; • The GAF delivers pre-deployment training and KAIPTC provides specialized training for some military observers and staff officers as preparation for deployment; • Vacations and holidays during UN deployments are subsidized for formed troops; • Peace operations are highly esteemed in Ghana Top barriers to women’s meaningful participation in UN peace operations • Eligible pool (issue area 1) • Gender roles (issue area 9, and Cross-Cutting) • Social exclusion (issue area 10, and Cross-Cutting) 8 02 Introduction 9 Introduction Rationale In selecting pilot countries for this research, DCAF sought to identify a geographically diverse set of major troop and police-contributing countries (TPCCs) that have demonstrated their commit- ment to deploying more women in peace operations. As of March 2020, Ghana was the 9th biggest TPCC, and the third largest TPCC in Africa after Ethiopia and Rwanda with 2,782 personnel deployed. It was also the TPCC that deployed the highest proportion of women (averaging 15%)1 out of the top 10 TPCCs. Most of Ghana’s deploy- ments involve military personnel, 13.5% of which are women.2 Ghana is therefore seen as an established, committed TPCC with a good track record on deploying Armed Forces personnel and increasingly, uniformed women. The GAF thus has the potential to further improve the meaning- ful participation of its women personnel by: • Ensuring that the NEEDS of uniformed women who wish to deploy, and who are currently deployed are being met. • Ensuring that uniformed women have de jure (law/policy) and de facto (institutional socio-cultural practices) equal ACCESS to the rights, benefits, and resources allocated for the pre-deployment process, deployment opportunities, and post-deployment transitions. • Ensuring that uniformed women can PARTICIPATE equitably in decision-making, planning, implementation, and evaluation of all peace operation-related activities by ensuring that qualified women are assigned to all roles in peace operations. • Allocating RESOURCES at the national and organizational level to create equitable work environments for uniformed women. • Ensuring that uniformed women have a measurable IMPACT on how peace operations are conducted. As an influential and well-respected TPCC, Ghana can also share existing good practices with other TPCCs regionally and beyond. Figure 1: Total number of female military personnel deployed for Ghana NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL POLICE WOMEN FOR GHANA 300 e olic 250 emale P 200 # of Individual F 150 11 12