Côte d’Ivoire: More women police officers to build peace
Date:
Abidjan, 21 April - The Government of Côte d’Ivoire, in partnership with UN Women and with support from the Elsie Initiative Fund, launched the Elsie Police project.
The objective is clear: to enable more Ivorian women police officers to participate in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Deployed in crisis contexts, these missions play a vital role in preventing conflict and building sustainable peace. Yet women remain underrepresented. In 2019, they accounted for approximately 10.8 per cent of deployed police personnel, a figure still below the targets set for 2028.
And yet, their presence makes a real difference.They facilitate dialogue with communities, strengthen the protection of populations and contribute to more sustainable solutions.
An assessment of barriers to women’s participation in policing, conducted in 2022 in Côte, highlighted persistent structural constraints limiting their access, deployment and career recognition within these missions.
The Elsie Police project specifically aims to address these barriers. It will notably:
improve conditions and policies within the police to promote equality;
facilitate access to training and deployment opportunities;
enhance recognition and visibility of women police officers’ contributions.
This project is part of Côte d’Ivoire’s commitments to advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda, particularly through the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325.
During the ceremony, Mr. Moussa Diarrassouba, representative of the Minister of Women, Family and Children, emphasized:“Women police officers are not secondary actors in security, but are at the heart of the solution.”
Beyond its launch, this initiative marks a concrete step towards more inclusive, more effective and people-centred security.