Press Release: New partnership in Sierra Leone set to strengthen inclusive peacekeeping

Freetown/New York 07 July 2025 - The Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations (EIF) announced today that the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), in partnership with UN Women Sierra Leone, has been awarded funding to enhance the participation and capacity of uniformed women in UN Peace Operations. 

The two-year project will deliver interventions informed by findings of the RSLAF’s 2022 barrier assessment, an initiative also supported by the EIF. The study identified a series of priority barriers undermining the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in RSLAF operations. These areas include unequal access to training opportunities; an absence of women in senior leadership roles; challenges in adequate health services for women; and weak reporting mechanisms for harassment and misconduct. The target of the project will be to significantly increase RSLAF’s pool of women eligible to deploy as UN peacekeepers. 

This will be achieved through an accelerated review of RSLAF gender-mainstreaming policies; a substantial upgrade to facilities at the country’s Peace Mission Training Centre; expanded capacity building for women personnel, including career development and UN peace operation preparation; and improving healthcare services for women officers, including reporting mechanisms for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Currently, the RSLAF contributes Staff Officers (SOs) and Military Experts on Mission (UNMEM) to peace operations in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Lebanon (UNIFIL), South Sudan (UNMISS), Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the disputed region of Abyei (UNSIFA). While RSLAF’s deployments consist of 46 per cent women, only 13 per cent of the force’s total uniformed personnel are women. 

The partnership with UN Women will ensure a sustainable and scalable approach to the country’s women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, while supporting the UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy – which targets women’s representation to be a minimum of 25 percent in UNMEM and SOs, and 15 per cent contingent troops in all UN Peace Operations by 2028. Major General Amara Idara Bangura RSLAF Chief of Defence Staff welcomes the new project as the next phase in the country’s WPS efforts: “This project is cardinal to empowering women in uniform. It will enable Sierra Leone to maintain double digit gender figures and empower female personnel to reach the highest cloud of their desire, exposing them to the dynamics of peacekeeping.” Setcheme Jeronime Mongbo, UN Women Head of Office in Sierra Leone added: “This project marks a critical step in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment, strengthening leadership, and ensuring that women in uniform have the tools, voice, and support they need to thrive and lead.” 

About UN Women 

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. Working for the empowerment and rights of women and girls globally, UN Women’s main roles are: 

• To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms. 

• To help Member States implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society. 

• To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality, as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress. 

You can also follow us on X: @UNWOMEN_SL 

About the Elsie Initiative Fund 

The EIF is the only global fund dedicated to removing barriers and accelerating women’s meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Hosted by UN Women, the Fund delivers results in security sector reform; strengthens the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and advances the UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy (UGPS). Funded by contributions from forward-thinking donors, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom, the EIF supports the sustainable deployment and meaningful participation of uniformed women peacekeepers by providing financial assistance and incentives.

For more information on the EIF, please visit elsiefund.org or follow the Fund on X and LinkedIn. 

To date, the EIF has awarded almost US$18 million to 23 projects globally. The Fund has supported 24 Security Institutions in 15 countries to identify barriers and opportunities that impact uniformed women’s safe, full, equal and meaningful deployment to peace operations. It has also funded the development of gender policies in two security institutions and provided financial support to two United Nations peacekeeping missions to pilot activities aimed at improving living and working conditions for women. 

For more information please contact: 

Mariama Jusu-Koiyia – Programme Specialist - UN Women Sierra Leone 

Mohamed Kargbo – Communications Officer – UN Women Sierra Leone 

Suparva Narasimhaiah - Project Coordination Specialist – Elsie Initiative Fund