By Konrad Kodjo DJAISI
UN Security Council Resolution 1325 urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all peace and security efforts, Commandant of the Kpfi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Major General Richard Addo Gyane disclosed on the occasion of launching a maritime code of practice for women in the Gulf of Guinea’s maritime domain.
He said the event is last in a series of disseminating and launching the maritime code of practice, which has already been done in Cameroun, Congo Brazzaville, Nigeria, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
KAIPTC has extended the principles of 1325 into the maritime security domain by producing a set of principles that guide decision-makers to preserve and promote the welfare and advancement of women in the maritime domain, especially in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Indeed, women in the maritime industry deserve career protection, preservation of welfare and promotion of their interests,” the KAIPTC Commandant stated. The maritime domain, especially the Gulf of Guinea, holds immense significance within the economic, social and cultural framework of West and Central Africa.
“However, it also serves as a realm where multifaceted challenges – encompassing piracy, illicit fishing and ecological deterioration – intersect with the broader concerns of gender parity, peace and security. These challenges often impact coastal communities and diverse professions in the maritime security domain disproportionately, yet the extent to which women and men contribute solutions to these problems is not consistently mirrored in policy implementation.
“In seeking to correct such imbalances in policy implementation, the KAIPTC through a consultative process has drawn on the principles of 1325 to distil a set of guiding principles for promoting women in the maritime domain.”
Maritime governance and maritime security actors or personnel, as used in the Code of Practice, refer to individuals responsible for overseeing and implementing measures related to the governance, security and management of maritime activities, resources and spaces.
The Commandant expressed the Centre’s deepest appreciation to the government of Denmark for supporting the project on ‘Integrated Responses to Threats to Maritime Safety and Security in the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Domain in West and Central Africa’ – 2021-2025.
The project produced this Code of Practice for Women in the Maritime Security Domain. The Code of Practice covers issues such as Gender Equity and Empowerment, Equal Participation, Human Rights and Dignity, Diversity and Inclusion, Conflict Sensitivity, Local Ownership and Sustainability as well as Cultural Sensitivity, among others.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Ghana Navy, Rear-Admiral Issah Yakubu noted that women’s representation across the maritime sector is generally low. The data demonstrate that women account for only 29% of the general industry’s overall workforce and 20% of national maritime authorities in member-states.
He however noted that with the Blue Economy particularly, women face social, cultural and economic obstacles to accessing opportunities in several aspects of the maritime industry.
Against this background, he expressed happiness that more efforts and interventions are being focused on improving women in maritime security, as encapsulated in the maritime code of practice for women in the maritime domain.
The Maritime Code of Practice, he observed, is a commitment to change toward a future where women are empowered to also stand at the helm, navigate through storms and lead with strength and wisdom.
