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22/4/2023

Women in peacekeeping: UN Fund calls for new idea and Investments

The UN’s Elsie Initiative Fund (EIF) is calling for new investment proposals to improve opportunities for uniformed women to serve in peacekeeping operations and better serve vulnerable communities worldwide. The initiative is aimed at accelerating progress towards the UN's gender targets in line with Security Council resolutions and the UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028.

The Fund was established by the UN, Canada, and other Member States in 2019 as a multilateral fund that aims to accelerate progress towards the UN's gender targets. Since its creation, the EIF has awarded over $17 million in grants to 20 projects. Recipients include the Ghanaian Armed Forces and the Senegalese Police and Gendarmerie, which have deployed four gender-strong units consisting of 1,277 personnel, 18% of whom are women across all ranks.

At the start of the event, UN Women’s Executive Director Sima Bahous emphasized the crucial role that women play in today's multifaceted peacekeeping missions and the need to ensure equal participation for women. “A more gender-responsive mission builds trust with the communities they serve and improves its effectiveness,” she said.

The head of the UN's Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, also called on Member States to continue widening opportunities for women to serve as ‘blue helmets’ and other uniformed personnel. “Let me be clear: our gender parity efforts are also a matter of justice – there should be no limitation on the grounds of gender to what women can achieve, in all roles and at all levels,” he stressed in his opening remarks.

The EIF-supported security institutions surveyed 3,689 staff members to find out what barriers are limiting women's participation and committed to implementing evidence-based solutions to overcome them. This effort is part of the EIF's mission to make peacekeeping operations more gender-responsive and inclusive.

Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O’Neill announced that the EIF’s lifespan has been extended to 31 December 2025 as “Canada is committed to continuing to support the EIF.” With more investment, the Fund can scale up its impact and make gender parity a future reality.