Zambia Police receives funding from the Elsie Initiative Fund to increase women’s participation in United Nations peace operations

The Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations (EIF) announced today that the Zambia Police Service (ZPS) will receive funding of USD 932,072 to create a more enabling institutional environment to increase uniformed women’s participation in United Nations (UN) peace operations.

Zambia, one of the top 25 highest contributors of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping, was amongst the seven countries that piloted an assessment study in 2020 to identify barriers to women’s participation in UN peace operations, using the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) methodology developed by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance.

Built on findings and recommendations from the 2020 MOWIP study, the ZPS project is designed to address several barriers identified at the strategic and policy levels. The project will address the lack of suitable peace operations accommodation infrastructure for women police officers; additionally, it will aim to strengthen the capacity of women police officers through a number of activities designed to address the lack of available information on deployments, household constraints, and socio-cultural barriers that continue to deter women’s meaningful participation.

Specifically, the ZPS project involves the construction of an accommodation facility for women (40 beds) and a daycare center (15 places) to enable women to fully participate in peacekeeping training. In addition, the ZPS project has been designed to foster a more gender-sensitive institutional culture through the development of an Anti-Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) policy and the roll out of SEA training and gender-mainstreaming workshops to senior Zambia Police personnel. Importantly, the ZPS will also train and expand its network of regional focal points to systematically disseminate deployment related information, particularly in rural and remote areas. Upon completion of the project, the ZPS aims to create a roster with over 100 women eligible to deploy as peacekeepers.

Over the years, Zambia has made great strides in promoting the rights of women and ensuring their equal participation in peace and security. In 2014, Zambia adopted a revised National Gender Policy and enacted a Gender Equality Act in 2015. Under a bilateral partnership with Canada, Zambia is currently developing a ZPS Gender Policy in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“My Command appreciates the recognition of female officers as a ‘catalyst of systematic change within the Zambia Police Service. As Command, therefore, we take very seriously our role in driving policy reforms, ensuring gender mainstreaming and accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment within our institution. I wish to assure you all of our continued commitment to do so” said the Inspector General of Police Lemmy Kajoba.

In close partnership with the ZPS, this project will be managed and implemented by UNDP in Zambia. Senior ZPS and UNDP representatives will co-chair the Project Oversight Committee and provide strategic guidance to ensure successful implementation. This project will also leverage existing ZPS Women’s and Men’s Networks and ensure their voices are represented throughout the project cycle.

Committed to ensuring the sustainability of these project outcomes, the ZPS has also committed to ensure that gender-related training is institutionalized within the police training curriculum, and to continue to fund, train and prepare police officers, in particular women, for deployment to UN peace operations.

 *** About the Elsie Initiative Fund (EIF) Established by the UN, Canada, and Member States in 2019, the EIF is an innovative, multilateral fund that aims to accelerate progress towards the UN's gender targets in line with Security Council resolutions and the UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028. The EIF, a UN trust fund hosted by UN Women, is funded by contributions from 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, please visit https://elsiefund.org/ and follow @ElsieFund on Twitter.

Media Contact:

Elsie Initiative Fund

Shuyu Luo

Email: shuyu.luo@unwomen.org