Women, Peace, and Security in African Peacekeeping Operations

Two decades after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda remains unevenly implemented across African Union-led peace operations. This report assesses the current state of WPS integration in AMISOM, MNJTF, and ECOMIG, drawing on interviews with female peacekeepers, mission leadership, and civil society organisations across Somalia, the Lake Chad Basin, and The Gambia.

The findings reveal a persistent gap between policy commitment and operational reality. While all three missions have formal gender policies and designated gender advisors, the translation of these structures into day-to-day mission behaviour remains limited. Female peacekeepers are disproportionately assigned to administrative roles, with limited access to operational assignments that carry career advancement potential. Fewer than 12% of senior leadership positions across the three missions are held by women.

Community engagement practices have shown more progress. Missions where female peacekeepers conducted community liaison activities reported higher levels of trust from women in affected communities and better intelligence on protection risks — confirming the operational as well as principled case for gender-responsive peacekeeping. Yet these practices remain ad hoc rather than systematically embedded in mission mandates and force generation requirements.

This report calls on the African Union Peace and Security Council to establish binding gender parity targets in force generation agreements, with compliance linked to financial contributions from member states. It also recommends the creation of a dedicated WPS accountability mechanism within the AU Commission to monitor implementation and publish annual progress reports. Real progress on WPS in African peace operations requires moving from aspiration to accountability.