Interior Minister calls for amplified Women’s voices in West African Peace-Building

Speaking at the Conflict Prevention and Sustainable Peace Forum at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, the Minister for the Interior,  Muntaka Mohamed-Mubarak, called for amplifying women’s voices in peace-building in West Africa.

Emphasising the crucial role of women in promoting peace and stability in West Africa, the Minister stated, ‘We must amplify women’s voices in peace building, governance and democratic transitions.’

He highlighted Ghana’s significant strides in promoting women’s leadership, including the appointment of the country’s first female Vice President in 2025 and the passage of the Affirmative Action, Gender Equality Act, 2024, which mandates a minimum 40% female representation in public appointments, a move that underscores Ghana’s commitment to inclusive governance.

Mubarak Muntaka stressed that conflict prevention requires a proactive approach, vision, unity and courage.

 “We must institutionalise women’s leadership in peace architecture, invest in education and youth empowerment and strengthen regional collaboration,” he urged.

 He noted that West Africa faces complex security challenges, including violent extremism, insurgency, terrorism, piracy and climate-induced conflicts and emphasised the need for holistic and inclusive approaches to address these root causes.

To achieve sustainable peace, Hon. Muntaka outlined a comprehensive action plan, saying women’s leadership must be ensured in peace architecture at national, regional and local levels. He added that education and youth empowerment are crucial in tackling grievances and exclusion and that regional collaboration must be strengthened through ECOWAS protocols and joint security operations.

The Minister further added that digital literacy must be promoted to counter disinformation that fuels tensions and that inclusive dialogue must be fostered, particularly in fragile and transitional contexts and early warning systems driven by civil society and women’s groups must be prioritized.

He emphasised the importance of working together to build a region where peace is firm, democracy is credible and every voice is heard and valued. He commended the Australian High Commission in Ghana and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre for collaborating on the timely and critical programme.

The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Her Excellency Berenice Owen-Jones, emphasizes the importance of reforming peace-building architecture, stressing that peace must be built on justice and gender equality, which the Commission actively champions.

The forum reflects the shared commitment of Ghana and international partners to promoting peace, stability and inclusive governance in West Africa.

 It provides an opportunity to interrogate not only regional peace and security architecture but also to emphasise the often-overlooked role of women as active agents in conflict prevention and democratic consolidation.