The United Nations system in Cabo Verde and UNOWAS support the holding of the General Assembly of the Cabo Verdean chapter of the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel

The United Nations system in Cabo Verde and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) supported financially and technically the organization, on 19 and 20 May, of the General Assembly of the representation in Cabo Verde of the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel. Sahel.

The objective of this General Assembly was to put in place synergies and strategies to anchor the Working Group at the level of all the islands and to renew its coordination bodies.

The General Assembly saw the participation of about fifty national actors from the nine (9) islands of the country, representing youth and women's organizations, government, research institutes, universities, regional partners and the United Nations system.  Given the special arrangements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, women and youth from the other islands participated in the meeting, as well as the election via the zoom platform. 

During the two days of work, the participants defined three major actions: Advocate with national authorities for the development and adoption of a National Action Plan for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, and the plan on Resolution 2250 (2015) on youth, peace and security; develop a communication strategy to promote collaboration between actors from the island of Santiago and those from other islands; and share good practices and lessons learned with actors from other countries in the sub-region.

The General Assembly allowed the establishment of a national coordination structure composed of five (5) members, chaired by Mrs. Maria Vicente Fernandes Cabral.

This National Coordination will be supported in its work by six (6) commissions (capacity building, communication, resource mobilization, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation and research and documentation) aligned with regional priorities.

After Benin in March and Cabo Verde in May, UNOWAS and its partners plan to organize a General Assembly in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

The Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel was established in April 2009 by UNOWAS and its partners to support the implementation of the Women, Youth, Peace and Security agendas in the region in accordance with the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000), 2250 (2015) and the subsequent ones.