Mrs Stephanie S. Sullivan, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, has lauded the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC) for its efforts in promoting stability across the West Africa Region.

She commended the Centre's keen interest in contributing to the advancement of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiatives across the region.

Mrs Sullivan gave the commendation at the Regional Conference on Women, Peace and Security in Accra, on the theme: "Our Stories, Lessons and Marching Forward."

It was organised by the KAIPTC in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Partnership for Peace (P4P) Project and the G5 Sahel Secretariat.

It seeks to create a platform to exchange and share knowledge on progress made in the implementation of the WPS Agenda within the West African Region.

"When it comes to amplifying women's voices to build peace in the Sahel; it is well known that if women are excluded, society at large misses out on the opportunity to benefit from women's vast experiences and insightful perspectives," the Ambassador said.

"For it is our stories, and the lessons we learn from them, that will help us to build stronger, safer, and more resilient communities."

She said the conference would also help them realise synergies among governmental and civil society organisations that led to more effective coordination and concrete actions and initiatives on the ground.

"As we identify key interventions and activities boosting women, peace, and security efforts in the sub-region, communities will move forward in peace towards a prosperous and self-reliant future," she said.

Mrs Sullivan said the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 acknowledged the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls.

She said given the current trend of violent extremism in the West Africa Region, it was important that people at all levels – and most especially women - be included in efforts to prevent or counter violent extremism.

She said the US strongly believed that women were a "key piece of the puzzle" saying; "In fact, through the passage of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, the US became the first country in the world with a comprehensive law on Women, Peace, and Security."

The Ambassador said in Ghana, success in the most vulnerable parts of the country could be achieved only when citizens, especially women and youth, engaged in and advocate for the well-being of their families and security of their communities.

She said the US Government, through USAID and the Department of Defence, contributed to efforts to address peace and security in the country.

"Whether undertaking development-focused programmes or security exchanges, we highlight the importance of women as peacemakers and their role in conflict resolution by helping women's groups and platforms adopt peacebuilding mechanisms within their communities."

She said the US was proud of its partnership with the G5 Sahel Executive Secretariat through USAID and its P4P programmes.

The partnership had given rise to the conference and several other transformative efforts, such as the Lexicon on Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, the Regional Guide for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Strategy Development, capacity building and support provided to G5 Sahel and its member states.

She highlighted P4P's ongoing work in Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger on the development, revision, validation, and implementation of those countries' national strategies to counter violent extremism.

Major General Francis Ofori, the Commandant of the KAIPTC, said women continued to demonstrate their capacity to support in the quest for peace and security.

He said it was important to underscore the shift in conflict from the inter-state through intra-state to non-state actors.

Recognising the important role women played in the peace and security architecture and the absence of a mechanism to support the implementation of the WPS Agenda on the continent, KAIPTC in 2010 established its Women Peace and Security Institute.