The 2022 recipient of the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award will be a 32-year-old Ghanaian peacekeeper with the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA), it was revealed on Monday.
The resource-rich Abyei region where Captain Cecilia Erzuah serves has been in dispute for a long time. Both Sudan and South Sudan claim ownership of the region.
In 2011, the UN Security Council deployed a peacekeeping mission to Abyei to avert further armistice confrontations.
In a press release, the Department of Peace Operations stated that Captain Erzuah, who has been the Commander of the Ghana Engagement Platoon in Abyei since March of last year, will receive the honour from Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday during a ceremony commemorating the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
The Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, which was established in 2016, honours a military peacekeeper’s commitment to and achievements in advancing the fundamentals of the historic UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.
Speaking on the importance of the award, Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Resolution 1325 reminds us that our women peacekeepers are not only supporting global peace and security. They are leading the way. By every measure, Captain Cecilia Erzuah of Ghana is one of those leaders.
“On every front, Captain Erzuah’s work has set the standard for ensuring that the needs and concerns of women are reflected across our peacekeeping operations.”
Capt. Erzuah, a supporter of gender equality and neighbourhood involvement, made sure that her 22-person platoon, which was equally made up of men and women, undertook routine patrols and made contact with community leaders, women’s groups, and young people’s organisations in order to better comprehend and address neighbourhood problems.
She expressed her appreciation for being chosen to receive the honour. In her words, she referred to it as “an award for all of us” in her clear recognition of other members of her platoon.
With 375 actively deployed women military peacekeepers, Ghana is now the largest contributor to the UN. Being the first ever recipient of this distinguished honour from a contingent or unit, Captain Erzuah’s recognition adds to her country’s recognised role in peacekeeping around the world.
