United Nations

Communication Day at the Gendarmerie School with the support of UNODC and the participation of 95 young women  Gendarmes.   

To launch the second phase of the project Femmes Prévôts au Sahel, UNODC organized in Niamey, Niger, a communication day gathering 95 women Gendarmes. The activity aimed at informing women gendarmes about the provosts training program offered by the project and to provide participants with the opportunity to discuss with women who participated in the 2022 training.

The session was opened by the Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, the Deputy High Commander of the National Gendarmerie, the UK Ambassador to Niger and the coordinator of the UNODC Office in Niger. Representatives of international and national institutions were present during the activity, including the High Authority for the Consolidation of Peace (HACP) in Niger, EUCAP Sahel, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Embassy of Spain.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense underlined the commitment of the Government of Niger to increase the number of women in provosts’ missions: “Until recently, provost units were composed of men only. This is caused by a lack of awareness and the prevalence of socio-cultural stereotypes. However, the inclusion of women in provost units is necessary to ensure a better protection of the of the population of Niger”.

As part of the first phase of the project, UNODC and the National Gendarmerie of Niger, in cooperation with EUCAP Sahel and UNPOL, established a pool of 5 trainers specialized on gender-sensitive provosts’ operations, focusing on protection of civilians and human rights. It has also established a pool of 15 women gendarmes ready to be deployed as provosts both within national military battalions and within the G5 Sahel Joint Force. The professional training of these 15 women gendarmes was complemented by a personal and group coaching on leadership, self-confidence, and work-life balance. The United Kingdom also mentioned its support for this initiative: “Participation of women in provosts’ missions will help to build trust of local populations in the Security and Defense Forces (SDF), which is a key factor in the stabilization of these conflict areas”.

During the first phase, the project also developed an assessment of the obstacles and opportunities for the deployment of women provosts. This consisted in a survey on mentalities for their deployment at the level of the National Gendarmerie and the Ministry of Defense. The trained 15 women gendarmes were also asked about their potential worries and opportunities for deployment. This assessment allowed to identify deployment zones and informed the priority activities for the second phase project.

During the session, the Deputy Director of the Gendarmerie School presented the main achievements of the first phase of the project and recalled on the importance of the provosts’ missions as part of the judicialization of military operations: “To effectively fight against terrorism and organized crime, Armed Forces require judicial support for its military operations. This support consists in the evidence collection and investigation of all incidents related to terrorism or transnational organized crime”.

Additionally, some of the provosts that were trained in 2022 shared their personal experiences on the training program and answered to the questions of participants.

In this second phase, the project aims at expanding the pool of female provosts and at ensuring adequate conditions for deployment. To meet these objectives, activities will include a follow up training for the 5 trainers on gender-sensitive provosts missions, a training and a coaching for 15 new female provosts, the development of a legal framework for deployment as well as the purchase of mobile equipment for military bataillon to enable deployment of women provosts.