Today in Inspiring Action, Annie Kashamura Zawadi, Gender Parity and Coordination Officer, talks with the Brigadier General Mody Berethe, who is the superior officer in the Malian Gendarmerie. He took up the position as Chief of the United Nations Police Component (UNPOL) with MONUSCO on January 25, 2021, bringing along to this position his experience in United Nations Peace Operations, and Reform and Security.

AK: As you know, the Mission has in place its Gender Parity Strategy which aligns with the 2017 Secretary General System wide Gender Parity Strategy. And you also know that gender parity advances moderately since 2017 (from 26% of international civilian women in 2018 to 32.2% en 2023 for civilians and even lower number of women in UNPOL). Could you share with us the major challenges faced by the Police in the pursuit of gender parity?

GM: Starting with updating you on the most recent quotas, at the level of the Police Component, as I am sure you are aware, we have two types of personnel: the individual police officers (IPOs) and the Formed Police Units (FPUs). Regarding the IPOs, as of May 2023, our female officers account for 29.60%. This quota is observed also in the proportion of women occupying managerial positions, as 25% of this type of posts are being held by female IPOs. Further, on the FPU side, the female officers account for 17.10%.

The women quota for IPO female officers has been steadily increasing over time and now we are proud to have more than the required 25% proportionality in terms of women’s participation. This is due to the efforts and advocacy that we constantly do with the Police Contributing Countries (PCCs), both at a central level – by the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) in UNHQ, but also at the local level – as I am constantly in contact with the ambassadors of PCCs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, supporting and encouraging the participation of women.

It is very important to note that the personnel composition of UNPOL reflects and is directly proportional with the way that the gender is represented at the level of each of the PCCs. As, unfortunately, in many countries the female police officers are underrepresented, this trend influences the componence of UNPOL also. However, over time we witnessed that depending on the countries or regions, the representativity of women can be different; MONUSCO is a French speaking mission, but we have noticed recently that a big part of the women we have present in the mission area, are being sent by English speaking countries. While we are delighted to welcome them to the mission area, we also face administrative constraints regarding the English-speaking IPOs quota limitations.

On the FPU side, there are also some cultural restraints; our FPUs are intervention units and traditionally, this type of units is composed by male elements. However, we have noticed some paradigm shifts in the mentality and policies of PCCs, that determined the deployment of bigger numbers of female elements.

Secondarily, we also face some limitations determined by logistical challenges, in terms of ensuring the proper accommodation for female officers but in a joint effort with DPO and PCCs we are steadily addressing this issue also. The Police Component has benefitted from a construction project for the accommodation of female officers from Bangladesh FPU (BANFPU1) in Kinshasa. As this is our FPU with the biggest female quota (44.13%) and is also commanded by a female police officer, we are delighted to share the example as a good practice. Following this, we are planning to also enhance the living facilities in other FPUs, as well as to create or rehabilitate welfare and social spaces, having the commitment of the PCCs to participate in the processes and to further enhance the numbers of deployed female officers.

AK: Thank you for these clarifications. While listening to you, we understand that challenges related to the implementation of the gender parity strategy are located at different levels including at the sending countries and at the Mission level. At your level, which steps do you take to promote gender parity within the UN Police in the DRC?

GM: Increasing the representation of female police peacekeepers is a priority for UNPOL MONUSCO. While in this transition phase of the Mission, I truly believe that our example, as United Nations Police will serve our national partners, the Police Nationale Congolaise (PNC) to grasp and efficiently implement the idea that a police service that is representative of the population helps restore trust and confidence in the police, especially from women and children, as the police institution is reformed, restructured and rebuilt.

Welcoming the ‘Global Effort’ UNHQ project on Gender parity launched ever since 2009, that calls on United Nations Member States to establish a policy that strongly encourage women participation, at the level of MONUSCO Police Component we are constantly applying gender-mainstreaming administrative and operational procedures, taking into consideration the particular needs of our female police officers, in order to provide them with the appropriate working and living conditions, but also empowering them to step up and assume all types of responsibilities and positions within the component, making sure that the No Discrimination policy is taken into account at all levels and on all grounds. Apart from this, the Police Component also takes to heart the positive masculinity principles, our male officers being completely aware of the importance of their professional proactive attitude towards their female colleagues for achieving gender equity and gender parity.

We constantly take measures to encourage the presence of female police officers in the mission: we encourage their deployment and granting them exceptional extensions, to extend their tour of duty.

AK: Looking at the UN System statistics, it is clear that achieving gender parity remains an even more difficult task to accomplish within the Security Forces. Is this a subject which is engaged on in the Security Forces gatherings at the UN System level or/and at the Mission level?

GM: The question of gender parity is debated at all levels. It is worth mentioning the Global Effort, and the Gender Toolkit, as well as the constant support we receive from DPO in terms of striving for reaching bigger and bigger female quotas at the level of the Police Component, I want to further point out the UN higher forums devotement towards this principle, that is also reflected in the United Nations Police Officer of the Year Award. As you are aware, this high distinction is annually awarded to a currently serving woman police officer in a United Nations peace operation who distinguishes herself through exemplary conduct and achievements in more than one area of policing that has a significant and meaningful impact on her area of responsibility. I am delighted to remind you that this award has been granted to one of our MONUSCO UNPOL female colleague, in 2021, for her outstanding contribution in the Health and Environment domain, in the more than challenging COVID-19 epidemic environment that we all faced during that period. The award does not serve just as a personal incentive but is also a means to encourage the PCCs to deploy more female police officers for United Nations service.

AK: That is amazing. I was not aware of the United Nations Police Officer of the Year Award ; nor was I aware that this high recognition was granted to a MONUSCO UNPOL uniformed woman! Congratulations to her and to UNPOL ! So, besides the discussions amongst peers at the leadership level, do you also engange on the subject matter with UNPOL uniformed female and male staff members?

GM: The UNPOL chain of communication is deeply focused on enforcing and promoting the UN values; we take to heart the principles of inclusion, integrity, humility, and humanity. Throughout my movements inside the mission area, I always devote special attention to directly interact and communicate with officers working in the field, as it is their activity that the Component bases its success on. Of course, the perspective of both men and women is of interest and I try to grasp the main challenges that each of them have, and to consider their specific needs. To make sure that the voices of women are clearly heard, I continuously endorse their participation in our UNPOL Women’s Network, a forum focused on the social cohesion and both personal and professional exchanges between female UNPOL police officers. Actually, I am very proud that my colleagues have included myself as a honorific member of this Network and thus, I am constantly open to hear their concerns and to attend to their professional needs.

AK : That is great to hear! So, one major factor allowing the retention of women is the availability or creating of inclusice and enabling working and living spaces which are balanced and which respond to and take in account the needs of wowmen and men accordingly. One way that the civilian component of the Mission use in trying to build the Mission into the above mentionned enabling and inclusive space conducing to gender parity is through women’s focus groups. Does UNPOL uses similar startagies. And if so, what do uniformed women tell you in these exchanges?

GM: Of course, our UNPOL Women’s Network is the main forum that deals with this kind of inquiries, focusing strictly on the living and working conditions of our female police officers. Periodical assessments are being done and the President of this Network, directly reporting to UNPOL Chief of Staff plays a crucial role in highlighting different aspects to be improved. However, we always have in mind the male colleagues also and similar inquiries are being made by our Gender Coordination Unit, the specialized UNPOL structure in all gender-related aspects, including gender parity. As you notice, The Police Component has put into place the necessary and equitable internal mechanisms to assess and address these aspects, with specifically dedicated focus on both male and female genders.

AK: One of the UNSC 1325 Resolution, and in fact, one of its requirements is to increase gender parity in terms of numbers of women within the UN Security Forces and also, to increase the numbers of women in position of leadership within the Forces. How does UNPOL picture looks like regarding the UNSC 1325 Resolution’s expectations?

GM: To complement what I already stated, 25% of our IPO management positions are being occupied by female police officers. Also, we have 2 out of our 8 FPUs, being commanded by female officers - the Bangladesh FPU in Kinshasa and the Senegalese FPU in Bunia, so the 25% quota is still maintained at this level. What I want to stress out is that our officers are being appointed in management positions based on their competencies and professionalism. UNPOL does not focus just on the numbers and the human resources management measures are adopted with an emphasis on the qualitative perspective, not on the quantitative one. Accordingly, I can assure you that our female police officers having management positions are truly competent and they work at least as hard as their male counterparts.

AK: It is has been established that UNPOL works with the PNC/ la Police Nationale Congolaise. And at this point in time, the Congolese Security Forces are undergoing noticeable reforms. Do you know if gender parity is part of the new reforms to be set?

GM: I am very pleased you have touched this aspect also, as I always advocate for putting under the spotlight more the PNC and less UNPOL, as our mandate here is to support them in professionally delivering the security services to the Congolese population. Currently the PNC female quota is little under 10% at national level, out of a total number of approximately 150000 PNC elements. However, the PNC intends to reach 20% female officers by 2025 and efforts are being made by PNC to improve its gender parity including the recent recruitment sensitization campaign which enrolled 1000 women in the PNC in 2023.

AK: In conclusion, for you personally, what is the importance of gender parity within the Mission in general, and specifically within UNPOL?

GM: To conclude with, I can just indicate the good results of our female police officers’ work, to answer to this question. I am completely convinced that ensuring gender-sensitive policing throughout the work of UNPOL is an operational necessity and the participation of female police officers is critical for the full spectrum of UNPOL activities, ranging from operations to development and to strategical decision making.

It is equally important to highlight that our female police officers act as role models for gender equality, inspiring women and girls to advocate for their own rights and pursue careers in law enforcement, while also providing a greater sense of security to women and children and improving access and support from law enforcement agencies to local women in the process of fighting sexual and gender based violence as well as conflict-related sexual violence.

AK: Thank you Sir for this interview and for your services and engagement in promoting gender parity.