The Armed Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (FACI), has become the latest security institution to complete a Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) barrier assessment. This new evidence base is a milestone in Côte d’Ivoire’s efforts to increase the participation of uniformed women in United Nations (UN) peace operations and to promote a more inclusive military institution. The initiative is part of Côte d’Ivoire’s commitments to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and forms a key component of the country’s WPS National Action Plan 1325 (2024–2028).
With support of UN Women Côte d’Ivoire and the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the assessment was conducted by the Economic Policy Analysis Unit of the Ivorian Centre for Economic and Social Research (CAPEC-CIRES), with financial support from the Elsie Initiative Fund (EIF), as well as technical support from the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). Conducted since January 2025, this evaluation used the MOWIP methodology, developed by DCAF and Cornell University’s Gender and Security Sector Lab. It combined an in-depth document review, interviews with key decision-makers, and a survey of 380 military personnel including 190 women and 190 men across six military regions of the country: Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Bouaké, Korhogo, Man, and Daloa. The assessment also examined the full career pathway of the institution’s uniformed women—from selection criteria to deployment, including career advancement opportunities, family responsibilities, and lived experiences in the field.
Since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in October 2000, the international community has committed to strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution, as well as in peace processes. In this context, the UN has set targets to reach 15% women in military contingents and 25% among military observers and staff officers deployed to peacekeeping operations by 2028.
Between 2020 and 2025, Côte d’Ivoire deployed 108 women as troops to peace operations—approximately 5% of the total troop deployment. This gap between established targets and actual deployment figures was a catalyst for the assessment, with its recommendations providing a concrete roadmap to increase women’s participation in peacekeeping operations. Identified priorities include measures to expand the pool of women eligible for deployment, strengthen pre-deployment capacities, and promote a more enabling environment for their participation.
