Objectives:

1. Prevention of conflicts and violence according to gender.

• Strengthening and developing policies that prevent violence and conflicts, mechanisms and procedures that promote women's rights and guarantee their safety.
• A favorable legal environment created for the respect of women's rights.

2. Protection, assistance and rehabilitation of the victims.

• Women have an increased access to justice. 
• Rehabilitation of violence victims from the legal, social, psychological and economical standpoint.
• Strengthening mechanisms to fight against GBV and domestic violence.

3. Participation and Representation.

• Women's participation in peace-building and security is strengthened.

4. Promotion of gender

• Attitudes and behaviors conducive to peace and respect for women’s rights are strengthened 
• Non violent communication, research on gender, peace and security are effective
• Women’s initiatives are technically supported

5. Sustained coordination and evaluation of the activities

• The mechanism for coordinating and monitoring/evaluating the implementation of the NAP is effective.

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Commentary:

The plan begins by recognizing the tenuous security situation, given Niger’s position between the Libyan conflict and the conflict and violent extremism in the north of neighboring Mali, as well the refugee and migrant flows through Niger north towards the Mediterranean. However, while it seeks to respect and promote women’s rights within each of these security challenges, the plan maintains a pejorative tone about the need to help empower women rather than recognizing women’s agency in their own empowerment. Even when it purports to strengthen women’s participation in peace-building and security, it does not recognize where women have already been active in these roles, and it also makes no mention of actually increasing women’s participation in military or police forces. This weakness means that it falls short of truly engaging women’s participation in all aspects of peace and security. 

Civil Society:

There was only limited civil society engagement in the drafting process of this NAP, a lack of consultation that becomes apparent in the sections of the plan that discuss measures necessary to train and help women achieve their own empowerment. The government is identified as the main actor in each of the action items, which is important for government accountability but ultimately insufficient as the model of societal change that the plan hopes to achieve.

Peacekeeping Statistics:

Police: 40 out of 97

Staff Officers: 0 out of 19

Experts on Mission: 0 out of 4

Troops: 12 out of 862

References:

https://www.wpsnaps.org/nap/niger-national-action-plan/

https://www.wpsnaps.org/app/uploads/2019/09/Niger-NAP-2016-2018_DP160100212.pdf

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