A two days celebration of Ghana Armed Forces International Day of Peace 2024 has come to a close at Air Force Recruit Training School, Air Force Base Takoradi on Wednesday 24 September 2024.

Speaking on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Thomas Oppong Preprah, the Director General, Defence Communications and Information Systems (DCIS), Brigadier General Atogebakoga Alobawone noted that, since the United Nations General Assembly declared the third Tuesday of September every year as International Day of Peace, it had strengthened the ideals of peace around the world.

He said that, the celebration of International Day of Peace was crucial in reminding themselves around the globe and Ghana in particular, that peace was a priceless gem that needed to be upheld and diligently guarded.

He noted that, the Ghana Armed Forces had been part of the collective global peace efforts since 1960 and over the years continued to bring peace to several parts of the world while working to internally keep the country at peace. He expressed his profound gratitude to the Government of Canada and the Elsie Initiative for the great partnership and hoped together, they could look forward to a better, safer and peaceful working environment. 

The Canadian Defence Attaché to Ghana, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Palmer said that, this year marked the 25th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the declaration and programme of action on a culture of peace and in that declaration, the United Nations' most inclusive body recognised that peace "not only is the absence of conflict, but also required a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue was encouraged and conflicts was solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation."

He noted that the day was not only an opportunity to celebrate the International Day of Peace, but also to celebrate the Ghana Armed Forces significant achievement in launching its Gender Policy Framework, and to recognise the significant progress they had made to date in addressing barriers to GAF women's meaningful participation in peace operations.

He said that meaningful participation in peacekeeping referred not only to the numbers or proportion of women deployed, but also to ensuring that women had their needs met when participating in the institution and on missions.

There was a panel discussion on women deployed on peacekeeping missions where some women who served with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) GHANBATT 90 shared their experiences as well as a talk on peacekeeping and mental health.

In attendance were the Base Commander, Air Force Base Takoradi, Air Commodore Kwabena Kissiedu Manukre Atiemo, Gender Advisor to the Chief of the Army Staff, Colonel Rahinatu Sledge, Commanding Officer, Sekondi Naval Base, Lieutenant Commander Charles Darkwah, Commanding Officer, Air Force Recruit Training School, Wing Commander Newman Suhuba Naab among others.