The Commission with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the project ‘conflict prevention and mitigation during the electoral cycle in Sierra Leone’ organized a two-day national delegate’s conference for the All Political Parties Women Association (APPWA). The conference attracted Five Hundred and Eighty-Eight (588) women from all the registered Political Parties drawn from the districts across the country.
The All Political Parties Women’s Association (APPWA) is a collection of the various women structures of the Political Parties that seek the welfare of women in politics by promoting, protecting and respecting their views. It was established in 2011 by the then four (4) active political parties in the country namely: All Peoples’ Congress (APC); National Democratic Alliance (NDA); Peoples’ Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC); and the Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party (SLPP) with the aim of working with their Political Parties, Electoral Management Bodies (EMB’s), National and International Organizations to achieve the following objectives:
a. To engage and raise the awareness of women on leadership, democratic principles and the rule of law;
b. To advocate for adherence to the tenets of good governance through the implementation of policies for the inclusion of women in politics, decision making and governance at all levels;
c. To work in solidarity and build women coalition/alliances around a shared cause and explore relationships between political party activists, elected officials and civil society to champion the increased participation of women in governance at all levels;
d. To build the capacity of women in political parties in order to sustain peace, stability and non-violence;