ECOWAS and the Republic of Guinea have held a four-day national training workshop in Conakry aimed at strengthening prevention and response to gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual harassment. The event, which took place from August 20 to 23, 2025, was organized by the ECOWAS Gender Development Center (EGDC) in collaboration with Guinea’s Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and Vulnerable Persons.
The training is part of broader efforts to implement action plans stemming from ECOWAS regional policies adopted in 2021 that focus on preventing and responding to GBV and sexual harassment within workplaces and educational settings. Attendees included representatives from several government ministries such as Women, Children and Vulnerable Groups; Health; Justice; Youth; Education; Labour; as well as judicial police officers and members of civil society organizations active in this area.
Ambassador Elhadj Ibrahim Diallo, Director of the ECOWAS National Office and Director of African Integration at Guinea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted the widespread nature of GBV. He stated: “GBV remains one of the most widespread and persistent violations of human rights, significantly impacting the dignity, health, and well-being of survivors, most of whom are women and girls. He also noted that, beyond their social effects, GBV hampers economic development, erodes social cohesion, and threatens peace and security within communities.”
Ambassador Louis-Blaise AKA-BROU, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, commended local authorities for their commitment to addressing these issues. “The efforts of the Guinean government… has marked a decisive turning point in the fight for zero tolerance of gender-based violence and sexual harassment,” he said. He added: “the various strategies, preventive measures and support for survivors developed by the Republic of Guinea fit perfectly into ECOWAS’ regional fight to address the major challenges of gender inequality.” Ambassador AKA-BROU encouraged participants to collaborate toward eliminating abuses against women and girls.
General Roger Yassy Klönon, Secretary-General at Guinea’s Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and Vulnerable Persons thanked EGDC for organizing the workshop amid recent violent incidents in Guinea. “He emphasized the timeliness of the initiative…and stated that the workshop would enhance the capacities of stakeholders in preventing and responding to gender- based violence and sexual harassment.” General Klönon officially opened the national training program.
This initiative is part of priority actions under ECOWAS’s regional strategy targeting sexual- and gender-based violence elimination as well as its policy on sexual harassment across work environments or educational institutions.