THE Guyana Defence Force, in collaboration with the United States Southern Command and Florida National Guard, will host the Caribbean, Women, Peace and Security conference today.

According to a release, the two-day conference, which forms part of the Guyana and Florida State Partnership Programme, will see participation from several Government and non-governmental organisations, the Joint Services, the Judiciary as well as military personnel from the US and several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.

“The conference aims to increase Force effectiveness by providing an understanding of Women, Peace and Security implementation, operational planning and inter-operability throughout the Caribbean. The conference is a follow-on from the bilateral Women, Peace and Security workshop held between the Guyana Defence Force and U.S. Southern Command following Tradewinds, the U.S. Southern Command combined and joint exercise held in June 2021 in Guyana,” the release said

It noted, too, that the forum will address an array of issues including peace and security, strategies and policies for gender integration, recruitment, training and retention, gender discrimination, women in leadership, disaster relief operations, sexual harassment, trafficking- in-persons and migration.

The keynote speakers at the event include First Lady, Arya Ali; Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira; US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch; Commander US Southern Command General, Laura Richardson; Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Chief Justice, Roxanne George-Wiltshire.
The partnership among the Florida National Guard, United States Southern Command and Guyana is a critical component of the security co-operation between the US and Guyana, the release said.