Wedji Mbengue
United Nations Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers Nominee
Wedji Mbengue is a corrections officer from Senegal who has made peace her mission: Since 2019, she has been deployed as government-provided personnel (GPP) to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), where she provides expertise in prison security to the Central African prison authorities in Berbérati, Carnot and Nola prisons.
The remote locations of the prisons, poor communication channels, high levels of insecurity paired with difficult road conditions are some of the many challenges making this remote duty station exceptionally difficult. Wedji, however, has always found ways to overcome these obstacles. Her sense of leadership and bravery allowed her to advance to the prestigious rank of Team Leader in the traditionally male-dominated field of corrections.
Wedji’s coordination and collaboration with local authorities, prison directors and the CAR armed forces enhanced the security of the prison where many armed group members are detained. Even during the recent insecurity in the region, there were minimal prison escapes from Berbérati prison, improving the safety of local communities and contributing to the MINUSCA mandate to protect civilians.
Government-Provided Personnel (GPP)
GPP are individuals like Wedji who are nominated by their governments to serve with United Nations peace operations. Justice and corrections GPP provide expertise that is generally only found in national government services, such as national prison services, the judiciary and prosecution authorities among others. While most GPP provide advisory and capacity-building support to national counterparts, some GPP perform operational prison security functions, such as in MINUSCA where 108 corrections GPP are currently posted.
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
MINUSCA is one of the twelve current UN peacekeeping operations. Established by the Security Council in April 2014, MINUSCA is mandated to protect civilians and create conditions conducive to national reconciliation and durable peace in Central African Republic (CAR), where over 63 per cent of the population (more than 3.1 million Central Africans) require protection and humanitarian assistance.
The MINUSCA corrections component is mandated to support the CAR authorities in the fight against impunity, and the establishment and reinforcement of a new national prison service. This includes the recruitment, training and capacity-building of national corrections officers, as well as improving prison management, security, and conditions according to international norms and standards.
United Nations Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers
The first United Nations Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers recognizes the outstanding contributions of government-provided personnel in UN peace operations by highlighting women who blaze the trail in areas and roles traditionally reserved for men.
You can follow the entire campaign on the United Nations Office of Rule of Law Facebook page or the Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law Alexandre Zouev’s Twitter page.
To learn more about the award, click here.
