THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA’S COMBINED REPORT ON THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN & PEOPLES’ RIGHTS & INITIAL REPORT ON THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA including a female officer who ascended to the apex rank of Commissioner. The Gambia National Army also has demonstrated gender sensitivity in the senior command echelons. Civil society contribution The West African Peace Building Network (WANEP continues to be instrumental in conflict prevention initiatives for sustainable peace and development. It has a membership of 30 civil society organizations and maintains focal points in each of the 5 regions. It provides tailor-made training programmes for Government stakeholders, security forces, civil society including grassroots communities. WANEP-The Gambia has been providing capacity on peace education, early warning and early response and peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation. The Gambia’s military spending is relatively, the lowest in West Africa. According to the CIA’s rank order of military expenditure, The Gambia is ranked among the bottom list of countries with the lowest military expenditure, ranking 167 out of 170 countries.. Constraints Despite the increased participation of women in peace keeping missions abroad, The Gambia is yet to attain the 50% level required by the United Nations Resolution. The Gambia is yet to ratify the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons. THEME 7: PROTECTION OF WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICT- ARTICLE 11 The Gambia Commission for Refugee (GCR), which is responsible for the security and protection of refugees in The Gambia, has been in existence since 2008. The Commission in its bid to provide a good protection environment to refugees issues visitors pass (laissez passer), refugee ID cards and conventional travel documents to refugees which enables them to move freely within the ECOWAS member states. However, the Commission is constrained in its efforts to safeguard the interests of refugees due to inadequate funds and logistics. The country also lacks transit centres for refugees and asylum seekers in both the rural and urban areas. 164