Five years of ICGLR; what has been achieved?

BY UGAMEDIA

From scratch Amb. Liberata Mulamula and her team today leave a land mark achievement—leaving the Great Lakes a more stable region after five years of dedicated service.

In 2006, when 11 countries from the Great Lakes came together to form the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, an organisation tasked with stabilising the region, there was a lot of skepticism on whether and how such an organisation would achieve its goals.

But because of the 19994 genocide in Rwanda that shocked the world the African Union and the United Nations took up the initiative to formulate the pact on peace, stability and development which was the foundation of the ICGLR formation.

The UN was particularyly concerned that even after signing a total of eight peace treaties there still was no little peace, less stability and minimal development in the Great Lakes especially in countries like Burundi, Rwanda, the DR Congo, Uganda and Sudan.

This process of integrating the Great Lakes countries , which recognised the interconnectedness of the region's populations, its security and economies, and the imperative of seeking regional solutions, culminated in the signing of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development by 11 states in the Great Lakes Region.

That historical initiative, according to a number of analysts, paved way for a peaceful and more stable region, which can be collaborated by the ICGLR Executive Secretary Amb. Liberata Mulamula.

“The region was very insecure five years ago. However, one could say it is stable apart from a few incidents,” said Mulamula, who winds up her term of office this year.

Ambassador Mulamula says as part of their mandate to instill peace in the region they have frustrated activities of most negative forces in eastern DR Congo that have been fighting different governments except the ragtag ones like the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels (presently holed up in CAR) and Sudan rebel groups in Darfur.

Early December the ICGLR dispatched a peace and security team to meet Sudan’s senior security officials and traveled to northern Darfur.
The mission resulted in acknowledgement of presence of negatives forces which are supposed to be dealt with. Should the Sudan rebels be neutralized disputes between South Sudan and Khartoum are bound to cease.

Secondly, in regard to stability ICGLR Ministers of Defence have asked for an expeditious implementation of the organization's protocol on non-aggression and mutual defence in the Great Lakes Region that partly requires member states not to harbour rebel groups fighting the other countries.

The ICGLR has also supported regional cooperation initiatives curbing proliferation of illegal guns by the Regional Centre on Small Arms and the Small Arms and Light Weapons and disarmament of armed nomadic pastoralists in north western Kenya, north eastern Uganda, south eastern Sudan and south western Ethiopia.

The ICGLR has in addition been able to fight illicit mineral trade within the region. Today, it is becoming difficult for mineral dealers to sell their minerals from conflict zones because of the ban initiated by the Great Lakes Region. Such an initiative is bound to discourage warmongers from starting conflicts that have led to gross human rights abuses like sexual and gender based violence.

On the part of democratization, ICGLR has started observer missions, which have partly reduced election disputes because political leaders particularly candidates are engaged at early stages of the election period to pre-empt any disruptive efforts. For instance, the organization deployed observers in about nine countries in the last two periods.

In addition, a think-tank that is supposed to promote democracy and good governance was started. The Levy Mwanasa Regional Centre for Democracy, Good Governance, Human Rights and Civic Education based in Zambia is expected to influence policies that favour Africans using indeginously generated research data.

It is therefore agreeable to say that five years down the road Amb. Mulamula has left the Great Lakes region a better place to live in except a few areas like terrorism by members of the Al Shabaab, proliferation of illegal small arms and light weapons, budget constraints, continued presence of negative groups and human rights abuses.

But overall the consolidated efforts by the region to fight sexual and gender based sexual violence could yield peace in the 11 member states and more after the admission of South Sudan and Somalia.

Time up for illicit mineral dealers in Great Lakes

BY UGAMEDIA

The Great Lakes region member states will soon start fingerprinting their minerals to trace their origin in order to end the illicit mineral trade that has fueled conflicts in the region, which are the center of human rights abuses especially sexual and gender based violations.

The analytical fingerprint (AFP) system developed by the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BCR) and commissioned by the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region, identifies the mineral concentrate origin by comparing its mineralogical and geochemical characteristic features to samples of known provenance that are stored in a BGR reference database.

The fingerprinting center, according to Silas Sinyigaya, the ICGLR Programme Officer for Democracy and Good Governance, could be established in Tanzania.

This new weapon is expected to make it extremely difficult for the mineral dealers that have ventured in an illegal trade and therefore lessen the urge to start wars, which affect mainly women and children.

Successful application of the AFP method for a positive certification of mineral producers necessitates detailed and comprehensive sampling of active mining sites of the producer; geo-chemical and mineralogical data obtained from the analytical procedures.

The data has to be updated regularly and any changes in production methods should be communicated to a CTC counterpart (like changes in production sites; commissioning of concentrate upgrading equipment).

The fingerprint system is expected to reinforce the six tools for fighting illegal exploitation of natural resources which include; regional certification for gold, coltan, cassiterite and the walframite, harmonization of national legislation and domestication of the protocol on natural resources, establishing a regional database for mineral flows, whistle blowing mechanism and extractive industries initiatives.

The six tools as supposed to curtail any further trading in blood minerals that have recently fuelled conflicts especially in eastern DRC and Sudan leading to gross human rights abuses particularly sexual gender-based violence, which is currently a subject of discussion in the ongoing ICGLR special session summit in Kampala, Uganda. 

Militarized mining, which is part of the illicit trade, has meant massive use of forced labor, widespread violence against workers and the population in general, continued abuses of human rights, and unending war.

Ambassador Liberata Mulamula statement

Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, the Executive Secretary of the ICGLR at Special session of the First ladies Meeting in Kampala today . The Summit runs under the theme, “ United to Prevent, End Impunity and Provide Support to the Victims of SGBV in the Great Lakes Region”. 

UGAMEDIA brings you the excerpts of Her Excellency’s presentation as presented by Mr.Nathan Byamukama, the programme officer, Crossing Cutting Issues at the ICGLR Secretariat.

Your Excellency, Janet Museveni, First Lady of the Republic of Uganda and our Gracious Host;

Your Excellency Dr. Christine Mwela Kaseba Sata, First Lady of the Republic of Zambia and the Chair of this Meeting;

Honorable, Syda Bbumba Minister in charge of Gender of Republic of Uganda;

Excellencies First Ladies from the ICGLR Member States

Honorable Ministers in Charge of Gender from the ICGLR Member States;

Excellencies Heads of Diplomatic Mission of the ICGLR Member States accredited to the Republic of Uganda;

Excellencies of Heads of Diplomatic Mission and International Organisation here present;

Excellencies Ambassadors and Distinguished ICGLR National Coordinators;

Mzee Joseph Butiku and Honourable Immaculee Ingabire Chairpersons of Regional Civil Society Forum and Regional Women Forum respectively;

Representative and Chairperson of the ICGLR Youth Forum;

Invited Guests;

Ladies and gentlemen;

I feel great honoured and privileged to address this important Meeting of the First ladies from the ICGLR Member States focusing on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), a formidable challenge and source of insecurity and underdevelopment facing our region.

On behalf of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and on my own behalf I wish to express our sincere gratitude to Her Excellency First Lady of the Republic of Uganda for welcoming us in this beautiful city of Kampala. Our appreciation is also extended to the Government of the Republic of Uganda particularly the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development under the Leadership of Honourable Syda Bbumba for accepting to host this important meeting.



I would like to heartily thank Excellencies First Ladies from the ICGLR Member States for their commitment and determination to come and support our efforts in combating Sexual and Gender Based Violence in the Great Lakes Region. Indeed, your presence here today demonstrates the importance that you attach the issue of Sexual and Gender Based Violence.

Allow me also to appreciate the support that we have received from our partners. We wish to pay tribute to the UN-Women, the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and GIZ for their outstanding contribution in organizing this meeting.

Excellencies;

Invited Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

It should be noted that the ICGLR Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Violence against Women and Children in the Great Lakes Region which is an integral part of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region is also a specific legal instrument which gives mandate to the ICGLR Member States tackle effectively the problem of Sexual Gender Based Violence in our region.

However, despite the progress made, the ratification of the Pact of the Pact on Security and Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region by the Member States and other initiatives that have been undertaken at national and regional level, Sexual and Gender Based Violence is continuously perpetrated and increasingly used as a weapon of war in our region.

Indeed, the problem of sexual and gender based violence is often perceived to be perpetuated through some repugnant traditions. But we must ask ourselves Excellencies First Ladies, would any nation embrace traditions that would jeopardize its own survival, prosperity and sustainability. Or is it inconceivable that any civilized society of people with right frame of mind would condone rape and torture of their own daughters and infants.

It is against this backdrop and following the decisions of the ICGLR Special Summit on Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources held in December 2010 in Lusaka, Zambia and the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting (RIMC) held in May 2011 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo respectively, the Secretariat in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and partners organised a High Level Consultation meeting of Ministers in charge of Gender from the ICGLR Members preceded by the meeting of experts. Ministers of Gender made specific recommendations to the Summit.

We are convinced that the actively engagement and contributions of our Excellencies First Ladies will give impetus to the Regional efforts in fighting against the SGBV. We recognise the role of our First Ladies in eradicating this scourge but we need them to do more and be at the forefront in leading the region in the search for solution to this formidable challenge.

Indeed, we believe that the outcome of the meeting of our First Ladies shall indeed encourage our regional leaders to collectively provide lasting solutions which will put to an end the protracted problem of SGBV in the Great Lakes Region.

We appeal to Your Excellencies to consider the possibility of establishing a formal forum of First Ladies to continue helping us to create awareness, advocate and lobby for the implementation of ICGLR instruments on the fight against Sexual and Gender Based Violence in the region. I believe that your advice and commitment will significantly contribute in this endevours.

Excellency;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Finally, allow me to conclude by saying that despite some challenges, our commitment, determination and concerted efforts will enable us to prevail and achieving our objectives.

I thank you for your kind attention

ICGLR First ladies Meeting opens today

BY UGAMEDIA The First meeting of the First ladies from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) has opened in Kampala, Uganda today. The opening ceremony was presided over by the chair of the ICGLR First Ladies, Her Excellency, Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata from the Republic of Zambia. The First Ladies host, Her Excellency, Janet Museveni said it is good and right to participate in this historic conference on sexual and gender based violence, which is aimed at discussing how we can unite as governments and people of the region. “The opportunity for us to discuss the problem of sexual and gender based violence and collectively work out solutions could not have at a better time. A time when social values in our African communities are disintegrating, when the family unit is threatened by some negative foreign cultural influences, when gender based violence is, painfully, increasing in our society, this indeed is a time to put our heads together to find lasting solutions in this area,” Hon. Janet Museveni said. Mrs. Museveni said sexual violence comes in many forms but the most often cited is rape and defilement. “However, sexual and gender-based violence encompasses a wide range of other abuses that many may include sexual threats, exploitation, humiliation, assault, molestation, domestic violence, incest and rape,” the Ugandan First lady told the meeting. “Needless to say, most cases of sexual violence involve female and male perpetrators. However, men and young boys can also be vulnerable to sexual violence especially in detention or war or refugee situations,” she added. She said it was painful to acknowledge that’s sexual abuse of children including infants happens in our society every day. She noted that many sexual abuse cases are not reported to the authorities due to social acceptance of these practices, or the stigma most abused women face, or fear of more violence from partners, or failure by authorities to act on the perpetrators and the absence of relevant laws to punish the culprits. “The time is now up for our governments to be up and running in advancing effective laws preventing gender-based violence and enforcing policies that ensure survivors’ access to acre and legal justice,” she added. Uganda’s Minister for Gender, labor and Social Development said it is fitting that this extraordinary opportunity, of having our leaders engage in a dedicated dialogue on practical strategies to curb a scourge that has for centuries epitomized social behavior, not only in situations of war but also during peace times, is held here in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. “I am confident that Uganda offers a lot to learn in the area of SGBV prevention and response. I take this opportunity to thank all our partners for joining us in this struggle to make Uganda, the Great Lakes Region, Africa and indeed the world a safe place for women, men, boys and girls,” she added. “Excellencies, as First Ladies, your track record in advancing the cause of protecting the rights of vulnerable groups most especially women and children is clearly visible in your countries, the region and globally,” the Minister said. She said the meeting is a testimony that their Excellencies, the First Ladies are a critical component of the cure for SGBV in the Great Lakes Region. “Your privileged position provides a strategic platform to strengthen measures for prevention, ending impunity and providing requisite support by relevant actors to survivors of SGBV,” the Minister added. She said the nature of violence that women experience unlike men is based on their gender and how society perceives womanhood. “Because of being female, a woman is vulnerable to rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, confinement and the like. Data around these pervasive acts is very disturbing. Globally, it is estimated that seven in ten women have experienced either physical or sexual violence in their life time and one in four women have suffered sexual violence,” she added. The effects of these acts of aggression against nearly half of the world’s population are grave: HIV infection, unwanted pregnancy, death, obstetric fistula, insecurity and low productivity, name it. There is need to take collective and concerted action, on all fronts. Action cures fear; the lack of it creates terror.

ICGLR to pursue Darfur rebels

BY UGAMEDIA
As part of unending efforts by the International Conference on the Great Lakes to eliminate all negatives forces in the area foreign ministers of the 11 member states have agreed to include armed negative forces operating in Darfur on the wanted list.

“The ministers agreed to recognize the existence of armed negative forces operating in Darfur and include them in the regional effort in the fight against the negative forces,” states in part the report by the inter-ministerial committee meeting of International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) held at Munyonyo Resort Hotel in Kampala, Uganda from December 13 to 14.

The presence of negative forces in Sudan has incited very bitter conflicts that have been the center of sexual and gender based violence, the main subject of the Kampala Great Lakes meeting.

Initially, there were only two groups fighting in Sudan's Darfur region - the Justice for Equality Movement (Jem) and the larger Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) – with very different ideological backgrounds that sparked off war against the Khartoum administration.

However, SLA later on split in different factions. By late 2005, the SLA had splintered into three different movements led by Abdel Wahid, Minni Minawi, and a group of Abdel Wahid’s former commanders.

The ICGLR initial role in Sudan as part of the wider operation against the negative forces there will be to investigate human rights abuses committed by both the rebels and the Sudanese forces.
A committee has already been set up to investigate allegations of genocide in south Kordofan and the Blue Nile whose findings will be presented at the end of next year. The ICGLR says it has received complaints from the International Refugees Rights Initiative, Darfur Consortium of NGOs and reports of the United Nations on allegations of serious violations of human rights that could amount to the crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region of south Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The organization’s committee on the prevention of genocide that has been charged with the investigations says it will undertake a fact-finding mission in Sudan and present its findings to the ICGLR inter-ministerial committee at the end of 2012.

Sexual Gender Based Violence Summit in Uganda important to the world, says UN

BY UGAMEDIA

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality (UN Women) and the Secretariat of the Africa UNiTE campaign to end violence against women and girls, have said, the agenda of the Summit in Kampala is important, not just for the region, but also for all women in Africa and beyond. 

“It is a measure of the level of awareness among the leaders of the ICGLR of the seriousness of SGBV, and its link with the goals of peace, security, stability and development in the region,” the UN WOMEN and Unite campaign said in their presentation this morning to the Regional Inert--Ministerial Committee.

“For the ICGLR is showing leadership in involving its highest policy organs and building consensus on strategic actions necessary to prevent, end impunity and provide services to survivors of SGBV,” the two said in joint presentation presented by Mrs. Florence Butegwa, a representative to the African Union and UNECA.

On January 30, 2010 the Chairperson of the African Union and the UN Secretary General launched the Africa UNiTE campaign to end violence against women and girls in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Africa UNiTE is the Africa component of the global UNiTE campaign launched by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in February 2008. The ultimate aim of the UNiTE campaign is to mobilize and support governments in fulfilling their commitment to ending violence against women and to empower women and their communities in stopping gender-based violence and demanding accountability.

The campaign aims to contribute towards six outcomes namely, the adoption and enforcement of national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls, in line with international human rights standards, the adoption and implementation of multi-sect oral national plans of action that emphasize prevention and that are adequately resourced.

Other aims include the establishment of data collection and analysis systems, on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women and girls, the establishment of national and/or local campaigns and the engagement of a diverse range of civil society actors in preventing violence and in supporting women and girls who have been abused.

The last but not least other two is the systematic efforts to address sexual violence in conflict situations and to protect women and girls from rape as a tactic of war, and the full implementation of related laws and policies and ensuring safety for women and girls in public space.

Many of these outcomes are directly or indirectly relevant to the ICGLR Protocol for the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children in the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region.

“It is acknowledged that there is a continuum between violence against women in peacetime, conflict and post-conflict situations with aggravated and widespread sexual violence during armed conflicts,” Mrs. Butegwa said.

The meeting was informed that Mr. Ban Kimoon has obligated all UN organisations to join hands to support countries to launch campaigns and take concerted actions towards the prevention of Violence against women and girls.

“There is great potential in the ICGLR tapping into opportunities created by the UNiTE campaign by partnering with the UN System and other partners in their respective countries to make progress on the three aspects of the theme of this Special Session on SGBV – namely preventing, ending impunity and providing support and services to survivors of SGBV,” the two organisations noted in their presentation. “There are many good practices in the ICGLR that can benefit other regions of Africa through the UNiTE infrastructure and vice versa” they added.

The Africa UNiTE campaign in collaboration with several international and African partners are organizing an Africa UNiTE Mount Kilimanjaro Climb initiative under the theme ‘Speak Out, Climb Up’, Butegwa said. 

She said, the climb is scheduled to take place from 5 to 9 March 2012, to symbolically coincide with International Women’s Day on 8 March, and will involve a series of activities and events. Participating will be over 80 climbers, 54 of whom will represent each of the AU member states selected in national consultative processes.

The objectives of the Climb are to raise awareness and the visibility of violence against women and girls as a key issue for development, peace and security in Africa and to mobilize national commitments from all African governments to be implemented by 2015. The commitments will be carried to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (the rooftop of Africa!).

She invited member states of the ICGLR to see this initiative as an opportunity to mobilize stakeholders in their respective countries towards implementation of the ICGLR Protocol and the commitments in the Declaration to be adopted at this 4th Ordinary Summit and special session on SGBV.

“I invite you to actively get involved in the nomination of and support for the country’s representative to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and to organize comparable or other activities in their respective countries,” she added.

UN Women, during the commemoration of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, outlined a policy agenda with 16 steps to end violence against women. They are namely ratifying international and regional treaties that protect the rights of women and girls, and ensure that national laws and services meet international human rights standards.

The second is to adopt and enforce laws to end impunity, bring perpetrators of violence against women and girls to justice and provide women with reparations and remedy for the violations perpetrated against them.

The third step is to develop national and local action plans for ending violence against women and girls in every country that bring the government, women’s and other civil society organizations, the mass media and the private sector into a coordinated front against such human rights violations.

The other is to make justice accessible to women and girls by providing free legal and specialized services, and increasing women in law enforcement and frontline services and the fifth being to end impunity towards conflict-related sexual violence by prosecuting perpetrators in conflict and post-conflict contexts and fulfilling survivors’ right to comprehensive reparations programmes that are non-stigmatizing and have a transformative impact on women and girls’ lives.

The six step is to ensure universal access to critical services at a minimum, women’s and girls’ emergency and immediate needs should be met through free 24-hour hotlines, prompt intervention for their safety and protection, safe housing and shelter for them and their children, counseling and psycho-social support, post-rape care, and free legal aid to understand their rights and options.

The other step is train providers of frontline services especially the police, lawyers and judges, social workers and health personnel to ensure that they follow quality standards and protocols. Services should be confidential, sensitive and convenient to women survivors.

The other is to provide adequate public resources, disseminate national data on prevalence, invest in gender equality and women’s empowerment to tackle the root causes of violence against women and girls, enhance women’s economic empowerment, increase public awareness, work for and with young people and donate to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.

Butegwa saluted the efforts of the ministries responsible for gender and women’s affairs and the civil society organisations, whose advocacy and leadership role, under fairly difficult and resource constrained conditions, have contributed to the achievements that the ICGLR have made to date.

“UN Women will continue to work with you and with the ICGLR Secretariat as you build onto the important decisions at this Summit and special session on SGBV,” she concluded.

Sexual Gender Based Violence undermining Great Lakes Development Agenda-Mulamula

By UGAMEDIA

 

The Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes (ICGLR), Ambassador Liberata Mulamaula has said Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) is undermining the regional efforts to develop further.

“Iam pleased to report that for the last five years of existence of the ICGLR, significant progress has been made in the search for peace and stability in the region,” Ambassador Mulamula told the regional inert-ministerial committee preceding the ICGLR Summit and Special session in Kampala, Uganda yesterday. 


“However, these achievements notwithstanding, we are gathered here in this august body to tackle collectively the SGBV in the region has eluded us , the pandemic still persists and continue to undermine all efforts,” she observed.

Ambassador Mulamula called for more efforts to concretize the commitment regional Leaders pledged as stipulated in the Dar-es-Salaam Declaration of 2004 in combating, criminalizing, and punishing acts of sexual violence both in time of peace and war.
She noted that the Protocol on Prevention and suppression of sexual violence against women and children is an important legal instrument that provide solutions and address this protracted challenge of SGBV. The Executive Secretary particularly thanked Ministers in Charge of Gender from the region for their efforts in supporting ICGLR against SGBV.

“It is an indisputable the fact that Sexual and Gender Based Violence inhibits the ability of women to contribute to and benefit from development. It also limits them to enjoy human and peoples rights and fundamental freedoms in public or private life,” Mulamula said. 


“The fear of sexual violence is even more heightened in armed conflicts areas. The causes and consequences of sexual and gender based violence have crippled human resources and skills development and constrained economic production and productivity,” she noted.

Uganda’s Deputy Prime Minister, Gen. Moses Ali, who presided over the opening ceremony called for regional efforts to stop negative forces roaming the area. He said, the negatives forces are responsible for perpetrating the violence against women.

The Prime Minister said there was need to train regional armies so that they do their work professionally in an effort to stop the Sexual Gender Based Violence vice.

The meeting also received the report from ICGLR Minister in charge of Defence and Security on the fight against negative forces in the region, following RIMC directive in Brazzaville in May 2011, that Secretariat in collaboration with the Member States organize a meeting of Ministers of Defence of the ICGLR Member State to deliberate and address the problem of negative forces in the Region.

Subsequently, the meeting was successful held on 9th September 2011, in Kigali, Rwanda.

She took the opportunity to extend her appreciation to RIMC for the trust, support and guidance during the last five years of discharging her duties as well as GIZ for its generosity and invaluable support.
Honourable Chishimba Kambwili, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Zambia and Chairperson of the RIMC addressed the meeting as well.