BY UGAMEDIA
Uganda has offered to host the Great Lakes regional training centre that will impart skills to handle sexual violence cases, which initiative is part of the region’s efforts to scale-down sexual and gender based violence.
Under the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), 11 African countries agreed to establish a research and documentation centre to enhance collection of gender disaggregated data on gender-based violence but also train and sensitize judicial officers, police units, social workers, medical officers and other categories of persons who handle sexual and gender based violence in the Great Lakes.
The ministers of gender at their high-level consultation meeting on sexual and gender-based violence in Arusha recommended that the training centre be part of the Levy Mwanawasa Regional Centre for democracy, good governance, human rights and civic education base in Zambia.
However, Uganda and other countries argue that juxtaposing the training centre with the Levy Mwanawasa think tank would require amendment of the pact on security, stability and development yet no country has expressed to amend the pact.
“The Levy Mwanawasa Regional Center is responsible for Democracy, good governance, human rights and civic education. These functions are numerous and including the special regional facility on SGBV will overburden the centre. Besides the, the issues of SGBV may not be given adequate attention,” said Syda Bbumba, Uganda’s Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development during the ICGLR inter-ministerial meeting.
Uganda agued that to put the Special Regional facility under the Levy Mwanawasa Centre requires amending the pact on security, stability and development in the Great Lakes region, Article 34 on amendments and revision which requires a member state to propose an amendment in writing, six months.
|”In this particular case, Uganda is not aware of any country that has expressed interest to amend the pact in this direction,” Minister Bbumba said. “The Levy Mwanawasa Regional Centre is responsible for civic education, think tank, observatories and research, which strains it further in addition to other responsibilities,” she added.
Uganda observed at the meeting that as the deliberation of the special session on SGBV have pointed out, the vice poses threat on the security and development of the Great Lakes region, it is therefore important that all actors who are addressing these issues should be equipped with skills on how to prevent, end impunity and provide support to SGBV survivors.
Uganda also proposed to fast tracking the establishment of the regional training facility to address the problem. Uganda also said that the facility should enhance equitable sharing of the ICGLR centres citing the Documentation centre in DRC, ICGLR Secretariat in Burundi, Forum for Parliamentarians in Sudan and Levy Mwanawasa Centre in Zambia.
“Uganda, therefore requests the ICGLR member states for support to host this centre,” the Minister added. Sexual violence against women has been one of the main features of conflicts in the Great Lakes region, which has been used as a weapon by all sides of the conflicts: rebels groups and national armies.
Uganda has offered to host the Great Lakes regional training centre that will impart skills to handle sexual violence cases, which initiative is part of the region’s efforts to scale-down sexual and gender based violence.
Under the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), 11 African countries agreed to establish a research and documentation centre to enhance collection of gender disaggregated data on gender-based violence but also train and sensitize judicial officers, police units, social workers, medical officers and other categories of persons who handle sexual and gender based violence in the Great Lakes.
The ministers of gender at their high-level consultation meeting on sexual and gender-based violence in Arusha recommended that the training centre be part of the Levy Mwanawasa Regional Centre for democracy, good governance, human rights and civic education base in Zambia.
However, Uganda and other countries argue that juxtaposing the training centre with the Levy Mwanawasa think tank would require amendment of the pact on security, stability and development yet no country has expressed to amend the pact.
“The Levy Mwanawasa Regional Center is responsible for Democracy, good governance, human rights and civic education. These functions are numerous and including the special regional facility on SGBV will overburden the centre. Besides the, the issues of SGBV may not be given adequate attention,” said Syda Bbumba, Uganda’s Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development during the ICGLR inter-ministerial meeting.
Uganda agued that to put the Special Regional facility under the Levy Mwanawasa Centre requires amending the pact on security, stability and development in the Great Lakes region, Article 34 on amendments and revision which requires a member state to propose an amendment in writing, six months.
|”In this particular case, Uganda is not aware of any country that has expressed interest to amend the pact in this direction,” Minister Bbumba said. “The Levy Mwanawasa Regional Centre is responsible for civic education, think tank, observatories and research, which strains it further in addition to other responsibilities,” she added.
Uganda observed at the meeting that as the deliberation of the special session on SGBV have pointed out, the vice poses threat on the security and development of the Great Lakes region, it is therefore important that all actors who are addressing these issues should be equipped with skills on how to prevent, end impunity and provide support to SGBV survivors.
Uganda also proposed to fast tracking the establishment of the regional training facility to address the problem. Uganda also said that the facility should enhance equitable sharing of the ICGLR centres citing the Documentation centre in DRC, ICGLR Secretariat in Burundi, Forum for Parliamentarians in Sudan and Levy Mwanawasa Centre in Zambia.
“Uganda, therefore requests the ICGLR member states for support to host this centre,” the Minister added. Sexual violence against women has been one of the main features of conflicts in the Great Lakes region, which has been used as a weapon by all sides of the conflicts: rebels groups and national armies.
It is difficult to find reliable statistics on the number of women who have been raped and sexually assaulted but crude estimates by different NGOs indicate that about 250,000 women were raped during the war and genocide in Rwanda.
No official statistics exist for Burundi and the DRC although some UN agencies and local human rights organizations working in eastern DRC estimate that between 40,000 to 60,000 women were raped between 1996 and 2002.
The massive rape cases have risen very serious public heal issues. For instance, a high number of rape victims are infected with HIV/Aids. According to Human Rights Watch 4.6 percent of combatants involved in the war in the eastern part of DRC, are HIV-positive, which means that there is a high risk of infection.
No official statistics exist for Burundi and the DRC although some UN agencies and local human rights organizations working in eastern DRC estimate that between 40,000 to 60,000 women were raped between 1996 and 2002.
The massive rape cases have risen very serious public heal issues. For instance, a high number of rape victims are infected with HIV/Aids. According to Human Rights Watch 4.6 percent of combatants involved in the war in the eastern part of DRC, are HIV-positive, which means that there is a high risk of infection.
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