The conference was organized by the ICGLR with support from UNIFEM, and was attended by representatives from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. The participants agreed on a number of recommendations, including that national women’s forums should be established in the ICGLR countries to provide a platform for involvement in conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding.

The recommendations of the workshop included that national women’s forums should be established in the ICGLR countries, as well as a regional forum, to provide a platform for involvement in conflict prevention, mediation and peace building. Women should be part of the ICGLR observer missions for elections in the Great Lakes Region, particularly for the elections in Burundi and Rwanda this year, and the ICGLR Secretariat should organize trainings to prepare women delegations for participation in negotiations and peace building.

The training was organized in line with the aims of the ICGLR Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region and UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. At the end of the workshop, the women leaders committed to communicating the message of conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding, particularly to grass roots populations, and to actively contribute to sustaining peace in pre- and post-election periods.

For more information, contact Ms. Barbara Albrecht, Programme Analyst, UNIFEM Central Africa Sub-Regional Office, barbara.albrecht[at]unifem.org, or Ms. Marie Josée Kandanga, UNIFEM Burundi Country Office, marie.josee.kandanga[at]unifem.org.