One of the key mandate of UNESCO is to assist Member States in promoting women’s participation in post conflict resolution, democratization and governance in the Great Lakes region.

This website aims to share information about progress made in the nine Great Lakes region countries in Africa of Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic and Zambia, in implementing major regional and international Declarations and Resolutions intended for promotion of rights and status of women living in the Great lakes region.

News

Seven women appointed to Burundi's new government

Burundi’s new government, led by president Pierre Nkurunziza, has a woman as one of the two vice presidents. Seven women ministers have also been appointed, in accordance with a requirement in the new constitution that at least 30 percent of personnel in all levels of government be women.

Kenya's New Constitution on the Protection of Women's Rights

Kenya’s new Constitution, to be put through a national referendum in November 2005, embraces women in a gender sensitive manner. It talks of the commitment to full participation of women, and the implementation of the principle that not more than two thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. The Bill further provides an opportunity for women and men to have an equal right to inherit, have access to and manage property. More from the newsletter.

Empowerment of Women in the Great Lakes Region

During the thirty-second General Conference, UNESCO was called upon to strengthen its actions in favour of women and children living in conflict zones. Further to this request and in pursuance of the objectives of facilitating social transformations based on the universal values of justice, freedom and human dignity, the Social and Human Sciences sector (SHS) initiated a programme of action to promote the human rights and status of women living in the Great Lakes region in Africa. Within this context, a consultation workshop was organized in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 30 May – 1 June 2005, whose purpose was to bring together policy and decision makers, academics and other specialists on women and gender issues, and representatives of women’s NGOs from the Great Lakes Region to discuss their priorities and needs in the social and human sciences and to agree on a plan of action for gender equality and development. More from the newsletter.

12,500 Girls members of DRC Armed Groups - NGO Report

Download the full report (pdf)

According to Save the Children Fund, an NGO, some 12,500 girls currently belong to government and non-government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There situation is not made any better by a programme put in place to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate all militias into society.

In its August 2005 report, titled "Forgotten Casualties of War", the NGO says that many girls did not want to be in the disarmament and reintegration process. It said they did not see themselves as "child soldiers", but as "wives" or camp followers and, therefore, were not entitled to demobilisation and reintegration benefits.

The disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process, it said, acted to alert communities that girls were involved with armed groups, thereby giving rise to community rejection of them. Girls have reported that community members have assumed them to have been sexually abused and were, therefore, carriers of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. As a result, they were seen as having "lost their value" to their communities.

In the DRC, fewer than 2 percent of girls in armed groups pass through Save the Children’s reintegration programme. Therefore, in its report, the NGO called on the international community to fund the release of children from armed groups, outside formal DDR programmes.

It also recommended that all states ratify, enforce, monitor and report on international treaties to protect children, particularly the UN Convention on the Child’s Rights.

Like boys, girls take active part in fighting and engage in non-combat duties such as portering, cleaning, providing medical assistance and gathering information. Members of armed groups sexually violate most of them, according to the report, and a commander would often take a number of girls as "wives" - in effect, as sexual possessions.