Bujumbura — UNIFEM and the Government of Burundi have launched a Joint Programme on Preventing Gender-Based Violence and HIV/AIDS at a workshop that was held in Bujumbura on 2-3 October 2006, with support from the Norwegian government. The programme, developed by UNIFEM and UNFPA, will cover the Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu province, northern and eastern Burundi, and northern Uganda, with a focus on cross-border issues. The workshop's objectives were to share information, best practices and strategies for addressing sexual and gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS in the three countries; to enhance the capacities of UNIFEM partners on the use of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines on GBV interventions in humanitarian settings; to set up a regional workplan based on identified regional joint actions and cross-border gaps regarding gender-based violence and HIV and agree on mechanisms for implementation of the Action Plan.
UNIFEM Regional Programme Director for Central Africa Dr. Josephine Odera welcomed participants from the three countries to the workshop, and invited them to identify key regional activities and strategies to be implemented jointly to contribute to the prevention of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS, and to share related best practices.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Barnabe Mbonimpa, Minister in the President's Office in charge of HIV/AIDS, affirmed the government's commitment to respond to HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence through various activities to sensitize communities, provide requisite health care, and sanction the spread of HIV through sexual violence. "These projects are a cross-border approach to reducing the transmission of HIV/AIDS and levels of gender-based violence," he added.
The countries within the Great Lakes region are all affected by HIV/AIDS. The province of South Kivu in DRC, western Burundi and the Northern Uganda are among those still suffering the consequences of war, poverty, increased gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS, in addition to very weak basic social infrastructures. The fluid movement of populations within the region of South Kivu and western Burundi, the erosion of social structures and the vulnerability to sexual violence all heighten the risk factors.
"Despite increased efforts, the international community has not been able to prevent acts of violence against women and girls. States and non-state actors are responsible for violations of women's human rights, including killings, abductions, rape, sexual torture and slavery," stated Ms. Hodan Addou, UNIFEM Regional Peace and Security Advisor for Africa, in her presentation on "Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Settings." She added that sexual violence and rape are often used as a weapon of war to torture and subjugate women and to tear apart social and familiar structures. Sexual exploitation, particularly of women and children, tends to increase in conflict situations, leading to the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV.
"The project is one of those solutions which will ensure that women have a fundamental right as citizens to participation, and even an obligation to contribute towards the development of their nations, which includes the search for peace and security," stated UNIFEM Programme Specialist Ms. Mary Mbeo in closing remarks on behalf of Ms. Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, UNIFEM Regional Programme Director for East and Horn of Africa. She added that the UN Security Council resolution 1325 prioritizes the protection of women and girls from GBV. She also emphasized that UNIFEM is committed to strengthening the IASC guidelines to enable humanitarian actors and communities to plan, establish, and coordinate a set of minimum multisectoral interventions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence during the early phases of an emergency.
For more information, please contact:
Irene Zirimwabagabo, irene.zirimwabagabo@unifem.org, +250 590468; or Roselyn Gicira, roselyn.gicira@unifem.org, +254 20-7624725.