The Women's Peace Torch arrives today in Kampala to begin a journey of solidarity with the women of Northern Uganda. Having travelled in 2003 to more than 10 African countries in preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing with the message, "There is no sustainable development without peace," and to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the review of the Dakar Platform for Action, the Women's Peace Torch returns to Uganda to light the path of enduring peace.
Accompanied by women leaders from Kenya and Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, Regional Programme Director for UNIFEM's East and Horn of Africa Regional Office, the Women's Peace Torch will be lit to launch the Women's Peace Caravan for Uganda. The launch and lighting ceremony will take place in Constitution Square, Kampala, beginning at 10:00 a.m. today. The ceremony will include statements by representatives of local and national government, women's civil society organizations, and the international community, and will feature performances by local artists under the theme "Women of Uganda Want Peace, and Peace Needs Women." The Women's Peace Torch will be received by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the Honourable Rebecca Kadaga, and women members of Parliament. The Peace Torch will then be displayed in the Uganda Parliament building until the Women's Peace Caravan begins its trek towards Kitgum in Northern Uganda.
These activities are timed to coincide with the global commemoration of the 6th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, and the Security Council's open debate on women's roles in the consolidation of peace. The Women's Peace Caravan is being undertaken by the Civil Society Women's Peace Coalition, a group of women's organizations that have come together under the Uganda Women's Network (UWONET), with UNIFEM's support, to work towards women's participation in all aspects of the Juba peace process. The Coalition has already undertaken a series of consultations with women in Northern Uganda to gather their views on the ongoing peace process and will use these findings to develop a women's position paper on the Juba peace negotiations.
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