WUNRN
Africa- Refugee & Internally
Displaced Women & Girls of the Great Lakes Region
The
Great Lakes Pact represents a commitment by the eleven member states of the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to work to end the
conflicts which have plagued their region, and to cooperate on security,
governance, development, humanitarian and social issues. The Pact has been
ratified by Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Kenya, The Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Angola,
Sudan and Zambia have yet to finalise the ratification process.
_____________________________________________________________
The
Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society
Publication
Date: September 2008
Direct Link to Document:
"The Rights of Women"
"Women refugees and IDPs face
many obstacles in reclaiming their property upon return. In many respects these
challenges are simply an extension of the discrimination faced by women in
non-displacement situations. In some areas in the region, for example, women
are not permitted to own land. This is the case, as an example, in Angola,
where according to customary law, land is to be left in the control of men; and
a widow risks losing the land to her husband's famiy. Such arrangements create
additional obstacles to the return of displaced women, and often encourage
exploitation and destitution."
"The Property Protocol recalls
and recommits states to progressive principles already recognised in
international law. Article 3(1)(e) of the Protocol provides as a starting
point, states must ratify and comply with the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in
Africa.".......
______________________________________________________________________
Internal Displacement Monitoring
Centre
Following
the entry into force in June 2008 of the Pact on Security, Stability and
Development in Africa’s Great Lakes region (the Great Lakes Pact), the Norwegian Refugee
Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the International
Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) released The Great Lakes Pact and
the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society.
The Guide aims to help organisations use the Great Lakes Pact to promote the
rights of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region.
Download
publication
Press
release: New guide aims to benefit millions displaced in Africa’s Great Lakes region
(19 September 2008)
New Guide Aims to Benefit Millions Displaced in Africa’s Great Lakes
Region
GENEVA, 19 September 2008: Following the entry into force in June 2008 of
the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in Africa’s Great Lakes region
(the Great Lakes Pact), the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement
Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)
today release The
Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society.
The Guide aims to help organisations use the Great Lakes Pact to promote the
rights of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region.
The Great Lakes Pact represents a commitment by the eleven member states of the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to work to end the
conflicts which have plagued their region, and to cooperate on security,
governance, development, humanitarian and social issues. The Pact has been
ratified by Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Kenya, The Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Angola,
Sudan and Zambia have yet to finalise the ratification process.
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