Uganda: Women Missing in Conflict Resolution
By: Evelyn Lirri

July 6, 2006 - (The Monitor) Despite successful efforts to bring peace to conflict areas, women have not been active participants in the process, a report by the International Crisis Group indicates. ICG is a Brussels-based non-governmental organisation working towards preventing and resolving conflict worldwide.The report says women are often times excluded from peace agreements and conflict resolution processes and under-represented in the security sector as a whole. "Peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction and governance work are better when women peace activists are involved," the report says.

The report, "Beyond Victimhood: Women's Peace building in Uganda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo," released on June 28 says governments and the international community must do much more to support women peace activists. The report covers issues of conflict resolution, peace building, human rights and justice, domestic violence against women and access to basic needs including health, shelter and education.

ICG says that while some women in the conflict areas of Uganda, Sudan and DRC have been involved in informal conflict resolution mechanisms, many have remained marginalised in formal peace processes and post-conflict governance, thus little has been done to address problems that particularly affect women and girls. ICG says that involving more women in conflict resolution processes would mean having a more inclusive approach towards security and addressing key social and economic issues that would have otherwise been ignored.

The report adds that despite the difficult circumstances under which women operate, women leaders are doing a remarkable job. It singles out Uganda, which it says "has by far the most advanced, articulate and organised women's peace movement of the three conflict affected countries." ICG says governments should consult with local women to design, implement and monitor budgets, policies and programmes that promote women's rights including making education and training accessible to women and girls caught up in conflict areas. The report says that the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 reaffirmed the role of women in preventing conflicts and mandates UN member states to increase women's participation in decision making.

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200607060696.html