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RESOLUTION 1325
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Congolese
Women Advocate for Participation in the Inter-Congolese Dialogues
Using UNSC Resolution 1325
Bibiane Tshefu and PeaceWomen team, 1325 E-Newsletter, 10th Edition,
4 October 2002
The profile of Aningina Tshefu Bibiane reveals
a woman who, through her activities in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and elsewhere, has become a strong advocate for Resolution
1325, struggling for women’s inclusion and active participation
in the peace process in DRC. Bibiane is not alone, however; there
are many women in DRC like Bibiane who are committed to implementing
1325 and ensuring women a place at the peace table.
The accomplishments of women in the DRC towards implementation of
Resolution 1325, that are described here, have taken place despite
huge barriers. Within the government, and among the participants in
the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, there is still little awareness about
Resolution 1325. There continues to be a serious lack of political
will among the principal players in the peace negotiations, for whom
the inclusion of women is simply not a priority. In addition to their
direct exclusion from the negotiations, Congolese women face other
kind of constraints including limited funding, limited access to information,
and technological resources, a lack of media coverage, and a lack
of dialogue and information sharing among Congolese women, due to
tensions between women in government and civil society.
Below is a list, compiled with the help of Bibiane, of some of the
concrete actions Congolese women have taken to implement Resolution
1325:
1. Women as Partners for Peace in Africa DRC chapter (WOPPA-DRC) and
Femmes Afrique Solidarite (FAS) organized the Nairobi Training Workshop
to build Congolese women’s capacity for and technique of negotiation
in preparation for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City, and to
harmonize the views of women from all sides in order to engender the
peace process. The organizers distributed Resolution 1325 in pamphlet
form to all of the participants (Nairobi, Kenya, 15-19th, February
2002).
(For the Nairobi Declaration, released by the participants of the
Workshop, go to http://www.peacewomen.org/campaigns/featured/drc/NAIROBI%20DEC.html
)
2. Women distributed copies of 1325 and the Nairobi Declaration to
all the delegates and experts –both men and women- at the Inter-Congolese
dialogue (pamphlets and Nairobi Declaration were placed in every delegate’s
dossier) (Sun City, South Africa, March-April 2002).
3. Members of the Congolese Women’s Caucus, an initiative of
the Nairobi Workshop and Nairobi Declaration, participated in a debate
on national TV and a debate on a UN radio station called “Dialogue
between the Congolese” addressing the contribution of the Congolese
Women’s Caucus in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, raising awareness
about Resolution 1325, and advocating for the use of 1325 as an instrument
for women’s participation in the peace process (May-September,
2002, Kinshasa, DRC).
4. The Congolese Coalition of Protestant Women held a 3-day conference
about the contribution of women in the peace process, including a
workshop about 1325 where they distributed copies of the resolution
to all participants (September 2002, Kinshasa, DRC).
5. Based on the demands of women at the grassroots level, Resolution
1325 and the Nairobi Declaration have recently been translated into
the four local languages (an initiative of the UN peacekeeping mission
in DRC-MONUC -and in collaboration with the DRC Ministry of Culture).
6. WOPPA-DRC wrote to UN agencies, USAID, foreign embassies and other
international organizations to request funding to support women’s
participation at the peace table.
7. Congolese women in collaboration with MONUC gender advisor’s
office of have had frequent informal meetings with young women to
encourage them to organize and be instruments of change in their communities,
and to be part of the peace process.
8. Women and men leaders of civil society, in collaboration with MONUC
gender advisor’s office, organized a meeting to discuss how to
move forward with the peace process and how women and men can work
together in partnership (Kinshasa, DRC, August 2002).
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