11 07 13 UN News Center: UN Great Lakes envoy convenes Burundi conference on women's engagement in peace process

“We are showing that womenv's leadership matters
and must be at the heart of the Framework of Hope,” Mary Robinson, UN Special
Envoy for the Great Lakes said in her remarks to the Regional Conference on
Women Peace, Security and Development in the region, which opened yesterday in
the Burundian capital of Bujumbura,
and which closes tomorrow.

Approximately 100 women,
including four ministers from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), Rwanda and Uganda are taking part in a regional conference aimed to
support the implementation of the “Framework of Hope” and Security Council
resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, an event organized by Mrs.
Robinson, the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and
the NGO Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS).

Mrs. Robinson noted some
objectives of the regional conference, including the establishment of a Donor's
Group, which will commit to giving particular support through accessible
funding to Women's Great Lakes Platform Projects. The “Framework of Hope” which
is formally known as the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC
and the Region was signed in February 2013 by 11 African countries.

At Tuesday's opening
ceremony, Mrs. Robinson said she considered it a “moment of great hope and
expectation” in her vision for her mandate as Special Envoy. “From the
beginning, I have wanted to do it differently, to work both top down with Heads
of State of the 11 countries, and the four institutions that are guarantors of
the Framework…and bottom-up with the peoples of the Region who must be the real
beneficiaries”, she stressed, alluding to women's role.

The event was chaired by
the President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, who stressed that women's
participation in peace initiatives is a reality in the region. He reminded ICGLR State
members of mechanisms put in place to ensure that women's contribution
regarding the respect and implementation of agreements signed by parties is
taken into consideration.

For her part, Valerie
Trierweiler, of France,
expressed solidarity towards Great Lakes
region women that are victim of violence. “In May, I was invited by the UN for
a meeting in Geneva
on Human Rights focusing 'rape as a war weapon'. And today I am here with you
with a simple message: violence against women must stop”.

Ms. Trierweiler also
called for international donors' solidarity for the region, particularly for
“children education, youth insertion and women”.