Luanda - A high-level regional forum of women of the African continent takes place Friday and Saturday in Angolan capital, Luanda, under an initiative of the country’s President, João Lourenço, to discuss mainly the crisis in the Great Lakes region, with emphasis on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The event will focus on strengthening women's participation and leadership in peace and security processes in the DRC and the Great Lakes region.
Facilitated by the African Union through the Office of the Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, the forum aims to promote dialogue and collaboration, as well as achieve a holistic approach and effective implementation of the "Women, Peace and Security Agenda", integrating perspectives gender in policies and programs in the region.
The African Union has said it recognizes that women's participation and leadership must be considered a primary element in the quest for peace and security on the continent, in recognition of their importance as equal partners in peace, security, governance and sustainable development.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda presents a comprehensive approach to gender mainstreaming in peace and security to ensure women's participation in conflict prevention, resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.
Bineta Diop, special envoy of the chair of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, cited on the AU website, highlighted the continental organization's commitment to ensure that women's voices are heard and taken into account in preventing conflicts and in building peace.
The AU special envoy underlined that the “Women, Peace and Security Agenda” is a gender mainstreaming approach that aims to promote the inclusion of women as active participants in peacekeeping and to ensure their integration of gender perspectives into the peace and security agenda at national, regional and continental level.
The forum will bring together delegates from 12 Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), gender ministers or their representatives, members of the Network of African Women Leaders, FemWise Africa, the Women's Agenda Advisory Board, Peace and Security", as well as representatives from the Regional Peace and Security Oversight Mechanism and the East African and Southern African Development (SADC) communities.
Representatives of agencies of the United Nations system, heads of diplomatic missions, representatives of religious institutions, academics, among others, will also attend the meeting.
The Third African High-Level Forum on Women, Peace and Security held in December last year, recommended greater attention to the crises in the DRC and the Great Lakes region, and requested the African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security to support initiatives aimed at promoting the role of women in regional peace building initiatives. ART/TED/AMP
