Next July 16th and 17th we will host in Kinshasa (DRC) the International Congress “Conflict Mediation and Peace Building: Strengthening the Role of Women”.
On July 16th and 17th, Kinshasa will host the international congress “Conflict Mediation and Peace Building: Strengthening the Role of Women”. This event, organized in collaboration with Pélagie Muhigirwa Foundation which lead Caddy Adzuba, jurist, journalist and activist, is supported by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and financed by the Basque Agency for Cooperation.
Context:
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, as in many places torn by conflict, women are subjected to extremely high levels of violence. In this context, it is often women themselves who play a crucial role as mediators in preventing violence, mitigating conflict and insecurity in their communities.
It is therefore essential to deepen women’s experiences at the local, regional and national levels, not only to better understand the context of violence to which they are exposed, but also to find real and concrete solutions that support and reinforce their role as key mediators in strengthening social and community harmony.
Recognizing the importance of women-led mediation to end violence in conflict zones, the Women for Africa Foundation has worked intensively with the Foundation Pélagie MUHIGIRWA / FPM to mobilize communities and governmental and military actors, exchange and document experiences, and with UNAOC through a joint initiative, the Alliance of Women for Peace, on various training programs aimed at strengthening the role of about fifty women mediators in three regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and promoting networking with other women mediators in Mali and the Central African Republic.
Within the framework of the project “Women united against sexual violence in armed conflicts”, led by the Women for Africa Foundation (based in Spain) and the Pélagie Muhigirwa Foundation “FPM” (based in DR Congo) with the financial support of the Basque Cooperation Agency, 40 African women leaders met in the city of Bukavu in May 2023, and then in Kinshasa in July 2023 to follow a training course on negotiation, conflict management and mediation, and personal development as actors in peacemaking and violence reduction. These meetings also provided an opportunity for African women from the three countries participating in the project (Mali, CAR, DRC) to share their experiences of conflict and violence situations and the mediation activities of women’s organizations in their respective countries. This exercise then allowed them to work together to define concrete actions to be undertaken, in line with existing agendas and resolutions, in particular the “Women, Peace and Security” Agenda of the United Nations Security Council and the “women and mediation” pillar of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).
International Congress “Conflict Mediation and Peacebuilding: Strengthening the Role of Women”
The international congress will address crucial issues related to the role of women mediators in conflict resolution, the fight against violence, disarmament and peacebuilding. Through their mediation work, especially at the local level, women mediators rebuild the social fabric destroyed by decades of conflict and help prevent the resurgence of violence.
This conference will present both the experiences gathered in the DRC during the period 2023-2024, as well as the relevance of the work carried out in other countries such as Mali and CAR in the framework of the collaboration between the Women for Africa Foundation and the support of the Women’s Alliance for Peace jointly established in 2020 by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the Foundation.
Women’s organizations play an essential role in documenting, investigating and reporting crimes, as well as in assisting survivors. This calls for urgent action and international initiatives to clearly and decisively value and strengthen the role of women mediators, starting at the community level, but taking into account the importance of women’s presence at all levels of mediation. The congress will recognize that the inclusion of women as mediators in conflict resolution and the fight against violence against women in armed conflict are pillars of the UN Security Council’s “Women, Peace and Security” agenda. Participants will therefore examine the links between these realities, focusing on what women have to say as protagonists and actors in the fight against violence and in peacebuilding, but also as victims of violence.
Congress Program
The congress will bring together approximately 80 participants, including members of the DRC government, representatives of the Spanish Embassy in the DRC, the Ambassador of the European Union in the DRC, members of the Congolese army, specialists in mediation and the fight against violence against women, representatives of the United Nations, members of the UNAOC Women’s Alliance for Peace, representatives of the Women for Africa Foundation and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tuesday, July 16:
– Inaugural session
– “Women’s Alliance for Peace in Africa” Program: The Role of Women Mediators
– Panel “At the core of peace policies: the role of women mediators”.
– Panel “Mediation: an alternative to violence against women”
– Panel “Mediation promoted by women in Africa”.
– Panel “Mediation promoted by women: national experiences and best practices (Mali, DRC, CAR)”
Wednesday, July 17:
– Panel “Promoting mediation: mobilizing the media for peace”.
– Working group and development of roadmaps
– Presentation of national strategies and development of the network of women mediators.
– Donor round table
– Closing of the conference
The “Women, Peace and Security” area is one of the Foundation’s most important and this congress represents a crucial step in the consolidation of peace and the fight against gender-based violence in conflict contexts.