Women (Burundi)

“For the first time ever, we sit together, women politicians and activists, and talk about what we can do together. It is big and so important.”
Chou Chou Namegabe, Association des Femmes des Médias

L’un des résultats positifs des processus de paix et des transitions politiques dans la région des Grands Lacs en Afrique ces dix à quinze dernières années, a été la représentation et la participation accrues des femmes dans l’arène politique et dans la sphère publique. Cette avancée majeure pour les femmes a été obtenue essentiellement par l’adoption de systèmes de quotas et par la cooptation.

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At the start of an important conference on the future of Burundi, an elected delegation of Burundian women’s rights activists put forth concrete policy recommendations on development, gender equality, economic empowerment and peacebuilding priorities for their country.

Ce rapport examine la participation des femmes dans le processus de paix d’Arusha pour le Burundi, en particulier la manière dont les femmes Burundaises sont parvenues, malgré leur faible représentation à la table des négociations, à faire inclure un certain nombre de dispositions favorables aux droits des femmes et au  principe de l’égalité des sexes dans le texte de l’Accord de paix signé en 2000.

A la conquête de la parole : La participation des femmes dans la transition démocratique au Burundi

The Great Lakes region has in the last ten to fifteen years seen an increase in women’s representation and involvement in politics and the public sphere, a positive outcome of the region’s peace processes and political transitions.

FRANÇAIS

International Alert is proud to present a new documentary film from our programme in Burundi, in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Our Voices presents the views of Burundian women about what is needed to foster peace and development in the country.

Burundi emerged from more than a decade of civil war in 2005. During the conflict, over 300,000 people lost their lives and more than 1 million Burundians were forced to flee their homes.

Location

This project supporting women peacebuilders follows on from a programme in which Alert supported a number of women’s groups in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The resolution mandates greater protection of women in conflict situations, particularly through the greater participation of women in peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

International Alert recently attended the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which undertook a 15-year review and appraisal of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA).

In partnership with the Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), Alert organised a panel discussion to present the preliminary results of a joint research project on the nature and impact of women’s political participation currently being carried out in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

This article by Alert's Director of Programmes Phil Vernon is a reply to Oliver Richmond’s ‘Liberal Peace Transitions' for Open Democracy.

International Alert supports a series of small post-conflict initiatives in Burundi. And some of the values that motivate these are also dear to the liberal hearts of the international community.

Since May 2010, Burundi has embarked in a marathon electoral season, with five successive elections (at district, presidential, legislative, and village level) over a period of five months.

In the district elections on May 24th, the ruling party won a landslide victory. Despite some minor irregularities, international and national election observers stated the elections were largely fair, while opposition parties claimed they were fraudulent and withdrew from the election process.

Set up during 2006 with peacebuilding as its sole objective, the UN Peacebuilding Commission has the potential to use its intergovernmental voice to focus attention on the factors that could drive a renewal of conflict. In this light, Alert submitted recommendations in late 2006 on how the PBC could most effectively orientate its short and long-term support to the process of improving security and sustaining peace, for men and women, in Burundi. More widely, this publication also looks at the main challenges for the PBC and how it should focus its activities.

Recommendations

This is the report of a consultation workshop jointly organised by International Alert and the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) in partnership with the Women and Gender Studies Department at Makerere University. The workshop is part of a regional research project aimed at assessing the impact of women’s political participation in countries emerging from conflict in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Full report

Women peacebuilders in various conflict-affected countries face very similar challenges as they attempt to integrate women’s interests in peacebuilding policy processes and civil society actors from different countries can potentially learn a lot from exchanging experiences with each other. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of a workshop with representatives from Burundian and Sierra Leonean civil society organisations working in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment organised by International Alert on 25th to 29th February 2008.

Full report