KAMPALA — The Rotary Peace Centre at Makerere University with support from the Norwegian Government has lectured security chiefs from the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) and Uganda Police Force (UPF) on the importance of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
The security chiefs were schooled during a two day training held at Central Teaching Facility 1 (CTF1).
Dr Josephine Ahikire the
Principal of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), whi opened the training said it was aimed at raising awareness and strengthening the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the country.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 was adopted on October 31, 2000, out of increasing concern over the lack of protection of women in situations of armed conflict.
This resolution was adopted with the conviction that conflicts affect women and girls differently compared to men (Coalition for Action on 1325 & UN Women, 2016).
The resolution calls for the participation of women at all levels of prevention, conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction, peacekeeping and decision making for sustained peace and security”
It further calls on member states to protect women and girls from sexual violence in all its forms in situations of
conflict (UNSCR, 1325) while increasing women participation in peace operations.
Despite the fact that Uganda ratified the UNSCR 1325 and has made strides in placing women at strategic ends “to promote women’s visibility, representation and participation in decision-making in its National Action Plan, there is a significant dearth of women at decision making level.
In spite of the deliberate effort to include women in political and security frameworks, the reality on the ground is quite different. There is persistent violation of the fundamental human rights of women and girls in “situations of armed conflict, in particular murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy, these have been documented in virtually all parts of Uganda that have experienced armed conflict” (Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, 2008).
These human rights violations have been exacerbated by the diminishing representation of women in their demands for redress.
