Speaking at 10th anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution on women, peace and security in New York last week, Mr Eriya Kategaya said Uganda is committed to strengthening collaboration on enhancing women's participation and empowerment in conflict prevention, mediation, and resolution.
“As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of Resolution 1325, Uganda will move beyond the reaffirmation of our common commitment to the implementation of the resolution and make strong, time-bound and measurable commitments for action, ” Mr Kategaya said.
“It is essential to empower women to enable them effectively participate in issues of peace, security and development,” he said. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 seeks to protect women from violence, particularly sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.
It recognises that despite being most affected by conflict, fewer women are taking part in post-conflict recovery in many post war countries, including Uganda.
In the course of the 20-year war in northern Uganda, which displaced over 1.7 million people, gross human rights abuses, including raping of women, brutally mutilating innocent civilians and forcefully conscripting children into rebel ranks was experienced.
Mr Kategaya said in the next five years, Uganda will develop a comprehensive national policy on gender-based violence to guide prevention and responses in all situations, including in the humanitarian and development contexts.
“We shall establish sustainable and integrated systems of collecting data on gender-based violence and improve access to justice for victims,” he said.
