Ms Amira M. Khair and Ms Eman Ahmed Elkhawad

Dear Eman,

Warm greetings from all of us at Isis-WICCE. We are glad that you will be
part of the 2005 Regional Exchange Institute, which will take place from 14
to 25 November 2005, in Bujumbura, Burundi. Please act and where relevant,
respond to the detailed information given below:

1. Travel Itinerary

Isis-WICCE has organised your travel and your travel schedule is as follows.
We will be sending the PTA details of the tickets to you by Friday 5th.
Please let us know if anything needs to be changed before then.

LD5VJO/DK KLANH 7BV9DK AG 89209982 21OCT
1.1KHAIR/AMIRAMMS 2.1ELKHAWAD/AHMEDEMANMS

1. KQ 321 Q 13NOV KRTNBO HK3 0345 0640 O* SU
2. KQ 470 Q 13NOV NBOBJM HK3 0730 0810 O* SU
3. KQ 471 Q 26NOV BJMNBO HK3 1350 1630 O* SA
4. KQ 320 K 26NOV NBOKRT HL3 1720 2010 SA
** VENDOR LOCATOR DATA EXISTS ** >*VL^
FONE-KLAT*341 481/254 664 DOVE TRS REF DAVID
2. KLAB*041 543 953 CTC HARRIET/IRENE ISIS


2. Report format

As you are aware, you drew up plans of action at the close of last year's
institute, and you have been implementing these in your country group. We
therefore request that your country report format is along these lines.
This report will also be presented during the institute.

a) a brief background to the armed conflict
b)Identifying the human rights issue being violated in the armed conflict
situation
c) identification of the human rights instrument being violated
d) the perpetrators i.e who is responsible
e) how the violation has affected women in particular
f) Some case studies, testimonies or detailed stories of the female
survivors
g) What peace building activities can the country group engage in as
intervention mechanisms into the above realities
on the ground?
h) please bring pictorials where applicable for the violations/ documented
case studies.

3. Visas and vaccination

We hope you have been able to trace the Burundi embassy in your country to
be able to acquire the entry visas into Burundi. If there is a visa fee,
please go ahead and pay for the visa, but retain the original receipt to
ease reimbursement of the costs by Isis-WICCE while in Burundi.

Please ensure that you all have your vaccination certificates with you as
part of your travel documents, as Burundi is one of the very strict
countries on these certificates.

4. Concept paper: Please receive the attached working paper for the 2005
Institute

We look forward to being with you all.

Kind regards


Harriet N. Musoke
For & On Behalf of the
Isis-WICCE Team

_____________ attached working paper for the 2005
Institute
___________


WORKING PAPER OF THE 2004/5 REGIONAL EXCHANGE INSTITUTE

14-25 November 2005, Bujumbura, Burundi

An activity of Isis-WICCE (Uganda), held in collaboration with the Search for
Common Ground (SFCG-Burundi)

PREAMBLE:

The theme for the Regional Exchange Institute (REPI) of 2005 is: Women Building Peace and Good Neighborliness in the Great Lakes Region. The aim is to:

i. To empower women with the skills that enable them to be effective leaders and advocates of their communities.

ii. To promote the skill of documentation among women in situations of armed conflict, as a way of providing them with tools for advocating for social justice, and encouraging women's participation in peace building.

iii. To demystify human rights issues for women in situations of armed conflict, and empower them with the knowledge and skills to demand for their promotion and protection.

iv. To facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences as a way of strengthening women’s capacity to address abuses of women's human rights, and build a culture of peace.

BACKGROUND:

The countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa that is, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and Uganda, have been afflicted by civil strife and wars for many years. The results have included generations of citizens whose minds are militarized, and who do not know what it is like to have peace and stability, the acceptance of civil strife as a “normal” way of living, and the perpetuation of a culture of war. It has also increased human rights abuses by the state and armed rebels, as well violence in the home and in the community.

Many peace initiatives have been attempted by the United Nations (Burundi, Congo, and Rwanda), and the Organisation of African Unity (Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan), and even by concerned neighbouring countries. These have involved the national leaders, as well as other statesmen. The token number of women that has been involved has been haphazardly selected from the top echelons of government, and their impact has not been significant. As a result, peace still eludes the region.

Since women bear the brunt of the violence that results from armed conflict, whether that violence takes place in the privacy of the home, out in the community, or over all the nation, they are major stakeholders in any initiative to build peace in the sub-region. Moreover, women hold the family and community together while armed conflict rages on, and the men who take part in the armed conflict are sons, partners, uncles or parents of women. Therefore, women are in a strong position to build peace if their capacity is built holistically. Yet their energy and strategies still remain undervalued and under-utilised.

Isis-WICCE believes that given the right tools, women can make a difference in their homes, communities, and the whole region. The international community as well as civil society organizations also emphasized the need to involve women in the whole peace process during the review of the Beijing Platform of Action in New York in the year 2000. At the conference called Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century, the Outcomes Document called on the United Nations, as well as international and regional organizations to “…ensure and support the full participation of women at all levels of decision making and implementation in development activities and peace processes, including conflict prevention and resolution, post-conflict reconstruction, peace-making peace-keeping, and peace-building...” (Para.122b).

However, Isis-WICCE is also aware that justice, respect for human rights, physical and psychological well-being, and relationship building, precede the quest for any meaningful peace in the region. These must be true for both women and men in society. Therefore, the organization now runs a project that brings women together annually from the seven countries to learn together, share country experiences, exchange coping mechanisms, build relationships, and support one another’s projects aimed at building sustainable peace.

THE INSTITUTE PROCESS:

The Regional Exchange Institute is a two-year training process, and started in September, 2004, in Kampala, Uganda. Twenty-eight women attended from the seven countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa. The training in the first year covered the following areas: Human Rights in situations of armed conflict: International Humanitarian Law: Psychological and mental health issues, and their management in situations of armed conflict.

As a result of the training, participants developed plans of action on documenting identified and specific gender based violations in an armed conflict situation in their countries. The documented studies which will be submitted during the November, 2005, training will be useful background for women and grassroots’ engagement into peace work in their countries, as well as lobbying and advocacy for sustainable peace in the region.

This year’s training is expected to take place in Bujumbura, Burundi, from Monday 14 to Friday 25 November, 2005. It is a collaborative effort between Isis-WICCE (Uganda) and the Search for Common Ground (SFCG-Burundi). The training is expected to cover the following issues: Conflict Analysis, Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution; Trauma Management, as well as Networking and Advocacy. These training modules will be accompanied by a field visit and participation in one-day Women to Women Solidarity Visit.

It is hoped that through such training and exposure visits, Isis-WICCE will contribute towards empowering the women of the Great Lakes Region to participate effectively in the various formal peace processes in the region.

_________________________________________________________________________
Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE)
Plot 23 Bukoto Street, Kamwokya
P.O Box 4934 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-543953 Fax: 256-41-543954
E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.isis.or.ug