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Participants of a high-level conference organized by UNIFEM and the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) have issued a declaration calling for programmed increases of the proportion of women in recruitment and training for peacekeeping operations, proactive gender training programmes for peacekeepers and their organizations, integration of mission-specific gender training in pre-deployment programmes, reaffirmation and strengthening of the Zero Tolerance Policy for Acts of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and information sharing among peacekeeping contingents and troops to promote best practices in preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

The conference was held in Kigali on 28–29 March 2008, and brought together representatives from the RDF; the National Police; UN peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia; UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); and

National Defence Colleges to discuss how to increase women's participation in peacekeeping missions, and how these missions can work to prevent and respond rapidly to SGBV. The conference falls under a wider programme to strengthen the work of the RDF in combating SGBV, with particular focus on building the capacities of the Gender-Based Violence Desk at Ministry of Defence headquarters and at decentralized levels.

"One might wonder why the RDF is at the forefront of combating GBV. The RDF's mission, in conjunction with other security organs, is to protect the population," stated Chief of Staff Lt. General Charles Kayonga in his opening address. "This same spirit drives us in peacekeeping missions; whether we are in Khartoum or Darfur or the Comoros, it is as if we are in another province in Rwanda. We see the women in Khartoum, Darfur, and Comoros as our own mothers, sisters, and aunties. And we do for them as we do for our mothers and sisters back home." He appreciated the opportunity to partner with UNIFEM to end GBV, and noted the steady progress of their GBV programme.

Since its launch in September 2007, the programme has trained officers and men including battalions being prepared for Peace Mission in Sudan.

"The UN system has had the privilege of working with the National Police and the Rwandan Defence Forces to enhance prevention and protection from SGBV, mainly through the initiative of setting up GBV desks within the institutions, and training focal points to respond rapidly to cases of GBV in communities," said UNIFEM Regional Programme Director Josephine Odera in her remarks.

"The mutually reinforcing gains that these two important institutions have made have attracted attention from near and far, and UNIFEM is proud to be so closely associated with these initiatives."

"Women can improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations for the simple reason that they are not men," said the keynote speaker, Professor Gerard DeGroot of St Andrew's University, Scotland, noting that, according to research, women exhibit unique levels of self-control in violent situations that have important applications to peacekeeping. He further contended that evidence suggests that the presence of women improves an operation's chances of success.

The two-day conference also featured presentations on "Women Policing in Peacekeeping Operations" by Ms. Rakhi Sahi, the Indian Formed Police Unit Contigent Commander for the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL); on "Conduct and Ethics in Peacekeeping Missions" by Roselyn Odera, Chief of Conduct and Discipline in UNMIL; on "Implementing UN Resolution 1325" by the President of the Forum for Rwandan Women Parliamentarians (FFRP), Judith Kanakuze; and on "SGBV As a Security Issue" by RDF Brigadier General Jack Nziza.

Next steps for the partnership between UNIFEM and the RDF include high-level advocacy for the implementation of the conference declaration's recommendations at the regional level, and the operationalization and strengthening of the GBV Desk at RDF headquarters and decentralized levels in Rwanda.

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