Women and PeaceBuilding in the Great Lakes Region
On June 4th, 2013, the Permanent Mission of Ireland organized and hosted a High Level Panel discussion on Women and Peacebuilding in the Great Lakes region, with the participation of Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Mary Robinson; Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura; Development Minister of Ireland Joe Costello and women's civil society leader and Ugandan lawyer and peacebuilder Lina Zedriga.
Robinson focused on asking for support from member states and civil society to ensure the pressure and action needed to implement the February 24th Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework. Robinson referred to the framework as a “Framework of Hope” highlighting the importance of civil society input and collaboration with the UN's efforts to prevent and end violence against women in the region and most particularly in DRC.