Representatives of 12 regional countries who constitute the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) have signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence.

The agreement was signed on the margins of the ongoing 69th UN General Assembly in New York, US, on Tuesday.

The agreement will guide collaboration between the two bodies in areas such as combating impunity, ensuring services for survivors, and strengthening national policies, legislation and the capacity of institutions working on sexual violence.

The agreement said much as the national governments of the member states had directed efforts towards ending the vice, sexual violence remains a significant problem in the region.

It was signed by UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence, Zainab Hawa Bangura, and the Executive Secretary of the ICGLR, Prof. Alphonse Ntumba Luaba, in the presence of member country representatives.

Bangura said national ownership and regional cooperation are basics in the fight to end sexual-related violence in the Great Lakes region.

"The fight to end sexual violence will not be won without the full commitment and leadership of national governments in countries where these crimes occur,” Bangura said.

"Our cooperation with ICGLR will help galvanise ongoing national efforts, and ensure regional action to address this issue,”

The ICGLR comprises Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, DR Congo and Kenya. Others are Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

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