20 - 24 June 2011 LEMIGO HOTEL
Kigali - Rwanda

Rwanda Security Organs, the current hosts of the Kigali International Conference Secretariat, are organizing the "Africa Region Security Organs Capacity Building Workshop on Violence Against Women and Girls: Prevention, Response and Peace keeping” in Kigali, Rwanda at Lemigo Hotel from June 20th – 24th 2011.

The workshop aims to strengthen the role of African security organs in ending violence against women and girls by scaling up sensitization, capacity building and training, targeting violence against wom¬en and girls by developing standardized modules and conducting training at the regional level.

Security organ representatives from 12 Kigali International Conference signatory countries: Botswana, Burundi, Central Africa Republic (CAR), Chad, DRC Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and neighbouring countries Kenya and Tanzania will participate in this five-day workshop.

The workshop will increase the capacity of security organs to end violence against women and girls, focusing on prevention, response and peacekeeping.

The workshops will include presentations to articulate gender concepts, analysis, legal frameworks, and best practices relevant to the security organs’ context and their practical application to national and regional scenarios. Specifically, the workshop will cover the following issues:

Sensitization—To increase personnel awareness and apprecia¬tion of Security Organs on Violence against Women and Girls as a security, human rights and development issue.

Response—To strengthen security organs’ personnel capacity for faster, friendly and effective service delivery and response to survivors of Violence against Women and Girls.

Prevention—To strengthen security Organs’ Capacity for prevention of Violence against Women and Girls through Community Policing approach.

Peacekeeping –To improve Security Organs’ skills and knowledge for preventing Violence against Women and Girls in Peace Keeping missions.

Background

The Rwanda Security Organs, in partnership with ONE UN Rwanda, organized a high-level International Conference on "The Role of Security Organs in Ending Violence Against Women and Girls” in Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2010 and launched the Africa-UNiTE campaign to End Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG).

The conference brought together over 150 prominent government policy makers, Police Chiefs and other senior managers from security organs from Africa.

Rwanda was selected to launch Africa UNiTE primarily because of the role of Rwanda’s security organs have played in stopping gender based violence and offering responsive support to survivors of violence. The Kigali International Conference Declaration was adopted by 12 countries; Botswana, Burundi, Central Africa Republic (CAR), Chad, DRC Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. Subsequently the Kigali International Conference Secretariat (KIC Secretariat) an organ to follow up and implement the declaration was established. The KIC Secretariat is currently hosted by the Rwanda Security Organs and will rotate annually amoung the signatories.

For more information please www.police.gov.rw