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UN women's fund sponsors peace conference for Burundian women
18 July -- In an effort to give Burundian women a greater voice in promoting the peace process in their country, a United Nations women's rights agency has co-sponsored a conference, that brought together some 50 Burundian women delegates and observers in Arusha, Tanzania.

The four-day All-Party Burundian Women's Conference, which opened in Arusha yesterday, was convened by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) jointly with the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation to provide Burundian women with a unique opportunity to make specific recommendations regarding the peace process and its implementation.

According to UNIFEM, the participants from inside and outside the country, including refugees and displaced women, will aim to focus the attention of the negotiators on gender specific issues, with special attention on the transitional period and the implementation of the Peace Agreement. The women will formulate a set of recommendations for an agenda on reconstruction and reconciliation that will guarantee women's rights to rebuild and govern Burundian society alongside men.

The 19 Burundian political parties taking part in the Arusha Burundi Peace Negotiation nominated two women delegates each to take part in the meeting, UNIFEM said. The conference is addressing such key issues as ending impunity for gender-based war crimes and crimes against humanity; training defense and security forces to understand their responsibilities to women and children; guaranteeing women's rights in the constitution; enacting laws to assist in eliminating gender discrimination in Burundian society; and implementing a quota system to ensure that a percentage of elected representatives are women.

An estimated 65 to 85 per cent of Burundian refugees are women and children, and the impact of the conflict on Burundian women has been particularly severe, characterized by rape, killing and forced displacement, according to UNIFEM, which provides financial support and technical assistance to innovative programmes promoting women's human rights in over 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.