Andris Piebalgs, Member of the European Commission responsible for Development, is delighted by the launch of this new initiative and states: “This new initiative should make a difference in the lives of women in the DRC. It is unacceptable that so many young girls and women are still victims of violence that goes unpunished and have no access to education. Moreover, any sustainable development is inconceivable without the participation of all stakeholders in our partner countries and we must not forget that women are at the heart of growth in Africa.”

To help with the adoption of a new approach to relations between men and women which hopes to create a more harmonious and prosperous society in the DRC, whilst combatting gender-based violence effectively, the project aims to increase the percentage of children with proper access to education to at least 70 % in the provinces of Kinshasa and Bandundu.

The initiative also aims to increase the capacity of the units in the Congolese national police force specialised in combatting violence against young girls and women in Kinshasa, Bandundu and Maniema. This will help to provide a contact point where victims and witnesses of violence can seek guidance, so that the guilty parties can be prosecuted and their violent crimes will not go unpunished. This approach can in future be extended to the rest of the country.

This programme should make it possible to tackle the roots of the problem by encouraging a new perception of the roles of women and men in society. By turning men as well as women into instruments of change, the initiative will have a better chance of success in the long term.

This initiative will be launched together with UNICEF and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, as well as with the support of the Congolese Government.

“We remain concerned about the situation of civilians in the area of conflict,” the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

“Access to the area is not possible for humanitarian agencies, and conditions of those who do not make it across to Uganda are unclear. It takes refugees from the Kamango area around 12 hours to walk to the Ugandan border.”

Tens of thousands of refugees first began pouring into western Uganda after fighting erupted between Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group, and DRC national troops (FARDC) in Kamango on 11 July. The Bubukwanga transit centre, which is some 25 kilometres inland from the border, is now home to over 15,000 refugees, 60 per cent of whom are under the age of 18.

“Our site planner has now assessed that this is its maximum capacity, even though the previous estimates had indicated that it could house 25,000,” Edwards said.

“Many refugees brought their animals with them from DRC and are sleeping in their tents with their ducks and goats, increasing the risk of disease in the transit centre. The emergency response will be shifting its focus on decongesting the transit centre as of this week,” he added.

The Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister has pledged to begin electronic registration using biometrics by the end of the week so they can quickly begin moving refugees – if they wish – to the Kyangwali refugee settlement for longer term protection and assistance. There they will be given plots of land to farm, as well as basic household items, Edwards said.

UNHCR staff at Bubukwanga have also been checking for cases of sexual and gender-based violence among vulnerable people arriving in the camp. Mr. Edwards said they have found no evidence so far, but added that the agency and its partners are still considering sending experts on the issue, as well as on child protection to the camp.

Meanwhile, the agency reported that fighting between Government forces and the armed group known as M23 has continued in the North Kivu capital, Goma, with no signs of ending.

When the latest round of fighting erupted last week, some 660 civilians fled to neighbouring Rwanda and about 4,200 people sought shelter at schools and churches in Goma. There has been no sign of further mass displacement, UNHCR said.

“It is my earnest hope that the Framework will lead to an era of peace and stability for the peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today at the signing ceremony in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

He stressed that the signing is a significant event, but only the beginning of a “comprehensive approach that will require sustained engagement.”

Eleven African countries – Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania – signed the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region.

By doing so, they agree to preserve and protect the territorial sovereignty, as well as the peace and stability, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Ban said.

The UN, the African Union, the 11-country International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, and the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) act as guarantors. A UN Special Envoy is expected to be appointed to support the Framework’s implementation.

The Secretary-General said he had been deeply disturbed by the violence that erupted in April last year in eastern part of the country when the M23 – made up of former national army troops – mutinied. Clashes between the fighters from the M23 and the DRC’s national army (FARDC) displaced nearly a million people in North Kivu, and in recent weeks, more than 300,000 people have been displaced by additional fighting in the south-eastern province of Katanga.

Following today’s signing, Mr. Ban stressed that the regional partners must act on the commitments and oversight mechanisms which aim at addressing key national and regional issues.

“I therefore call for your sustained political, technical and financial support, especially over the long-term, to accompany the implementation of the national and regional commitments outlined in the Framework,” Mr. Ban said.

He urged the participating members to meet at least twice a year, on the sidelines of the AU Summits and in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly held annually in September in New York, to review progress on the implementation of the Framework and agree on the way forward.

“Your active participation in the national and regional oversight mechanisms will also be essential for the success of the process,” Mr. Ban emphasized.

In a special report to be issued in the coming days, Mr. Ban said he outlines a “new comprehensive approach” to addressing the underlying causes of the conflict in the country and the region with all relevant partners.

The report includes various components of the Framework signed today, as well as a strengthened political and security role for the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

In recent months, there has been growing support among Member States and UN senior officials to deploy an ‘Intervention Brigade’ with peace enforcement authorities beyond traditional UN peacekeeping. The brigade would be comprised from troop contributing countries and operate under the umbrella of MONUSCO. The decision to approve such a deployment is currently under discussion with the UN Security Council.

Regional countries “have committed to putting in motion” such a brigade, Mr. Ban said.

Speaking to journalists after the signing event, Mr. Ban added that he will brief the Security-Council upon his return to New York and that he expects the 15-member Council to make a decision “very soon.”

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, the Secretary-General met privately with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kabila Kabange, and with Uganda’s Vice-President Edward Ssekandi. Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was unable to attend.

Mr. Ban also spoke with Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chairperson of the African Union, whose country hosted today’s signing event.

He also held a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Mozambique and Chair of the SADC, Armando Emílio Guebuza, who expressed support for a possible military brigade within MONUSCO.

Discussing the wider situation in other African countries, Mr. Ban met with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, with whom he discussed the political situations in Kenya, Mali and Somalia. Mr. Ban also noted the lack of progress in the resolution of the remaining outstanding issues between Sudan and South Sudan and the deteriorating security situation in parts of Darfur.

Mr. Ban also met with the Foreign Minister of the Central African Republic, Colonel Parfait Anicet Mbay, to discuss political and security developments in that country.

Today’s Framework agreement had been expected to be signed at the African Union summit in Addis on 28 January but was delayed over what Mr. Ban called “procedural issues”.