Great Lakes: Judith Suminwa calls for women’s participation to become a concrete force for peace

At the opening of the Parliamentary Conference of Women for Peace and Development in the Great Lakes, held on November 2 in Dar es Salaam, Judith Suminwa called for women to have genuine influence in conflict prevention and resolution, mediation, and reconstruction. She urged states to turn commitments made under the Nairobi Pact, signed 20 years ago, into concrete action and results. Addressing security in eastern DRC, she condemned violence attributed to the Rwandan army and its proxies and paid tribute to women and girls affected by conflict and to their resilience. Suminwa reaffirmed the DRC’s commitment to women’s rights and their equitable participation in national life under Article 14 of the Constitution.