Day: June 12, 2022

The United Nations voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), given the increase of attacks against civilians by rebels as well as the presence of foreign armed groups.

“We call on all armed groups to immediately cease all forms of violence. We urge Congolese armed groups to participate unconditionally in the disarmament, demobilization, community recovery and stabilization program, and foreign armed groups to immediately disarm and return to their countries of origin,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a note to correspondents.

“We reaffirm our strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the DRC and strongly condemn the use of proxies. We welcome and support ongoing national and regional political efforts to accompany the disarmament of armed groups, including by President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya through the Nairobi process,” said the spokesman.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC is also working to promote non-military measures for the disarmament of foreign armed groups, he said.

The United Nations welcomes the nomination of Angolan President Joao Lourenco by the African Union as a mediator to defuse tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, and fully supports these political efforts, he said.

“We are deeply concerned about reports of increased hate speech in the country against some particular communities, including in the context of the M23 (rebel group)’s resurgence. Hate speech must be confronted proactively,” said the spokesman.

Source: Nam News Network

On World Day Against Child Labor, we renew our commitments and efforts to combat child labor and protect children.

The United States was one of the first countries to sign the international treaty against child labor. When President Clinton signed what is known as the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention in 1999, he recognized that to address child labor, governments, companies, and workers must promote core labor standards and workers’ rights to raise living standards around the world.

Since then, many countries have made progress to eliminate child labor. Unfortunately, school closures and worsening health and economic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic forced more children back to work. Many are still not in school. It is up to us to stand up for them.

That is why World Day Against Child Labor and our continued collaboration with global partners like the ILO are so important. This cooperation includes new commitments made at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labor in South Africa last month, which the United States fully supports.

For our part, the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons combats child trafficking, including forced child labor, through the We also do so through the Child Protection Compact Partnerships with governments which strengthen our partners’ efforts to prevent child trafficking in all forms, effectively prosecute and convict child traffickers, and provide trauma-informed care and services for victims and survivors.

The U.S. government also works to end child labor by funding projects across the globe to eliminate child labor, providing technical assistance to governments, addressing child labor in our trade policy, and engaging with companies and trade associations to keep child labor out of U.S. supply chains. We will not stop, because these investments in our children create better futures for everyone.

To learn more about global trends, data and countries’ efforts to combat child labor, and actions you can take, read the State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights, Trafficking in Persons Report, and the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor portal .

Source: US State Department

Ministers Responsible for Gender and Women's Affairs from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have expressed concern about the high prevalence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the Region and urged Member States to develop effective and sustainable GBV prevention programmes.

This came out of the Ministers’ meeting held on 10 June 2022 in Lilongwe, Malawi, to review progress on the implementation of gender and development programmes in the Region, as well as the revised SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

The Ministers urged Member States to improve GBV data collection and implement the SADC Regional Strategy and Framework of Action for Addressing GBV as part of the regional integration agenda's efforts to achieve gender equality and promote peace and security.

They approved the SADC Gender and Development Monitor on Women in Politics and Decision-making for 2022, with emphasis on Articles 5, 12 and 13 of the Protocol on Representation, Participation, and Special Measures, which aim to achieve gender parity in political and decision-making roles.

The Ministers also approved the extension of the SADC Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security from 2022 to 2030 to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which addresses the impact of conflict on women and the importance of women's full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and post-conflict reconstruction.

In implementing the SADC Regional Multi-dimensional Women Economic Empowerment Programme (RMD-WEEP) 2020-2030, Ministers reviewed progress on the SADC Industrialisation and Women's Economic Empowerment Project (IWEE Project). This project aims to increase women-owned businesses' and female entrepreneurs' participation in value addition for selected sectors and regional value chains (RVCs).

Ministers also approved the Revised Gender Mainstreaming Resource Kit, which supports gender mainstreaming across several sectors. The kit contains 10 sector-specific modules which provide practical guidance on gender mainstreaming in regional integration priority sectors.

The Ministers urged Member States that have not yet signed and ratified the Revised SADC Protocol on Gender and Development to do so to facilitate implementation of the protocol. The Protocol aims to empower women, eliminate discrimination, and achieve gender equality by encouraging and harmonising gender responsive legislation, policies, programmes, and projects.

In her opening remarks, Honourable Nancy Tembo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Malawi and Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, praised Member States for seizing the unique opportunity to discuss policy issues and for gracing a platform to share insights, experiences, and lessons.

She said gender equality is a critical component and contributing factor to SADC Member States and the Region’s long-term development. Hon. Tembo advocated for equal recognition and the creation of a favourable environment in which both men and women could continue to enjoy their full rights without any infringement or oppression, with equal employment opportunities, businesses, access to financial institutions, and representation in leadership positions.

Hon. Dr Patricia Kaliati, Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare of the Republic of Malawi, chaired the meeting in her capacity as the Chairperson for SADC Ministers Responsible for Gender and Women’s Affairs. She underscored the Region's determination to fully cultivate a robust approach embedded in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP 2020-2030), which will see a meaningful change of the gender agenda interwoven in many SADC programmes and projects.

She highlighted a number of barriers and situations that prevent women and girls from achieving gender parity, and called for an accelerated implementation of regional protocols, strategies, policies, and programmes to support women's efforts by encouraging them to participate in growth and progress toward a better future.

As part of the regional integration agenda's efforts to achieve gender equality and promote peace and security, Hon. Kaliati called for the active promotion of effective GBV prevention initiatives, and highlighted physical and social misfortunes that befall women and girls, including defilement, rape, HIV/AIDS, and limited access to productive resources.

SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs, Ambassador Joseph Nourrice, highlighted a number of tools developed in line with the RISDP 2020-2030 priorities on Gender Equality and Development and with the goal of attaining gender parity, equality, equity, and particularly empowerment of women and girls.

Ambassador Nourrice praised Member States for their achievements and efforts in mainstreaming gender equality into key policy areas, and advocated for active promotion of the gender machinery through active participation of all institutional players in the public, private, and voluntary sectors.

The meeting was attended physically and virtually by Ministers or their representatives from 13 Member States, namely Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Source: Southern African Development Community