Plea for women's regional network

Representatives of women's organisations in the Great Lakes region have recommended the formation of a regional women's network, which would ensure their effective representation at women's meeting to be held in May in Rwanda and at an international conference for the Great Lakes, planned for later in the year. At a one-day brainstorming meeting on Monday in Nairobi, the women's representative agreed that input to the international conference should come from women in all sectors of society, especially those from the grassroots level. The meeting was hosted by the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Great Lakes, Ibrahima Fall, the UN Development Fund for Women and the UN Development Programme. A statement issued from Fall's office said that participants at the brainstorming session agreed to shape a common vision for the women of the region, ensure effective dissemination of information regarding the women's meeting and the gender dimensions to be addressed throughout the conference process. "The 26 participants consented to strengthen coordination, networking and collaboration with available expertise so as to make extensive use of them," Fall's office reported. "In addition, they agreed to build on existing peace processes in the region." The participants were drawn from the Great Lakes countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia as well as representatives of the UN Economic Commission for Africa; the UN Mission in the DRC; the UN Office in Burundi; the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development.