UN Women and the Embassy of Japan Join Forces to Promote Women Peace and Security among Refugees
Date:
Kampala, Uganda— The Embassy of Japan and UN Women jointly announced the launch of “The Project for the Implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Refugees Settlements and Host Communities” on August 7, 2024.
Uganda is the largest refugee hosting country in Africa, with approximately 1.7 million refugees, and women refugees face greater challenges and have been affected by entrenched gender stereotypes, which prevent them from participating meaningfully in decision-making in the peace-building process, including conflict prevention and resolution and income-generating opportunities.
The Government of Japan provided approximately 3.6 million USD to UN Women for a two-and-a-half-year project aimed at strengthening Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in the humanitarian response and enhancing support to women peacebuilders and women’s human rights defenders, integrating gender in disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response, increasing the capacity of humanitarian actors on gender, and building women’s and girls’ resilience, including through economic empowerment and enhanced response to Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) stemming from insecurity.
“We hope that this project will encourage gender equality and women’s empowerment in both refugee settlements and host communities,” said H.E. Mr. Takuya Sasayama, the Ambassador of Japan to Uganda. He also mentioned that women can participate in peace processes with their leadership, which leads to sustainable peace societies.
“Women are increasingly at risk in conflict and underrepresented in peace processes. These negative trends are setting back both gender equality and global peace,” said. Dr. Paulina Chiwangu, UN Women Uganda Country Representative. She also added that the positive impact can be achieved by strengthening the capacity and leadership of women and girl refugees to participate in mediation and peace processes, increasing the learning and economic opportunities, and supporting women’s and girls’ resilience in vulnerable settings. She expressed her appreciation on Japan’s continuous support to women and girls in Uganda.
The project will enable UN Women to support 11,000 women, girls, men, and boys in Adjumani, Yumbe, Madi Okollo, Isingiro, and Kyegegwa districts. These districts have been receiving a large number of refugees, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan, and new refugee arrivals are coming in every day.
The Government of Japan has been a longstanding partner of UN Women, working closely to advance WPS and lead to meaningful change in the lives of women and girls in Uganda. UN Women continues to lead gender-responsive humanitarian assistance and WPS through close and continuous partnership with the Government of Japan.