HON.MARY KAROORO OKURUT, MINISTER FOR GENDER, LABOUR AND SOCIAL - TopicsExpress

HON.MARY KAROORO OKURUT, MINISTER FOR GENDER, LABOUR AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN 2013 MONDAY 25TH NOVEMBER 2013, GRAND IMPERIAL HOTEL KAMPALA Hon Ministers Hon. Members of Parliament The Country Representative UN Women The Country Representative UNFPA Permanent Secretary MGLSD Invited Guests The Media Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased to join you this morning to launch the 2013 Campaign for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence. We mark this campaign annually to raise public awareness about the prevalence of GBV and the need to act collectively as Government Departments and Agencies, Academic Institutions, Faith Based and Civil Society Organizations, Development Partners and the community at large to eliminate GBV in our Country. The Campaign gives us an opportunity to take stock of the progress made in preventing occurrence of GBV and responding to the cases that occur by way of providing treatment and care as well as seeking redress and justice for survivors. As Government, we have demonstrated commitment to addressing this problem by ensuring a supportive legal and policy framework. This commitment is further demonstrated through the regional and international instruments to which Uganda is a party to. One of the most significant Regional instruments is the Kampala Declaration of the Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) signed in our capital in December 2011. Uganda is on course to meet its obligations under the Declaration one of them being to host the Regional GBV Training Facility which will soon be opened in Kampala. Once operational, the Facility will offer specialized training for various service providers on management of GBV. Overall, the various initiatives by Government have been scaled up to ensure that services are available throughout the country. Health workers, Judicial Officers, Police and Social Workers are being trained and on management of GBV. Tools such as the Police Forms have been reviewed to enhance access to justice for survivors and prosecution of perpetrators. My Ministry is at the forefront of the awareness drive through community mobilization. Community members have been organized into action groups and some are volunteering their time to serve as community activists who take responsibility for educating their community members on the situation of GBV and on what needs to be done when cases occur including care and treatment as well as referral to other care givers. More shelters for GBV survivors are being established, and in order to ensure adherence to standards, the Ministry developed guidelines to guide all stakeholders who have or wish to establish such shelters. Today we will launch the guidelines officially as yet another tool to facilitate our response strategy. Ladies and Gentlemen, as progress is registered in this struggle we acknowledge that there is still much work to be done. As we are gathered here today, at this very time and moment, we are all too aware that cases of GBV are occurring in our communities, our work places and perhaps even in our own households and families. This is the reality of the GBV situation in our Country, and unfortunately, a dismal and tragic situation. Many of us have grieved in the recent past over the horrifying incidences of GBV that have been reported. What is particularly disturbing is the severity of these cases and the vulnerability of the survivors. I am encouraged that you will use this forum of the Campaign Launch to dialogue on the roles of the different stakeholders so as to be able to identify priority actions required to scale up the response and prevention mechanisms. Allow me to commend the media for supporting the efforts to end GBV through the reports that contribute to raising awareness and attention for care to the survivors and equally important, ensuring that justice is attained. This year’s Campaign theme is therefore relevant to remind us about our roles and obligations to bring GBV to an end. This can only be achieved through consistent and concerted action by all of us. “Let Us All Act To End GBV!” Each one of us should therefore make a personal commitment to undertake an action that will eliminate GBV from our societies. I have, as Minister for Gender Labour and Social Development prioritized the elimination of GBV during my tenure in office, and I pledge to work with all stakeholders towards this goal. In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank everyone for being here today and for the efforts being undertaken to realize the objectives spelt out in our national legal, policy and planning frameworks to prevent and respond to GBV effectively. In a special way I would like to applaud the contribution of Development Partners who support Government programmes to address GBV among them the UN Agencies namely UN Women, UNFPA, and UNICEF and the bilateral Partners, Irish Aid, Norway and France. Together we have strived to put in place mechanisms required to enhance the national capacity to ensuring peace in our homes, society and Nation. I am optimistic that this time next year when we come together again during the start of the 16 Days Campaign, we will have made progress in our endeavors and this will be reflected in reduction of incidences of all forms of GBV throughout the Country. It is now my pleasure to officially launch the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV Campaign for 2013 and to also launch the Guidelines for Establishment and Management of GBV Shelters. I thank you.