Advancing Women’s Peace and Security in the Great Lakes Region: Case Study of Burundi Crisis of 2015 6. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY ........................................................................................................................................... 243

herself and the community members to the things that united them, thus obtaining acceptance for herself and her group in the community.1877 The community leaders mistrusted the women’s intentions because of the polarised communal dynamics. The women targeted the community’s traditional leaders – the Maiangwa – but faced initial resistance from male Christian leaders. After engaging the leaders in respectful dialogue, the women were told to go back home and wait for a response but none came. Amina and her group kept returning to the leaders until they received access to reach out to the community.

The Peace Mentors, led by Amina, targeted women in the community and youth leaders through dialogue, with the message that it was better to stay in peace together than to remain segregated. They engaged women and men to talk about the increased fear and mistrust among the community members, emphasising the need for unity because, if they stayed separated, the attacks would continue. They emphasised that Christians and Muslims alike faced similar challenges and needed to value having a relationship. They set up recurring visits and dialogue and encouraged communication on concerns before they resulted in violence. After about a year, the Women Peace Mentors started seeing positive results.

Five years later, Muslims now freely visit Jenta Adamu, interact with community members and leave safely, although they are yet to resettle there. Amina’s NGO is implementing a project in Jenta Adamu working with girls on SGBV, which allows for more interactions between Muslims and Christians. Amina’s organisation enjoys good relationships with community leaders, who visit the organisation’s members in their predominantly Muslim location. The Women Initiative for Sustainable Community Development Girls has been operating an SGBV project in Angwan Rogo community, which is predominantly Muslim, and bringing them together with the predominately Christian girls in Jenta Adamu to interact and co-exist peacefully. The Women Peace Mentors continually encourage the girls to accept their differences and use them to learn from each other.

The traditional council of Jenta Adamu for the first time appointed two women in 2017 as a result of lobbying by the Women Peace Mentors. The latter explained that the cultural and religious crisis in the area required both men and women to be involved in decision-making and conflict resolution. This is crucial when dealing with intracommunal conflict and incidences of SGBV that have caused conflict in the community. They also explained that youth in the community listen more to women than men, so women play an essential role. One of the two women leaders appointed became a peer educator of Women Initiative for Sustainable Community Development and continues to reach out to other women in the community. The institutionalisation of women’s representation and participation in this decision-making body bodes well for inclusive peace-building and conflict resolution.

Sustaining trust and confidence between Muslims and Christians despite their real and perceived differences remains a challenge as fear-mongering rumours continue to circulate within communities about the “others.” An essential step towards solidarity has been for the Women Initiative for Sustainable Community Development to dispel rumours through dialogue between religious communities. It is also important to recognise that victims of conflict on both sides of the ethno-religious divide can be resourceful resolving conflicts and building lasting peace.

Advancing Women’s Peace and Security in the Great Lakes Region: Case Study of Burundi Crisis of 2015

Soon after it gained its independence from Belgium, Burundi plunged into a long-lasting and escalating pattern of ethnic violence.1878 In 1993, war erupted following the country’s first elected leader’s assassination by military members.1879 As a result, between 1993 and 2005, an estimated 300,000 people died,1880 and more than a million were displaced.1881 In 2000, the Arusha Peace Agreement was signed, ending the war.1882 This Agreement was highly influenced by women, who participated in the consultation and negotiation process as delegates, mediators

and observers.1883 Moreover, during the Agreement’s implementation phase, four of the 11 Commissioners appointed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were women.1884

However, in the post-agreement Consultations phase, the women’s movement was not particularly vocal about transitional justice.1885 In 2015, President Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would seek a third term in office, in contravention of the Arusha Agreement. The decision brought about mass protests in the capital and an attempted coup. Following the failed coup, the state targeted both civilians and soldiers believed to be affiliated with the coup, resulting in at least 1,200 people killed and 400,000 displaced between April 2015 and May 2017.1886 It was during this time that the Women and Girls Movement for Peace and Security in Burundi (MFFPS)4 was born. This drew women of all ethnicities and various levels of previous political engagement together for the mutual cause of securing the rule of law and democracy.1887

Recognising that women have a right to peace and a right to participate in peace-building, as per UNSCR 1325, the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region Civil Society Forum under the leadership of Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) in collaboration with the Women’s International Peace Centre (formerly Isis–Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (WICCE)) organised a reflection and consultative meeting for women responding to the Burundi conflict in 2015 as part of its efforts to promote women’s leadership in promoting sustainable peace, stability and economic recovery.1888

AMwA targeted Burundian women human rights defenders and those wishing to mobilise to end the Burundi conflict and work towards peace. A safe space was created to deliberate on the crisis and develop a collective way forward.1889 To support Burundian women and build their capacity to organise and movement-build, AMwA and partners built on the gains of other women’s rights defenders across the continent and harnessed their collective knowledge and insights to uplift the Burundian women’s cause. This approach of collaboration between women peace-builders of various nations was beneficial in Burundi’s women’s movement since a large portion of its members are operating from exile and the diaspora. Women are prohibited from holding gatherings, and few of the women still living in Burundi dare to make public statements for fear of retribution.1890

With support from Urgent Action Fund and ACCORD, a consultative process was held on 14–18 December 2015 at Imperial Resort Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda. The meeting brought together women’s movements from across the region – Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda – in solidarity with the Burundi women to strategise for their effective participation in the dialogue to restore peace and security in Burundi. Inspirational women from the region, including Uganda’s former Vice President Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe, Executive Director of IsisWICCE Ms Ruth Ochieng and Executive Director of CECORE Ms Rose Othieno, alongside Kenyan Florence Mpayeyi and Burundian expert Marie-Louise, facilitated the consultative meeting.1891 The meeting sought to strengthen collaboration and coordination for women’s participation in the peace process and to enhance the women’s peace negotiation capacities. It also facilitated the development of a strategy for women’s participation and creating a cross-learning platform on best practices and lessons learnt from women in the region.1892

Key outcomes of the meeting included the development of an Action Plan for three years and adoption of MFFPS, a movement of women and girls committed to taking strategic actions for the prevention of conflict and the promotion of peace. The movement’s mission was to contribute to the effective participation of Barundikazi (the women and girls of Burundi) for peace and development.1893

4 The movement changed its name in 2020 after a split occurred to Inamahoro Movement, Women and Girls for Peace and Security.

The movement has been instrumental in holding heads of states in the region accountable and demanding a more responsive and vibrant EAC that promotes and protects women’s rights to participate in peace and security processes as inscribed in both regional and international instruments.1894

The movement pushed for the equal representation of men and women, thus calling for an increase in women’s representation from the initial 30% as stipulated in the Arusha Peace Accord.1895 The movement successfully integrated a feminist lens with support from AMwA in its advocacy, which has been incorporated by Heads of States in the Great Lakes Region to address the systemic inequalities suffered by women.1896 The movement also banded with other African CSOs to call for the renewal of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry of the UN Human Rights Council in Burundi at the 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.1897 Representatives of MFFPS also participated in rounds of talks held in Tanzania and Uganda to offer women’s and girls’ perspective on the crisis.1898

While Burundian women were keen to engage in the peace process in their country, they had not had a platform to mobilise, organise, analyse the current situation and articulate a common position to ensure women’s effective participation to resolve the conflict.1899 Yet some had organised independently and felt the need for that collective power. For example, on 10 May 2015, about 200 women led a march in Gitega, heading toward the central Independence Place, protesting the president’s intent to run for a third term. Beatrice Nyamoya, an organiser of the demonstration, was quoted in an international news article covering the event: “Our position is that the Arusha Accords and the Constitution are the only guarantors of peace and that we must respect them.”1900 This demonstration and its ability to reach a global audience indicates the mobilisation power of women human rights defenders around a collective push for peace and democracy in Burundi.1901

Mobilising within and outside the country has allowed Burundi’s women the mobility to insert themselves into regional gatherings of Heads of States and peace negotiators to promote women’s participation in the peace reconciliation process. One of this approach’s challenges is that the Burundian government refuses to take part in any real negotiations.1902 However, MFFPS overcame this barrier by meeting the negotiator separately.1903 Moreover, when women were not invited to the rounds of talks held in February 2017, MFFPS sent representatives, who delivered a statement of their position in writing.1904

As of September 2020, human rights violations against women in Burundi continue under the new President Ndayishimiye. The security forces and the governing party’s youth wing continue to enjoy impunity for beatings, kidnappings and sexual violence.1905