Uvira, August 10, 2016 – MONUSCO Civil Affairs Section organized last Tuesday a capacity-building session on conflict resolution for an organization named Buguma Kalembe (Unity makes Peace in Swahili); Specialized in conflict resolutions, this organization comprises 18 local communities and ethnics groups based in Uvira Territory; the most known of those communities are the Bavira, Bafuliiru, Barundi, Banyamulenge, Bavira, Babembe, Banyindu, Bashi, Barega… Altogether 24 members from the above communities including 8 women attended the Tuesday meeting.

In his opening remarks, MONUSCO Civil Affairs OIC expressed his appreciation to the organizers for “noble goals pursued;” Rigobert Kumbo Musimbi also touched a word on the conflicts affecting both Uvira and Fizi territories, highlighting the critical role to be played by every actor in their respective communities with a view to defusing the tensions and finding lasing solutions to the conflicts affecting the region. Participants took the opportunity to bring out the various activities carried out by their organization as well as the achievements made as part of the conflict resolutions, more particularly in Uvira Territory; Furthermore, they praised MONUSCO’s efforts in favor of peace and stability since the Mission was established in DRC in general and in Uvira territory in particular.

The whole day long, MONUSCO forked to build the capacity of the participants on how to identify and conduct in-depth analysis of the root causes of a conflict including how to properly apply the different conflict resolution mechanisms likely to lead to sustainable solutions. Participants were also sensitized on Gender equality and the mainstreaming of the gender issue into their different approaches. At the end of the session, Buguma Kalembe and his representatives expressed their joy and gratitude to MONUSCO for the capacity-building session and requested that such activities should be carried out on a regular basis to further strengthen their capacity and foster local ownership, especially in the resolutions of power struggle in Bijombo and the Ruzizi plain. Finally, a joint activity plan was drafted for further collaboration between CA and Buguma Kalembe.