Kinshasa, 11 June 2010 - The Global Open day on Partnerships for Peace in the DRC tagged "Women Perspectives in Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peace building in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)" was held June, 10, in the presence of the SRSG Alan Doss, the DSRSG Sarassoro, and heads of all UN Agencies present in the DRC, under the distinguished patronage of President Joseph Kabila Kabange.

This event which was presided over by the Minister for Planning, Olivier Kamitatu, as personal representative of the Prime Minister GoRDC, provided an opportunity to review progress on the UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women and Peace and Security in the DRC ten years after its adoption, and to steer advocacy in support of its full implementation.

During yesterday's event ,the Working Group on 1325 showed that the total per anum cost of the programme d'Action Prioritaire of the draft Action Plan for Execution of 1325 stands at Forty Eight Million Seven Hundred and Forty-Three Thousands One Hundred and one USD (48.743.101 $ US).

The DRC Minister for Gender Children and the Family called on all stakeholders to put hands on deck to ensure that the full implementation of the Action Plan for 1325 (2000) is a veritable enhancement of the role of women in the building of sustainable peace in the DRC.

The Prime Minister's personal representative, the Minister for Gender, Children and Family, the Deputy Minister for the Budget and other members of government present at the Open-Day signed the "Acte d' Engagement" under the watchful eyes of almost 200 participants from the civil society, the media, the Administration, the diplomatic missions and financial partners as a solemn commitment of the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the adoption and full implementation of the National Action Plan for 1325 in the DRC.

In other words, the signing of the Acte d'Engagement yesterday by the government of the DRC is an assurance to civil society (authors of the document) that the GoDRC is committed to supporting the Action Plan for the implementation of 1325 through concrete measures, including:

- Increasing the participation of women in decision-making on peace and security;
- Enacting and/or fully enforcing laws pertaining to the advancement of women, gender parity and punishment for perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence.

It is worth mentioning that a preparatory seminar was held on 27th and 28th of May 2010 to serve as platform for the various thematic groups to exchange and prepare relevant texts and related documentation for the Open-Day, including the "Acte d'Engagement" and Programme d'Action Prioritaire. The text of the Programme d'Action Prioritaire covers domains such as Participation, Security, HIV/AIDS, women's Rights, consolidation of the Rule of Law, International and Regional Cooperation, Research, and Follow up/Evaluation.

Speaking at the event, the SRSG Alan Doss called on the government of the DRC to ensure the respect of gender-based quotas in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies, especially in domains targeted by the Programme d'Action Prioritaire, as a hallmark for the building of sustainable peace in the DRC.