The Regional Training Facility (RTF) on Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence in the Great Lakes Region, was established by the Heads of States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes (ICGLR). ICGLR is made up of 12 Member States namely: Angola, Burundi, Central Africa Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), South Sudan, Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The RTF was launched on 18th February 2014 in Kampala, Uganda.
Location
The Regional Training Facility has its headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. It is hosted on the 7th Floor at the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MGLSD) – George Street, Simbamanyo House.
Legal status and mandate
Under Art 6(9), the ICGLR Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children (2006), “Member States agree (d) to set up a special regional facility for training and sensitizing judicial officers, police units, social workers, medical officers and other categories of persons who handle cases of sexual violence in the Great Lakes Region”.
In fulfillment of this obligation, the government of the Republic of Uganda offered, during the December 2011 ICGLR Summit, to host this special Regional Training Facility.
Funding partners
The RTF is funded by Member States, partners and friends of ICGLR. Art 26 (4) of the ICGLR Pact states that the operating budget of the ICGLR “shall be funded by mandatory annual contributions of Member States and by resources mobilized from cooperation and development partners of the Great lakes Region and by any other resources identified by the conference. Uganda as a Member State contributed Office premises.
Vision
A leading research, information, education and training sharing facility on Sexual And Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in the Great Lakes Region.
Mission
Providing quality training and material to professionals and individuals that deal with SGBV in order to improve their response to SGBV in the Great Lakes Region.
Goal
To be a Regional Centre of Excellence for training and sensitisation of judicial officers, police units, social workers, medical officers and other categories of persons who handle cases of sexual violence in the Great Lakes Region on how to efficiently and effectively perform.as provided for under the ICGLR Protocol on Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children (art 6(9);
Target groups trained by the RTF
Police, judicial officers, social workers, medical officers, attorneys/advocates and other categories of persons who handle cases of sexual violence in the Great Lakes Region including prisons, the army, journalists, all drawn from the member states.
The role of RTF
- Provide skills on managing SGBV;
- Establish and maintain databases on SBGV knowledge, resource persons, and networks information;
- Develop curricula and training materials;
- Implement training programmes and courses;
- Monitor and evaluate training; and
- Quality assurance.