About Us

Who We Are

The Regional Training Facility (RTF) was established under Article 6(9) of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children (2006). Member States agreed 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, Uganda offered, during the December 2011 Summit, to host this special Regional Training Facility.
On 28th Feb 2013, the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee (RIMC) received the Concept and budget from ICGLR Secretariat and approved the establishment of the Regional Training facility in Uganda.
The RTF was launched on 18th February 2014 in Kampala, Uganda.
IGCGL Members States include; 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.

Vision:

Being the leading research, information, education and training sharing facility on SGBV in the GLR.

Mission Statement:

Providing quality training material and quality training to professional groups that deal with survivors of SGBV to improve the response to SGBV in the GLR.
Main Objective: To be a Regional Centre of Excellence for training and sensitization 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.

Specific Objectives:

  • To develop regional coordination and standardized curricula that provides common skills, common frameworks and a common access to content.
  • To provide regional knowledge-generation, scientific evidence gathering, early warning, documentation and sharing framework.
  • Facilitating demand-led networking events and a regional SGBV training network available to training stakeholders.
  • To provide policy oriented research to inform training materials for practitioners in the management of SGBV cases.
  • To provide a database of regional and international technical experts for quality enhancement of SGBV training across the Region

Key Functions of RTF:

Organise regional training courses for senior and higher level stakeholders including the Training of Trainers.
Context:
Crime of Sexual Violence remains one of the difficult crimes to prevent. Impunity prevalent and on the rise in the Great Lakes region and worse in conflict situations but even in peace times not contained. Reporting, investigation and prosecution of SGBV cases remains a challenge in the GLR. The region is determined to contain it (have passed laws and policies.)The RTF is one avenue to prevent and punish the crime in the region

ICGLR Instruments on SGBV and RTF:

  • The Pact on security Stability and development in Great lakes region (2006)(art 11)
  • The Dar es Salaam Declaration (2004)
  • The Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children” (2006) + art 6(9)
  • ICGLR Protocol on Judicial Cooperation (2006)
  • ICGLR Protocol on Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense (2006)
  • Protocol on Prevention and punishment of the Crime of Genocide, war crime and crime against Humanity and all Forms of discrimination Regular RIMC/ Summit decisions on SGBV.
  • The Goma Declaration ( June 2008)
  • The Kampala Summit Declaration on SGBV (Dec .2011)
  • The Kinshasa Communiqué ( July 2012)
  • Decisions of Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee (RIMC) (Feb. 2013)
  • Host agreement between the government of Uganda and the secretariat of ICGLR (2014)
  • Communique of 10th ordinary meeting of the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee (RIMC) (March 2015)

Who is trained at the RTF?

Police units, judicial officers, Social workers, Medical officers, Attorneys/advocates and other categories of persons who handle cases of sexual violence in the Great Lakes Region (eg prisons, army, journalists etc as the case may be from all the 12 member states)

Roles of RTF

  • Provide skills on “how to” do what needs to be done by all SGBV stakeholders especially for evidence to fight impunity
  • Develop and maintain a SBGV knowledge database relevant for all categories of trainees (judicial officers, police, social workers etc)
  • Curricula and materials development
  • Training of trainers and Expert database, Networking and Networks information
  • Regional training courses for senior and higher level stakeholders
  • Monitoring and evaluation and Quality Assurance

Structure of the Regional Training Facility:

The RTF, while hosted by and located in Uganda, in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, it operates under the governance and direction of the ICGLR Secretariat in Bujumbura, Burundi. It has a wide and clear mandate related to training, curriculum development and expert data collection on SGBV.