BUJIMBUARA October 28th (ABP) – The Association of Women MPs of Burundi (AFEPABU), in collaboration with the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie, organized Tuesday October 26, for its second day, a training seminar under the theme: “Parliament and human rights” to see together the role of women parliamentarians in the promotion of human rights.
In her opening speech, the first vice-president of the Senate, Mrs. Denise Ndadaye, commended the government of Burundi for its initiative to integrate various international legal instruments ratified by Burundi in relation to the protection of human rights.
“Burundi has already achieved a lot for the protection of human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women,” she said.
The AFEPABU leader, Mrs. Patricie Nduwimana, for her part, indicated that women have not achieved significant progress in terms of human rights even if, she said, it is observed. some improvement, hence the choice of the theme of the said workshop. She said that the purpose of that seminar is to invite women MPs to be pioneers in human rights, recalling that they are called to bring rural women closer to their constituencies to show them the path.
In her presentation, Mrs. Madeleine Katabarumwe, human rights expert, shared the same opinion as the AFEPABU leader, stressing that there is progress in the area of human rights. However, she said, elected women must encourage other women to overcome their complex to defend their rights.
Mrs. Katabarumwe recalled that there are national human rights institutions, including the ombudsman institution, the Independent National Human Rights Commission (CNIDH) whose mission is to promote and defend human rights. She also spoke about the Ministry of Human Rights and Gender, the courts and tribunals that intervene in cases of human rights violations to sanction perpetrators and rule on reparations for victims. Mrs. Katabarumwe also mentioned civil society as a national institution that contributes in the dissemination of information on human rights and in the drafting of periodic reports.