The office in charge of gender seeks to integrate the gender dimension into the policies and programmes of MONUC as well as those in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Gender office was created in March 2002 following the recommendations of Resolution 1325 of the Security Council.

The resolution indicated the urgency to incorporate into peace keeping operations a gender dimension and to adopt a concerned action of equity between the sexes at the time of the negotiation and putting in place of the peace accords.

The Kinshasa office is composed of a team of nine people. In addition, a gender section was created in Bukavu in 2005 in order to cover the RDC and to understand the ‘gender’ aspects specific to this region.

Finally to propagate the largest possible gender message, the office identified focal points (gender technical groups) in the substantial sections of the MONUC, for example in the soldiers and police force, in Kinshasa as well as the other sectors.

Furthermore, the members of the Gender office travel all over the country meeting the Congolese population to better determine the reality in each area.

Mission

To raise awareness on sex specific questions within MONUC.

To increase the participation of women and to sensitize them in relation to political life and the electoral process, the processes of peace and DDRRR, thanks to the systematic integration of a gender dimension in the policies and programs, in the training, collection and analysis of data related to sex.

To evaluate the situation of women in the DRC, by the creation of information exchange networks.

To integrate gender into the policies and programmes of MONUC, as well as those of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To establish relationships with womens groups in civil society and governmental institutions in order to encourage the effective participation of women in the peace process, the various stages of post-conflict rebuilding and the electoral process.