The International Conference on the Great lakes Region (ICGLR) has appointed Mr Nathan Mwesigye Byamukama as the Regional Director for the Kampala based Regional Training Facility on Prevention and Suppression of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR-RTF).
His appointment was directed by Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the 12 Member states of ICGLR. The Executive Secretary of ICGLR, Amb. Zachary Muburi-Muita will formally appoint Mr Nathan M Byamukama, who has been acting in that position for more than four years, as Regional Director.
The Member States of ICGLR are Angola, Burundi, CAR, DRC, Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The Ugandan delegation was headed by Dr Philemon Mateke, the Minster of State for Regional Cooperation representing Minister Sam Kutesa, Minister of Foreign affairs.
Also represented at the meeting was the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Patrick Mugoya.
The mandate of the ICGLR-RTF is to train and sensitize judicial officers, social workers, medical officers, police units and all those individuals handling cases of sexual violence in the Great Lakes Region.
It is established in line with ICGLR Protocol on Prevention and suppression of Sexual and Gender based Violence against Women and Children in the Great Lakes Region (2006) and the Kampala Declaration on Sexual Violence of 2011 which passed a decision for Uganda to host the ICGLR-RTFand the Center has been in existence since 2014.
While in acting position, Mr Byamukama is credited for having built the RTF from its nascent stage to a full regional institution and is currently one of the flagship institutions of ICGLR.
The RTF acquired a permanent office in Munyonyo, Kampala which serves as its regional headquarters.
Mr. Byamukama will now have one and a half years to complete six years as the head of the institution.
It is expected that by the end of 6 years, the ICGLR-RTF will be a Center of Excellence not only for the Great Lakes Region but for the entire continent, in designing effective strategies, skills and knowledge to combat the crime of sexual and gender based violence.
With experience of over 20 years, Mr Nathan Mwesigye Byamukama is known for his hard work and commitment to human rights, regionalism and pan Africanism.
He joined the ICGLR in 2007 as a Programe officer for Cross-Cutting issues.
He was also endorsed by ICGLR Heads of State meeting in Lusaka in 2010 as a Secretary to the Regional Committee on Prevention of Genocide, war Crimes and Crimes against Humanity and in six years he had spearheaded, in all 12 countries of ICGLR, the establishmentof National Committees on Prevention of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and all forms of Discrimination.
Prior to joining the ICGLRÂ Mr Byamukama worked with the Uganda Human Rights Commission for 10 years leaving the institution at the rank of Director, Human Rights Treaty Monitoring and Investigations.
Mr Byamukama studied Political Science and law at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and also holds a Master of Science in International Relations from the University of Zimbabwe.