Women's voices must occupy a central place in shaping political responses
In Dodoma, Tanzania has accepted the mantle of host for the 2026 Women's Parliamentary Conference, a gathering that will draw some 200 female lawmakers from the twelve nations of the Great Lakes Region to Dar es Salaam. The agreement, signed at Tanzania's Parliament, is less a logistical arrangement than a moral statement: that in a region where women hold fewer than a third of legislative seats and where conflict continues to displace millions, the deliberate inclusion of women in governance is not a courtesy but a necessity. The conference will work toward fulfilling UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a two-decade-old promise that peace built without women's voices is peace built on an incomplete foundation.
- Women hold only 28% of parliamentary seats across the 12 Great Lakes member states — a gap that leaves half the region's population underrepresented in the rooms where peace and security decisions are made.
- The Great Lakes Region continues to face active security threats, humanitarian emergencies, and mass displacement, creating urgent pressure to broaden who sits at the decision-making table.
- Tanzania's Parliament in Dodoma hosted the formal signing of the host agreement, with Speaker Mussa Zungu and FP-ICGLR chair Sergio Vaz framing the moment as collective regional resolve rather than a single nation's initiative.
- Roughly 200 women parliamentarians from Angola, Burundi, DRC, South Sudan, and eight other member states are expected to convene in Dar es Salaam to draft a joint regional strategy on women, peace, and security.
- The conference is designed to translate UN Security Council Resolution 1325 from a written mandate into actionable regional policy, with civil society groups and international partners joining parliamentarians in the effort.
Tanzania has agreed to host the Women's Parliamentary Conference 2026 in Dar es Salaam, following a formal signing ceremony at Parliament in Dodoma. The event will bring together approximately 200 female lawmakers from all twelve member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region — a bloc spanning Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Speaker of the National Assembly Mussa Zungu presided over the signing, describing the hosting role as both an honor and a responsibility.
The conference is designed to address a stark regional reality: women currently occupy just 28 percent of parliamentary seats across the twelve member states. Rather than accepting that figure as fixed, the gathering will create space for dialogue, shared learning, and the development of a joint regional strategy centered on women, peace, and security. FP-ICGLR executive committee chair Sergio Vaz called the agreement a symbol of collective resolve, noting that the region's ongoing security crises and displacement emergencies make women's participation in decision-making not optional but essential.
Beyond parliamentarians, the conference will draw civil society organizations, development partners, and representatives from regional and international bodies. Its central aim is to advance implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the landmark 2000 mandate placing women at the heart of peace and security efforts. Tanzania's selection as host reflects its standing within ICGLR structures and its commitment to regional stability — and what takes shape in Dar es Salaam will test whether a dedicated platform can meaningfully move women's voices from the margins to the center of power across one of Africa's most complex regions.
Tanzania has committed to hosting a significant gathering of women lawmakers from across the Great Lakes region later this year. The agreement was signed at Parliament in Dodoma, with roughly 200 female parliamentarians expected to attend from all twelve member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. The signing brought together officials from the Forum of Parliaments of the ICGLR and Tanzania's own legislative body, with Speaker of the National Assembly Mussa Zungu presiding over the ceremony.
The Women's Parliamentary Conference 2026 represents more than a routine regional meeting. It is, by design, a platform built to amplify women's influence in spaces where decisions about conflict, security, and governance are made. Across the twelve member states—Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia—women currently occupy just 28 percent of parliamentary seats. The conference aims to shift that reality by creating space for dialogue, shared learning, and the drafting of a joint regional strategy focused on women, peace, and security.
Speaker Zungu framed Tanzania's role as both an honor and a responsibility. He emphasized that the country stands ready to manage the logistics and coordination the event demands, and that hosting reflects a broader commitment among member states to lifting up women's leadership while strengthening the region's path toward peace. The sentiment was echoed by Sergio Vaz, chair of the FP-ICGLR's executive committee, who described the agreement as a symbol of collective resolve. Vaz noted that the Great Lakes region continues to grapple with security threats, humanitarian emergencies, and displacement crises—circumstances that make women's participation in decision-making not optional but essential.
The conference will draw not only parliamentarians but also civil society groups, development partners, and representatives from regional and international organizations. Its explicit aim is to advance implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a landmark 2000 mandate that places women at the center of peace and security efforts. In a region where complex conflicts persist and populations remain displaced, the logic is straightforward: solutions designed without women's input are incomplete.
Tanzania's selection as host reflects its established standing within ICGLR circles and its demonstrated commitment to regional stability. The Parliament itself has already begun the groundwork, providing the venue for the signing and coordinating with the conference secretariat and management team. What unfolds in Dar es Salaam later this year will test whether a dedicated platform can meaningfully shift how women's voices are heard in the corridors of power across one of Africa's most volatile regions.
Citas Notables
Tanzania remains fully committed to supporting the operations and coordination efforts required for the successful hosting of the event— Speaker of the National Assembly Mussa Zungu
In a regional context still marked by complex security challenges, humanitarian crises, and population displacement, it is imperative to ensure that women's voices occupy a central place in shaping political and institutional responses— Sergio Vaz, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Forum of Parliaments of the ICGLR
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Tanzania hosting this conference matter specifically? There are other countries in the region.
Tanzania has credibility on regional peace work. It's been active in ICGLR initiatives for years. When you're asking 200 women lawmakers to travel and invest time, you need a host that can deliver logistically and politically.
The statistic about 28 percent—is that the real problem the conference is trying to solve?
It's a symptom. The real problem is that when peace deals are negotiated, when security strategies are written, women aren't in the room. The conference creates that room. It's about shifting who gets to shape the response to conflict.
What does a "joint regional action plan" actually do?
It gives women parliamentarians a shared commitment they can take home and push for in their own legislatures. It's not binding, but it's harder to ignore when twelve countries have signed on together.
You mentioned Resolution 1325. Why is that significant here?
It's the UN's framework for centering women in peace and security work. Most countries have signed it but haven't really implemented it. This conference is a way to make that commitment concrete in the Great Lakes context, where the stakes are high—active conflicts, displacement, humanitarian crises.
Does hosting this conference change anything for Tanzania itself?
It positions Tanzania as a leader on this issue regionally. But more immediately, it means Tanzania's own women parliamentarians get to shape the agenda and the outcomes. That's leverage.