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The Ensemble pour la Sécurité et la Paix à Djugu (ESPAD) project is implemented in partnership with Cordaid, Forum des Mamans de l'Ituri (FOMI) and Justice Plus. It is financed by MONUSCO's Stabilization Support Unit. In the context of stabilization and the return of peace in the Djugu Territory in Ituri Province, this project aims at the recognition of the State as the main accountable and transparent provider of services to the population, conducive to peace and stability. ESPAD will contribute to improving the performance and quality of services of the judicial administration, decentralized territorial entities, security service forces (Congolese National Police & DRC Armed Forces) and women as actors of social change through their participation in the stabilization and peacebuilding process.
On October 6, 2020, at the Hotel La Casa de Sir Henri in Bunia, the official launching ceremony of the "Ensemble pour la Sécurité et la Paix à Djugu" (ESPAD) project was held under the high patronage of the Governor of the Province of Ituri, the Honorable Jean Bamanisa Saidi.
For the occasion, members of the provincial political institutions were gathered: the President of the Provincial Assembly, the Governor of the province accompanied by his Provincial Ministers and Cabinet Directors of Interior, Planning, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs and Agriculture. In addition, NGO partners were present, as well as representatives of STAREC, MONUSCO, UNDP, the security services (PNC & FARDC), civil and military justice, the territorial administration, representatives of youth and customary chiefs, religious denominations, civil society organizations, and representatives of Djugu communities. This diversity of the participants in the event was welcome, given the project's objective to involve and accompany as many people as possible towards a participatory and inclusive approach tending towards the stabilization, cohesion and peaceful cohabitation of the communities on the Djugu territory.
After the introductory remarks by Charlotte Lepri, Cordaid's Program Director, recalling the cornerstone principles and conditionalities of the project, Cordaid's ESPAD Project Manager, Patrick Kyanza, outlined the activities to be carried out by consortium members, benefiting both state and non-state bodies. Cris Kikwaya, Technical Advisor at Cordaid, presented the innovative approach of this project, results-based financing, aimed at improving the quantity and quality of services provided, through incentives for efficiency and accountability. Jean-Paul Soroba Banga, coordinator of VNG International's programs in Ituri, spoke about the coordination and synergy between the stabilization projects implemented in Ituri, within the framework of the International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy (ISSSS). To top it all off, Jacqueline Malosi, coordinator of FOMI, recalled the patriarchal character of communities in Ituri, relegating the role of women to the background in all sectors of life, particularly in the consolidation of peace, security and development. ESPAD's gender strategy is also transversal in all the specific objectives and all the stages of the project, for example through the consultation of women, girls, men, boys, in order to take their gender-specific needs into account. This dynamic will be replicated throughout the project at the community level, decentralized territorial entities, judicial administration, security and institutional services.
The Governor of the Province, the Honorable Jean Bamanisa Saidi, reiterated in his speech the commitment of the provincial government to the success of ESPAD for the effective stabilization of Djugu. He also noted the inadequacy of the budget in relation to the needs of this entity, and promised to continue to advocate with technical and financial partners for the mobilization of additional resources, since peace, security and development require the involvement of all without distinction.
At the end of the presentations, a question and answer session was held, to ensure a better understanding of the contribution of the ESPAD project to the stabilization and restoration of peace and state authority in the Djugu Territory. A symbolic distribution of t-shirts by the NGO Justice Plus to the provincial authorities and participants was then held, to raise the visibility of the ESPAD project.
