Pamela Angwech, Founder & Executive Director of Gulu Women’s Economic Development &Globalization (GWED-G) receives the 2017 EU Human Rights Defender Award in Uganda on 25 May 2017.
On 25 May 2017, on behalf of the Delegation of the European Union, the EU Member States and Norway represented in Uganda, H.E. Henk Jan Bakker, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Uganda, announced Pamela Angwech, Founder & Executive Director of Gulu Women’s Economic Development &Globalization (GWED-G) to be the winner of the 2017 EU Human Rights Defenders Award.
Ms. Angwech is Founder and Executive Director of GWED-G, the region’s largest grassroots human rights organization, focusing on women and youth. Since its founding in 2004, GWED-G aims to strengthen the capacity of grassroots communities in northern Uganda to become self-reliant agents of change for peace and development through training and education so that they can make effective decisions concerning their rights, health, and development. GWED-G has programme in health, human rights, peace building, economic empowerment and livelihoods, psychosocial support and counselling, research and advocacy.
“This is great news and congratulations to Pamela and GWED-G for winning the award. A very well-deserved recognition of Pamela’s tireless advocacy and effective leadership in support of victim survivors and to ensure that women and girls have equal rights”, said Pieter de Baan, Executive Director of the Trust Fund for Victims. He adds, “The Trust Fund for Victims is honoured and proud to have a partnership with GWED-G over the years, as one of our implementing organisations in Uganda.”
Since 2008, the TFV had indirectly partnered with GWED-G through another organisation, and in 2015, the TFV started a new partnership with GWED-G to implement a project under the assistance mandate in northern Uganda. Under this project, GWED-G provides medical referral (physical rehabilitation), and psychological support to reduce trauma and restore hope of victim survivors of war, and to raise awareness of community members on preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
In winning the prestigious award, Ms Angwech is recognised for:
- Her leadership role to promote the rights of war-affected women and girls who are suffering as a result of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war in northern Uganda. She is at the forefront of advancing women’s and girl’s rights and gender equality in the district of Gulu, Nwoya and Amuru through empowering grassroots groups.
- Her relentless commitment to support over 400 women’s groups to ensure women and girls have equal rights to resources and livelihoods and are given a political voice and her extensive experience with community-based human rights policy and post-conflict development.
- Her strong and sharp voice on zero tolerance to sexual and gender-based violence following up on cases within the judiciary system. She has been working on this over the past few years and has cumulatively responded to 670 gender-based violence cases- most of them with positive results for the victims.
- Her visibility and audacity to speak on behalf of the voiceless in various human rights platforms at local and national level, including the International Conference for Great Lakes Region, the UN1325SCR Coalition platform, the regional GBV and District Working Groups on Gender and VAWG, UWONET, CEWIGO and HURINET.
The sixth annual European Union Human Rights Defenders Award (EU HRD) granted by the EU and its member states in Uganda, to recognise the achievements of individuals who act to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. These include civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
An individual eligible for the EU HRD Award is nominated by another individual or organization. Human Rights organizations active in Uganda were invited to nominate candidates for the award. Candidates were assessed by a jury composed of human rights experts of different European Embassies and the EU Heads of Mission.
