Darfur / UNAMID Media Brief

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, May 17, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- UNAMID Media Brief /17 May 2012

Darfur Women Legislatures call for unified laws to address gender issues

The Darfur Women Legislative Caucus and UNAMID today concluded a three-day advocacy seminar. The forum was aimed at assessing the challenges faced by women in Darfur, identifying gender gaps in the Constitution and Sudanese laws, and examining relevant international and regional human rights instruments for effective sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response in the region.

More than forty-five women representatives from North Darfur state and local level legislatures, including members of the constitutional committee, the judiciary, the bar association and various Government institutions attended the session that took place in El Fasher, North Darfur.

Ms. Halima Tibin Bosh, the North Darfur Wali's (Governor) Advisor on Women and Child Affairs and the Deputy Chairperson for the North Darfur State Committee on SGBV, noted that the seminar will strengthen women legislators' role in the State Legislative Council and enhance their capacity in promoting and protecting human rights of women and girls in North Darfur.

At the end of the conference, the participants highlighted a number of recommendations aimed at addressing issues of sexual and gender-based violence. They called on a review of relevant international conventions, and protocols on women and children signed by the Sudan to be streamlined into national laws and policies, as well as strengthening the Ministry of Justice in addressing issues of SGBV including the recruitment of social workers and psychologists to assist victims in the courts.