WUNRN
SUDAN WOMEN PANEL AT UN GENEVA
UN HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL
Sudanese
Women Speak on Darfur
The Road
to Peace & Justice
12 March 2008
On 12 March 2008, Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS) and World
YWCA co-sponsored a panel titled “The Road to Peace and Justice: Sudanese Women
Speak on Darfur” at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It was a
very successful discussion by the group of six Sudanese women who engaged in a lively discussion with
the audience. The panel comprised of Ms Halima Yagoob Mohammed, Gender Based
Violence Expert; Ms Mariam Alsadig Almahdi, General Secretary Assistant for
Communication, Umma National Party; Ms Mona Elshareif Tazorah, Public Health
Professional, University of Medical Science and Technology; Ms Mona Mohammed
Gumma Khatier, Human Rights Expert; Dr Asma Siddig Adam Abdalla, Klaimendo
Development Organisation and Niemat Ahmadai, Representative of the Darfur
Leaders Network, USA. Dr Monica Juma, Executive Director, African Policy
Institute, chaired the discussion that was attended by more than 50 people from
different non-governmental and international organizations as well as
government representatives.
The panel underscored the
need for peace and security in their country in general, and Darfur in
particular. All of them recognized the destruction of property and systematic
violation of human rights as a situation that was unhealthy and needed to be
resolved. They were unanimous on the need to empower all Sudanese women and
engender the peace process so that they effectively participate in the search
for peace and reconstruction in their country. The women recognized that they
were poorly represented in peace negotiating teams/missions because, among other
things, they lacked the capacity for effective participation. They appealed to
civil and international organizations to help build their capacity so that they
could add their voice to the peace efforts in Sudan.
The Sudanese women expressed
deep concern over the massive displacements that occurred recently in the
northern part of west Darfur due to an escalation in violence. They said such
acts of forced displacements, constant killings, and acts of sexual violence,
were the order of the day in Darfur. Furthermore, the recent events resulted in
secondary displacement. Hence, the women can not sustain a livelihood because
they live in constant fear.
“We, Sudanese women here, are
seeking peace, protection, security and sustainability for all people of Sudan.
We are not against the Government (of Sudan). We recognize the effort of the
Government and the international community but there are some things, such as
acts of sexual violence against women, in particular rape, that need attention.
If we deny them, we are not healing,” Ms Mona Elsharief Tazorah said during the
meeting. These profound words were a testament of people who are feeling the
real effects of the conflict.
However, the road to peace
and justice remains a big challenge, as observed by Ms Niemat Ahmadai, who
called upon member states of the Human Rights Council to, not only speed up the
deployment of UNAMID (a joint African Union and United Nations hybrid
operation), but provide it with adequate capacity and mandate to enable it
supervise the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, as well as protect
its personnel and civilians. She also felt that UNAMID would provide a
trustworthy environment for the warring factions to be able to engage in a
legitimate political process at a round table. There was also a call to have a
Woman’s Police Force set up to help in providing security in Darfur. Further,
she felt that the use of rape as weapon of war has greatly affected women and
girls in Darfur and urged the international community to put up measures that
would discourage and prohibit the use of rape as a weapon of war.
The women also wanted certain
Sudanese laws reviewed, which they felt greatly disadvantaged them and
infringed on their rights, particularly those that deal with rape. They would
like Article 149 of the Sudanese Criminal Act, 1991 to be amended because there
was confusion in its interpretation. They would, particularly, like rape to
become a separate crime from adultery. In addition, they urged for the review
of the family law and for female circumcision to be legislated as a crime.
Later that day, in another
forum, the women, FAS and World YWCA staff had a chance to meet and have a
discussion with Ms Sima Samar, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human
Rights in the Sudan, on the situation in Darfur, who noted that peace building
cannot be possible without women's participation. She also itemized five areas
that she felt were critical for peace building in Sudan:
Ms Samar undertook to convey
these concerns to the UN envoy for the Darfur peace process, Jan Eliasson and
his counterpart in the African Union, Salim Ahmed Salim.
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