ear Colleagues & Partners,

Greetings from WomenAid Collective (WACOL) Nigeria, as we write to update you about how far we have gone with the writing of CEDAW Shadow Report titled: CEDAW and Government Accountability to Gender Equality in Nigeria.

WACOL in 2003 with support from both the Swedish NGO Foundation for Human rights and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) during the consideration of Nigeria’s state party report prepared a shadow report in collaboration with about sixty organizations across the country. That report was used in advocacy to the CEDAW Committee and served as a basis for the committee’s engagement with the Nigeria delegation in New York in February 2004. The forthcoming examination of Nigeria’s sixth country report provides us with yet another opportunity for assessing success and failure with regard to government commitments to implementation of CEDAW, MDG and the Beijing Platform of Action.

In the past few months, WACOL with financial support from Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF), Lagos has been involved in facilitating for the second time a process for and with partners and gender focused organizations towards documenting government’s accountability to gender equality as stipulated in CEDAW provisions and providing same information to the CEDAW Committee during its June/July 2008 session where Nigeria’s report is slated for consideration.

The Purpose and Objective of this process is:

·         To produce an alternative report on CEDAW and Government Accountability to gender equality that will be used for constructive engagement of the UN Committee on CEDAW during June /July 2008 presentation of Nigeria’s State Party report.

·         To facilitate involvement of gender specific organizations and gender activists participation in developing an ‘Alternative Report’ on CEDAW;

·         To organize a national and regional stakeholders forum to make inputs and validate the alternative report;

·         To use the CEDAW Accountability report to engage and influence policy makers in Nigeria;

·         To share and disseminate the report to the CEDAW Committee during their June New York session and prior to examination of Nigeria’s state party report;

According to our work plan we have concluded the major multi- stakeholders’ forum at Gubabi Royal Hotel, in Abuja from the 12^th to 16^th of March 2007, which had in attendance sixty-two (62) persons representing over 50 organizations across the country with at least one gender focus organizations per each state of the 36 states of the federation including the federal capital territory, Abuja. Furthermore, zonal workshops have been held and by the time of conclusion of zonal workshops more than 120 organizations interested in gender equality and women empowerment have been reached and their voices heard and included in the second draft of report.

Working Paper series that formed part of the background materials for the writing of the report prepared by nine experts engaged for that purpose were as follows:

EXPERTS/ RESOURCE PERSONS FOR NATIONAL MULTI-STAKEHOLDERS

WORKSHOP ON CEDAW & ACCOUNTABILITY TO GENDER EQAULITY

 IN NIGERIA 12- 16^th of March, 2008

These papers were presented at the first day of the national multi-stakeholders forum and the format and methodology for documenting the report in accordance with all the CEDAW provisions was also adopted. The participants were re-grouped into six working Committees as follows:

WORKING COMMITTEES BY SECTOR/ISSUE

After full three days of work with some committees working all through the night we are happy to report that we have the first draft of the report, which is 115 pages presented and adopted at the meeting. This draft was used in the zonal consultations that held from 27^th March to April1, 2008 for further inputs and validation by the stakeholders. The zonal forum meetings were held as follows:

ZONAL COORDINATORS/SCHEDULED MEETING DAYS

1. FCT-------------------------------WRAPA/FIDA, Abuja @ Abuja- 31^st March
2. NORTH CENTRAL--------------NCWS/InterGender, @ Jos  2^nd April
3. NORTH WEST-------------------AHIP/FOMWAN @ Kaduna- 29^th March
4. NORTH EAST------------------- GEPaDC/Women Coalition Bauchi@ Borno- 31^st march
5. SOUTH WEST-------------------WANEP /WARDC @ Lagos- 28^th march
6. SOUTH EAST--------------------FIDA/GHARF @ Enugu 1^st April
7. SOUTH SOUTH ----------------CPD/AWEG @ Uyo, Akwa-Ibom, 31^st March

The Peer Review Committee met in Lagos on the 3^rd and 4^th of April and produced the second draft that incorporated zonal inputs and adopted final methodology for presentation of the report.  The members are as follows:

PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE:

Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi-------------------Chairperson

Bilikisu Yusuf, Mni------------------------Co- Chair

Professor Olurotimi Fakeye------------Co- Chair

Abiola Akiyode- Afolabi-----------------Secretary

Lydia Umar-------------------------------Member

Lizzy Oji  ----------------------------------Member

Stella Amadi------------------------------Member

Priscilla Achakpa-------------------------Member

Hauwa Shekaru--------------------------Member

Mairo Bello      ---------------------------Member

Joy Ezeilo   -------------------------------Member

Once we are done with harmonizing and reviewing the second draft report, a clean copy will be produced and forwarded to the working committee of the UN CEDAW Committee on Nigeria.

We shall also organize and facilitate a Policy Oriented Workshop for Dissemination of Report for about 30 legislators/Media Executives and selected policy makers at relevant line Ministries Including the National Planning Commission at Abuja.

Thereafter the developed Shadow Report will be published and used in engaging the UN CEDAW Committee in its June/July session where Nigeria’s State Party report will be considered. We look forward to having a strong delegation and will source for funds for that purpose and also post UN CEDAW engagement and activities for dissemination of the concluding remarks and observations of the CEDAW Committee as well putting a plan and mechanism for implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

We hereby invite interested international organizations particularly based in New York/Geneva to partner with WACOL to ensure that the report is put to good use to influence the outcome of engagement at the consideration of Nigeria’s state party report.

We thank all of us who have been genuinely committed and steadfast in this process especially the organizations that hosted the zonal workshops and the Peer Review Committee members that just concluded its arduous work.  We hope that the outcome of this process, which has been inclusive, representational and evidence based is what we can all share ownership of and be proud of.

For  further enquiries please contact the Programme Coordinator Mrs. Emelia  Nkiru Nwadioke, the Head of WACOL Legal Unit- wacolenugu@wacolnigeria.org, wacolnig@yahoo.com  ( Phone: 042/256678, 303333 & 08034352712 & 08058538258- and the Asst. Coordinator is Ms Nkiru Nnaemego- Legal Officer, WACOL Abuja- wacolabuja@wacolnigeria.org Phone: 2340647, 6711044, 08053647180. http://www.wacolnigeria.org:80/

In Partnership,

Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, OON LL.B. (Nig), LLM (London), BL (Lagos), Diploma Conflict Resolution (Uppsala).

Founding Director, Women Aid Collective (WACOL)

Also: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public & Private Law, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.

Phone: +234-42-256678, 803 306 2359

Fax: +234-42-256831

Website: www.wacolnigeria.org

Email: jezeilo@wacolnigeria.org and ezeilojoy@yahoo.co.uk

No. 9 Umuezebi Street, New Haven,

P. O. Box, 2718, Enugu,

Enugu State, Nigeria

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