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Attached is Sudanese Women Declaration on Darfur - January 2008.

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Women of Sudan Hold Key to Peace Say Global Women Leaders

WORLD YWCA

05 January, 2009

Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, General Secretary of the World YWCA

World YWCA General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda and Realizing Rights head and former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Mary Robinson are amongst a delegation of high profile women leaders calling for Sudanese women to be part of peace negotiations in conflict-ridden Darfur. “A new Sudan, a Sudan without war, needs women as leaders and as full and equal citizens. Women are central to the enormous tasks ahead and can accelerate the building of peace, security and prosperity," says Gumbonzvanda who has worked previously on gender equality issues in the peace processes for the Sudan.

Sudanese and international women leaders are using the second Sudanese Women’s Forum on Darfur in Addis Ababa from January 5-7, as an opportunity to call for the mainstreaming of gender at the peace negotiation table by bringing Sudanese women on board.

The Forum is part of a larger project that aims to engender the peace process in Darfur by building the capacity of Sudanese women to mobilise various actors and engage in advocacy activities, to consolidate the peace agenda on Darfur through a consultative process and to facilitate the participation of the Sudanese women in peace negotiations. It is also a follow up to the fact-finding and solidarity mission undertaken from September 2-5, 2007 in Chad, led by Robinson with a delegation of seven other prominent women including former World YWCA General Secretary Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro.

The Sudanese Women’s Forum on Darfur is an initiative of Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS) in partnership with the Women Leaders Intercultural Forum of Realizing Rights and the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Norwegian Government.

Peace and security has long been a dream of the women of Darfur since conflict erupted in 2003 and the women leaders delegation will highlight the urgency of the situation where according to UN estimates, at least 200,000 people have died and two million people displaced from the combined effect of war and famine since the conflict started.

Among the key messages that the delegation will voice at the Forum is an end to the violence, including sexual violence against women and girls in the Darfur region. “Peace and security must embrace zero-tolerance to sexual violence," says Gumbonzvanda.

Rape continues to be a way of life for Dafuri women and the delegation will appeal to the Government of Sudan to set up an internal tribunal that would ensure justice and reparation for victims of all forms of violence, particularly women and girls, who have suffered during the Darfur conflict.

The delegation will also push the Sudanese government to adhere to the requirements and the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by ensuring the women of Darfur are included in peace negotiations. "This is to show the world that the women of Darfur are not victims, but part of the process upon which peace shall be built. It is a positive story of Darfur women seeking to find a lasting peace even though they have been deeply affected by the war," highlights Gumbonzvanda.

As the Forum gets underway, the delegation is determined to ensure women’s voices are heard in the Sudan. “We have been walking the journey together with the Sudanese people, with the Sudanese women, the journey for peace, the journey for bringing sanity to the household, and the journey to bring a future to the children of southern Sudan”, Gumbonzvanda said.

For more information on The Sudanese Women’s Forum on Darfur, visit the website of Femmes Africa Solidarite

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