I was chatting with my friend,
Saida, on Facebook just minutes ago following her frustrated status updates
regarding the African Union representative to the 57th Commission on the Status
of Women (CSW), not showing up! I had no idea about the event let alone Africa
sending an official rep on behalf of women in this continent (I wonder how many
women groups have been consulted) and when Saida, part of the Kenyan
delegation, told me the rep just took off before an important session, I was
amazed and furious. So, I googled and found a link with basic info, see bottom
of page for details.
Saida posted this on her
FB:
”@UN
CSWAmazing....the
rep of AU who is supposed to speak on all of our behalf in the African
continent is missing! Are we surprised that we never influence processes as
Africans?”
I
commented on her wall asking for clarification and she replied:
“Imagine how embarrassing,
the chair called out for AU rep several times the eventually said " oh i
do not see the AU rep so we just move on to....." This is the high level
negotiation and general discussions on what the outcome document for
elimination of violence against women/girls is going to look like, what
language will make it to the document and what commitments states and non state
actors will make to addressing VAWG [Violence Against Women Globally]. I am
just not impressed!”
Women in Africa face
violence on daily bases and at many levels, from domestic violence, rape, lack
of education and job opportunities to cultural and religious based oppression,
to name but few and this is how the African Union representative acts in a major
global event to address the status of half of Africa's population??!!! I am
outraged and if anyone reading this knows where to send formal complaints
(which will be acted on, preferably), please share. This is totally
unacceptable and it is up to African women to ensure their rights and interests
are well represented and protected. Please share this on your networks and
social media pages and make some noise. Time for African officials to be held
accountable. She/he probably went for a beer brake knowing mostly likely no one
will complain.
Here is the link to the
event and have pasted the body of the event page bellow it.
http://www.eige.europa.eu/content/event/57th-commission-on-the-status-of-women-csw.
The fifty-seventh session of
the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York from 4 to 15 March 2013. Representatives from Member States,
UN entities, and NGOs in consultative
status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from all
regions of the world will attend the session. The two-week session will include
a high-level round table, interactive dialogues and panels, and parallel
events.
The 2013 session will focus on the following
key areas:
1) Priority Theme:
Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and
girls
2) Review Theme:
The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men,
including caregiving in the context of HIV/AID
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