Symposium on Women's Rights and Leadership in Post-conflict Sudan 10 April

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will host a symposium entitled Women’s Rights and Leadership in Post-conflictSudan on 10 April 2005. This is immediately prior to the Donors’ Conference for Sudan that will be hosted by the Government of Norway. The symposium, requested by Sudanese women themselves, is being organised in co-operation with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).

Participants include Sudanese women from the North and South, policy makers from the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), international leaders and delegates from regional and international organisations, including the African Union and the United Nations.

The Norwegian Minister of International Development, Ms Hilde F. Johnson, and the Executive Director of UNIFEM , Dr Noeleen Heyzer, will open the symposium. Following the opening, there will be an interactive session with Ms. Johnson and the Sudanese delegates to the symposium. The First Lady of South Africa, Mrs. Zanele Mbeki, will attend the symposium. She will present her own statement.

The entire symposium will be open to the press.

A press conference will be held at 15.30, at the Red Cross Conference Centre, the location for the symposium.

The outcome of the symposium will be presented at the Donors’ Conference.

The purpose of the symposium is:

• to share views on how the priorities should be set for interventions on women’s rights and leadership as defined in the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) report that forms the basis of the Donors’ Conference.
• to advocate donor support for actions promoting gender equality and women’s rights.
• to encourage a co-ordinated response and strengthen partnerships for the promotion and protection of women’s rights through women’s leadership in post-conflict Sudan.

Background

In January 2005, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in co-operation with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs organised a conference in Oslo for women from South Sudan, representing various organisations and districts. They were brought together to voice their priorities and identify their roles in building sustainable peace in Sudan. The Sudanese women delegates requested the Government of Norway and UNIFEM to host a symposium on women’s human rights to coincide with the Donors’ Conference for Sudan.

The Donors’ Conference builds on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, on 9 January 2005 and the outcome of the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM), which recognises gender mainstreaming as being central to the process of peace building in Sudan.

The objective of the symposium is to draw up action plans based on the specific actions on gender issues and women's rights recommended in the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) documents. Furthermore, it will provide a forum for discussions on financial and technical support for gender issues. The reconstruction and development of communities in post-conflict Sudan rests heavily on the shoulders of the women.

Venue:

The Henri Dunant Room, The Red Cross Conference Centre, Hausmannsgate 7, 0133 Oslo

Time:

Sunday 10 april 09.15 to 17.00, Press conference from 15.30

For further information and appointment please contact:

MFA

Executive officer Julie Meinich Jacobsen

Mobile: 48 05 92 38

Email: jmj@mfa.no

NUPI

Executive officer Anita Haslie

Mobile: 93 88 06 03

Email: aha@nupi.no