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African Rights Monitor-ARM attended the two weeklong meeting of the 54th session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on 12 March 2010 in New York.  In addition, Huda Yusuf from ARM was a member of a panel discussion: “Young African Women Taking Beijing +15 Forward” lead by Ilitha Labantu, an NGO from South Africa.  The panel discussed how issues facing African women are not changing but the faces advocating for them is.  Other members of the panel discussion were Ms. Litha Musyimi-Ogana who is the Director for Women, Gender & Development for the African Union.  Ms. Musyimi-Ogana shared with the audience her vision for the young African women and her role in the Decade of Women 2010-2020 sponsored by the AU.  The panel and the audience discussed how violence and poverty are the two of the major issues that need to be solved before peace or prosperity can be brought to the continent.

ARM also attended the workshop sponsored by Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB) regarding documenting the major milestones in ones life.  In Africa, many communities do not document births, marriages, deaths, and education milestones.  If every milestone is documented then one violation of human rights occur, or if a dispute occurs it can be solved by legal means and they can assist the local communities and judicial system.

On the final day of the CSW, the Commission considered a resolution entitled Release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned in armed conflicts (document E/CN.6/2010/L.3).  This resolution passed with unanimous support.

The Commission also considered a resolution eliminating maternal morality and morbidity through the empowerment of women (document E/CN.6/2010/L.6).  This resolution addressed a subject of grave concern.  Millennium Development Goal 5, on maternal mortality, was the Goal least on track at the moment.  The resolution called for increased political will to tackle maternal mortality.  It underscored the importance of guaranteeing all of women’s human rights, including sexual and reproductive health rights.  It also called for evidence-based interventions to eliminate the problem worldwide.  This resolution passed with unanimous support

The Commission also considered a resolution on women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS (document E/CN.6/2010/L.2/Rev.1), saying it highlighted major factors, such as eliminating mother-to-child transmissions of HIV by 2015, as well as the need for commitments by Member States to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015, as outlined in the Millennium Summit outcome document.  It referred to voluntary testing and counselling for HIV.  But that was not enough to reverse the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Government health-care services must be improved.  This resolution also passed with unanimous support.

Finally, the Commission considered a resolution on women’s economic empowerment (document E/CN.6/2010/L.5).  It was stated that economic empowerment was a key factor in achieving all of women’s human rights.  The lack of empowerment in the social field put women at risk for violence.  The resolution’s text references to a wide range of issues concerning women, such as their participation in all levels of decision-making, land and property rights, violence against women, their access to education and health, the plight of rural women, discrimination in the workplace, unequal access to economic and financial resources, and mechanisms to assist women during the economic crisis.  This resolution also passed with unanimous support.
ARM wants to take this opportunity to bring attention to the armed conflict that the ethnic Somali residents in the Ogaden territory face daily, especially the helpless women and children.  This conflict tore mothers from their children, families from their community and orphaned many young children.  The ethnic Somali civilians’ basic rights are infringed upon on a daily basis with no regard on breaking national or international laws.
 
ARM is encouraged by the passage of the mentioned resolutions and encourages the International Community to participate in protecting and defending the innocent civilians.
 
Finally, ARM would like to invite you to participate in the hearing that will discuss the human rights situation in the Ogaden that will be held at the European Parliament, hosted by Ana Gomes MEP:
 
Human Rights and Security in Ogaden
16 March
14.00 – 15.00
European Parliament, Altiero Spinelli Building, Room A3H1
 
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10849/81/