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UN official says Sudan should adhere to women’s anti-discrimination treaty

UN official says Sudan should adhere to women’s anti-discrimination treaty

Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women today urged rights experts meeting in New York to encourage Sudan’s adherence to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Addressing the opening of the three-week session of the Committee charged with overseeing that pact, Rachel Mayanja pointed out that it had proved to be a powerful tool for women advocating for change in numerous war-ravaged countries.

During the current session, the experts will examine reports from Australia, Cambodia, Eritrea, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mali, Thailand, Togo and Venezuela, all parties to the treaty.

The Committee will also continue its work under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which provides for a petition and inquiry procedure regarding violations of the rights of women in States parties to the Convention and the Optional Protocol.

The Convention, which currently has 180 States parties, requires them to eliminate discrimination against women in their enjoyment of all rights. Seventy-two of these States are also party to the Optional Protocol that establishes a communications and inquiry procedure, providing a significant incentive to intensify their efforts to eliminate and prevent discrimination against women in law and in practice.