| |
|
 |
Ethiopia
joins world anti-abuse campaign
BAN KI-MOON VOWS TO LEAD INT'L CAMPAIGN |
 |
| |
 ADDIS
ABEBA(November 27,2007) -
Ethiopia has joined the global anti-abuse campaign which is being
celebrated all over the world with the main theme: Eliminating men's
violence against women.
To commemorate the day, EgenderHealth, an Ethiopian NGO working on
Gander and the marginalized, is organizing a White Ribbon Campaign
which extends from November 25 to December 10, 2007, the NGO said
in a media release on Monday.
According to the statement, the NGO, in partnership with three other
local NGOs-Hiwot Ethiopia, IFSO, and Eshet Children and Youth Unity
Association- has organized a three day campaign during the afternoon
of November 29 through December 1.
The three- day campaign emphasizes on men's partnership in eliminating
gender based violence.
Representatives from the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the Ministry
of Youth and Sports, Regional Educational Bureau, Local and international
agencies, NGOs, and young people are expected to participate in the
three day-campaign scheduled to be held at Minilik 2nd High School.
Denouncing violence against women as "one of the most heinous,
systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world," United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has vowed to lead a campaign
against the scourge.
In a message marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women on Sunday, Mr Ban hailed progress in addressing the
issue, but said there was much left to do to "tear down the veil
of tolerance which still sometimes surrounds it."
He pledged to spearhead a system-wide campaign through to 2015 aimed
at eliminating violence against women focused on global advocacy,
UN leadership by example and strengthened partnerships at the national
and regional levels to support the work of governments, civil society,
the private sector and others.
Mr Ban said he had proposed that the General Assembly devote an agenda
item every year to considering the question of violence against women.
"I have called on the Security Council to establish a mechanism
dedicated to monitoring violence against women and girls, within the
framework of resolution 1325 on women, peace and security," Mr
Ban said.
He also reiterated his longstanding support for a proposal to replace
several current UN structures with one "dynamic" entity
able to call on all of the UN system's resources in the work to empower
women and realise gender equality worldwide.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in her statement
on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,
highlighted the problem of immunity for violent crimes against women.
"Every day, in all corners of the world, countless women and
girls are killed, mutilated, beaten, raped, sold into sexual slavery
or tortured.
"Most of the survivors of this violence have little hope of seeing
their tormentors pay for their crimes. And so the violence goes on,"
she said.
Impunity "is built on a foundation of discrimination and inequality,"
Ms Arbour said.
Also marking the day, two independent UN human rights experts issued
a statement pointing out that despite progress, many countries fail
to recognise some forms of violence against women as crimes.
They noted that the application of international instruments and the
development of strategies to condemn and punish torture have been
slow to take into account gender-based aspects of torture, such as
sexual violence, and have treated severe pain or suffering inflicted
on women in the private sphere as a 'domestic affair'.
The experts appealed to the international community to make full use
of all existing instruments and mechanisms designed to combat violence
against women.
In Ethiopia, the issue is being tackled by the government, together
with UN local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on a number of
activities, including awareness raising on gender and related topics.
The Ministry of Women's Affairs is a branch of the government formed
to address issue at national level, and executes Women's Acts adopted
by the House of Parliament. |
| |
|
