Projects
This page allows you to read more about projects with partners from Denmark and the Middle East and North Africa. Every project can have one or more working groups attached to it, which you may join and participate in the debate. The working language is English.
PROJECT NAME:
Equality Without Reservation
Description
KVINFO supports the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as a part of the focus area Legal Change. More specifically, support is given to efforts in the Middle East and North Africa to lift specific reservations to the convention. A campaign headed by a regional network calls for - equality without reservation.
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The CEDAW convention has been signed by 17 Arab States. However, most of these have ratified the convention with a number of very significant reservations or opt-outs regarding all articles dealing with nationality issues and equality articles that are deemed by these states to contradict Islamic law.The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is an expert body comprising 23 women's issues experts from around the world. The Committee monitors the progress of women made in those countries that have ratified CEDAW. Every four years each state submits a national report which is reviewed by the Committee. NGOs are welcome to submit country-specific information (so-called CEDAW shadow reports) to ensure that the committee is as well informed as possible.
Ratification of CEDAW
In itself, the ratification of CEDAW does not ensure the end of all discrimination against women. It is an instrument that will only be effective if an enabling environment exists at national and local levels, and it is therefore necessary to follow up with appropriate laws and policies. Denmark ratified CEDAW in 1983, but it has yet to be integrated in Danish national law.
Regional Campaign
The Equality without Reservation coalition is lead by a number of civil society organisations representing most countries in the region. They have joined in a regional campaign working for the lifting of all reservations made by Arab states to the CEDAW convention. The ‘Equality without Reservation’ campaign is the outcome of a regional conference held in Rabat, Morocco, in June 2006 that also led to the adoption of two principal documents: ‘Strategy of the Regional Campaign’ and The Rabat call for ‘Equality without Reservation’. The campaign has shown good results and several countries represented in the network have declared that they will remove or reduce their reservations to CEDAW.
Advocacy, networking and training
The Equality without Reservation coalition is leading an advocacy campaign among political and legislative decision-makers in all Arab countries, as well as to regional institutions concerned by the issue. It is seeking support from civil society actors and works towards strengthening relationships and networks with the human rights and women’s right movements at national, regional and international levels.The network has launched an information campaign at regional level and has recently engaged in organising training activities for member organisations.
Organisation
The network steering group includes representatives from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Bahrain and the network is currently being coordinated by New Woman Foundation and supported by KVINFO, as well as other international donors.
For more info about this project
Please contact:
Katarina Blomqvist
Programme Adviser
E-mail: katarina.blomqvist@kvinfo.dk
Tlf: 50 76 33 54