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20.07.2007
Mauritanian Delegation to UN Meeting Speaks Out on Women’s Discrimination

Government Urged to Put an End to Female Genital Mutilation

NEW YORK, USA/GENEVA, 20 July 2007 (LWI) – A delegation of seven women community leaders and one imam presented a chilling report about discrimination against women in Mauritania at a recent meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The delegation, sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), gave an oral statement to the 38th CEDAW Session on 21 May, and submitted a detailed “shadow report” to the committee.

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania was one of eight state parties undergoing periodic review as required by the treaty. So-called “shadow reports” from non-governmental organizations (NGO) play a crucial role in the work of the CEDAW committee, because they give the UN experts an alternative view, which they often use to question policies of the government under review and make recommendations.

In their report and oral statement, the delegation members urged the Mauritanian government to put an end to female genital mutilation (FGM); pass legislation to fix the age of marriage to 18; and, craft legislation to make education compulsory for children seven to 14 years old, with an extension of up to the age of 18.

The delegation also called for finance revenue-generating activities for families of poor girls; and spelt out the need for a study on the extent of fatal practices and violence against women, and the adoption of an action plan to eliminate the same. Other demands included the adoption of a gender budget, and assurance of the independence of the justice system from coercion.

The delegation also encouraged the strengthening of NGO capacity in the promotion and protection of human rights for women and children.

Diakonia students from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Heidi Muurinen and Hanna Nordblom accompanied the delegation. The Finnish students had spent the previous two months accompanying the delegation through the LWF Department for World Service program in Mauritania.

In addition to presenting their shadow report to the CEDAW committee, the delegation members met with CEDAW experts, as well as with an officer from the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Population Fund. The delegation also spoke at a panel with NGOs from Pakistan and Syria, where they particularly discussed how to improve laws for women in Muslim societies.

Upon their return to Mauritania, the women community leaders and imam will meet with the wider group of NGOs to share their experience and strategize how to continue working for women’s advancement. They will also follow up with the government about the recommendations made by the CEDAW committee.

The shadow report was prepared by the “Partners Network for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Mauritania,” a coalition of some 100 NGOs, cooperatives and village associations. The LWF/DWS program in Mauritania, Church of Norway and the Norwegian Center for Human Rights provided technical and financial assistance.(506 words)

The shadow report is available at: www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/shadow_reports.htm 

(Reported for LWI by Emily Freeburg, Lutheran Office for World Community, New York, USA.)