Workshop on Female Genital Mutilation legislation and the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa

15 December 2007
 

8h30 – 9h00 

Coffee and registration

9h00 – 10h30 

Opening Session
Welcoming remarks
            Dr. Niccoló Figá-Talamanca, No Peace Without Justice
            Dr. Emad Abdeen, Entishar Charity Society
Interventions
            Dr. Samira Amin Ahmed, UNICEF
            Representative, Italian Embassy
            Ms Khadija Abu-Algasim, Ministry of Social Welfare,
            Women and Child Affairs
Performance by the Entishar Children’s Group

10h30 – 11h15

Breakfast

11h15 – 12h00

Session 1       The prevalence of FGM in Sudan
Introduction
            Prof. Ahmed Abdul Majeed, Ahfad University
            Prof. Ogail Swar Al Dahab, Forensic Medicine
Plenary Discussion

12h00 – 13h15

Session 2       The AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
Introduction
            Ms Zainab Abbas, European Commission Delegation
            Dr. Ahmed Elmufti, Director, Khartoum International
            Centre for Human Rights
Plenary Discussion

13h15 – 13h30 

Coffee break

13h30 – 15h00 

Plenary Discussion

15h00 – 16h00 

Lunch

16 December 2007
 

8h30 – 9h00 

Coffee

9h00 – 11h00 

Session 2       The AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa                          (continued from 15 December)
Parallel Working Group Discussion, articles grouped by theme
–  right to live, right to integrity and security of the person
–  right to equal access and opportunities, economic rights
–  rights to education, medical care and social rights
–  rights on personal status, family and private life

11h00 – 11h30

Breakfast

11h30 – 12:30

Reports to Plenary
Reports from the four Rapporteurs, selected by the Working Groups

12h30 – 14h00 

Session 3       Effective Female Genital Mutilation Legislation
Introduction
Legislative benchmarks in the Maputo Protocol
(Ms Caroline Muriithi, Equality Now, Kenya)
Understanding and managing the cultural roots of FGM
(Dr. Marwan AlGhafory, Sisters Arab Forum, Yemen)
Conditions of Effective Compliance (Dr. Essam Goma, Local Community Development, Egypt)
Plenary Discussion

14h00 – 14h15 

Coffee break

14h15 – 15h30 

Session 4       Current Status of FGM legislation in Sudan
Introduction
            Case Studies
            (Prof. Ogail Swar Al Dahab, Forensic Medicine)
FGM elements in the draft Child Act and key provision of the draft FGM Bill
(Ms Nahid Gabrallah, National Council for Child Welfare)
Plenary Discussion

15h30 – 16h30 

Lunch

17 December 2007
 

8h30 – 9h00 

Coffee

9h00 – 10h45

Session 5       Creating a positive political environment
                        for the adoption of effective FGM legislation and                         Ratification of  the AU Protocol on the Rights of                         Women in Africa
Introduction
Work on FGM legislation conducted by the Training and Law Reform Institute (Dr. Salah Hussein Marouf, Sudanese Society for International Law and Development)
Plenary Discussion

10h45 – 11h30 

Breakfast

11h30 – 13h15 

Session 5       Creating a positive political environment
                        for the adoption of effective FGM legislation and                         Ratification of  the AU Protocol on the Rights of                         Women in Africa
Introduction
Social Dynamics of FGM and Approaches to Abandonment, (Dr. Samira Amin Ahmed, UNICEF)
Experiences from other African Countries
(Ms Caroline Muriithi, Equality Now, Kenya)
Delinking FGM from Religion
(Dr. Abduljelil El Nazir Elkaroori)
FGM in
(Prof. Omar Elshaeikh, Dean of Faculty of Criminal Evidence)
Plenary Discussion

13h15 – 13h30 

Coffee break

13h30 – 15h00 

Conclusions and Recommendations
No Peace Without Justice
Ms Alvilda Jablonko, FGM Program
Entishar Charity Society
Dr. Emad Abdeen

15h00 – 16h00 

Farewell lunch