Human Rights of Women
Source: Sudan Tribune
April 27, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese cabinet Tuesday approved the ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
In a statement released after its weekly meeting, the Council of Ministers announced the approval of the CEDAW and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol).
The statement said the government entered reservations to articles 2, 16 and 29/1 without further details.
The text is expected to be formally ratified by the joint meeting of the Sovereign Council and the cabinet in the coming days.
CEDAW has been ratified by 187 states, with many reservations. A considerable number of the reservations made by Arab and Islamic countries are related to the provisions of the Islamic Shariah.
Sudan’s women groups have called for the ratification of the CEDAW to provide a legislative umbrella for the protection of women and allow them to effectively participate in public affairs.
Sudan is one of the very few countries that did not ratify the international treaty of women rights which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979.
Source: The National News
Sudan's Cabinet voted to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, with reservations on three main articles.
The move falls short of ratification, which must come from a joint meeting of the Cabinet and the Transitional Sovereignty Council.
The approval took place in a Cabinet session on Tuesday chaired by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
The convention, often described as an international bill of rights for women, was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly. It was instituted in September 1981 and has been ratified by 189 states.
Sudan is one of six countries or territories that have not signed or ratified the convention. The others are Iran, Niue, Somalia, Tonga and the Holy See. Palau and the US have signed, but not ratified the agreement.
Sudan’s previous government led by dictator Omar Al Bashir, who was ousted in April 2019, refused to sign the convention as it viewed some of its clauses as a breach of the country’s societal and religious values.
The transitional administration – comprising the Cabinet and the council – came to office after an August 2019 power-sharing agreement between the pro-democracy group that orchestrated the protests against Al Bashir and the generals who removed him.
In post-Al Bashir Sudan, there has been increasing pressure from women’s rights groups for more participation in the government, as well as louder calls to ratify the convention.
The Cabinet’s reservations about the convention are centred on equality between men and women.
Article 2 calls for the principle of the equality of men and women to be embodied in national constitutions or other appropriate legislation.
Article 16 ensures equality of men and women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.
It also has reservations against Article 29/1, which allows for any dispute between two or more parties concerning the convention to be submitted to arbitration, if not settled by negotiation.
If the parties are unable to agree on the arbitration organisation, the dispute can be referred to the International Court of Justice.