Date: Saturday 26 May 2012
Time: 10:00 am – 4:30pm
Venue: 52-54 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8RT

"Women’s rights are human rights." These words were an important part of the declaration that was unanimously adopted by the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, in Beijing, China in 1995.

Every Woman deserves the right to live in peace, to eat, to have access to adequate healthcare, to be educated,  to have a income, to exercise her citizen duties,to human development, and to reach her potential, ie: just the basics of being able to construct her own approach to life."

Although an amount of progress has been made since 1995, particularly in establishing constructive legal frameworks on women's rights, However there are still so much that has to be done worldwide on implementation. 'Deaths caused by pregnancy in Africa are more than all the deaths from AIDS, TB and malaria combined. Accountability for women's rights is accountability for human rights in general. Gender equality and effective participation of women will lead to real participatory democracy and social justice for all,  food security and better healthcare for many in Africa, hence peace and sustainable development.' M-C Faray

Programme Details

This one-day course is designed to enable participants to identify and raise awareness about Gender Based Violence (particularly  Violence Against Women) and understand the various existing legal Frameworks on human rights, as well as the role of a State to protect women  as its citizen from abuses, dicriminations, persecutions and other human insecurities. Understanding that there are laws, and that VAW and discrimination are human rights abuses and crimes.

Topics to be covered are:

The course will inform women about the different forms of Violence Against Women that exist as well as the various legal frameworks or mechanisms that are available locally, nationally in the UK and at the international level to protect Women’s Rights such as:

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

• Protocol to The African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol)

• UN Security Council Resolution 1325

• UN Security Council Resolution  1820

• UNSCR Security Council Resolution 1888

• UNSCR Security Council Resolution 1889

• UN Security Council Resolution 1960

A PowerPoint presentation will be used for illustration and demonstration. A dialogue amongst participants will also be generated through an interactive debate (Questions/Answers or recommendations as well as testimonies). Several printed materials with information will also be distributed to participants.

Who is the programme for?

The course is designed for women, but particularly for Diaspora African women.

This course will be of particlular interest for women interested to learn more about human rights and how to campaign to end Gender based violence (particularly Violence Against Women) at the local, national and international level.
This course will also be of interest to women who are interested in Politics and women's participation in decision making process for the governance of countries and for Peace building as well as reconcialiation.

This course will also be an asset for women interested in women's reproductive heathcare as a human right and a tool for sustainable development.

What will I gain from the programme?

The course will equip the participants with the practical skills to identify and raise awareness about Gender Based Violence or discrimination as well knowledge of legal framework on human rights.

To book your place, please download the booking form and send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.