Sudanese human rights group organizes symposium in line with AU golden jubilee

Khartoum, Sudan - In line with celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now renamed the African Unity (AU), the Sudanese National Group for Human Rights (NGHR) has organized a symposium at which the need and significance of women and children's rights in Africa were highlighted.

“The symposium was held also to shed light on the progress and how far human rights institutions have gone in terms of what they have been able to achieve in the areas concerning women and children,' the NGHR said in a press release.

The release, received by PANA on Saturday, said the Sudanese NGHR congratulated the OAU/AU on its 50th anniversary and commended the efforts of human rights groups in the Sudan, hoping that in the next 50 years the union and Africa will be developed beyond expectations.

Speaking at the symposium, Dr. Attiat Mustapha, a consultant, women and child defender as well as a Paediatrician, called for “a united, safe and developed Africa in the coming years”, saying that the improvement of the welfare of women and children was necessary for Africa’s development.

According to the release, Dr. Mustapha also added that the protection of all human beings was a vital matter to the African continent, and that the protection and promotion of women and children’s rights should be at the forefront.

The Sudanese scholar, the release said, also called for an end to all forms of slavery, including child slavery.

Dr. Mustapha disclosed that Sudanese women were among the first in Africa to enjoy the right to assume public positions on equal footing with men, voting in elections, dating back to the 1950s when they took part in the first elections in the country shortly after independence in 1956.

She added that at the African regional level, Sudan was a party to the African Union constitutive Act which was adopted in 2000 at the Lome summit and entered into force in 2001.
(2013-05-27/afriquejet)