FIDA announces new Board of Directors

FIDA Uganda Hosts the 2006 FIDA Africa Regional Congress, August 1-3, 2006

The Uganda Association of Women Lawyers is an affiliate of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA International). FIDA ­ Uganda has over 300 members. Its mission is to work with women and children to attain effective protection of their rights and increase access to justice for poor and vulnerable people and communities in Uganda.

FIDA- UGANDA hosted the 2006 FIDA Africa Regional Congress from August 1st-3rd 2006, at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel Entebbe. This is one of the mechanisms through which FIDA International mobilizes its membership to focus on some of the global issues that affect the enjoyment and enforcement of the rights of women and children, who make up the bigger percentage of the poorest people in the world. The congress coincided with the biennial FIDA ­Uganda Week celebrations, which were launched on 3rd and went on till 9th August 2006.

The International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is one of the international human rights instruments adopted to facilitate and accelerate the breaking of barriers that hindered the achievement of equality among all peoples and the promotion of global peace and development. Fifty-one countries in Africa have ratified CEDAW, some with reservations on the fundamental Article 2 of the Convention.

The Convention embodies international standards on the rights of women and girl child applicable to all irrespective of their marital, socio-economic and political status. CEDAW prohibits discrimination against women, in all its forms. States parties to CEDAW have an obligation, which is binding and enforceable, to take all necessary and appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all its forms. By ratifying the Convention, States are obliged to condemn discrimination in their countries and ensure that they pursue the applicability of the norms and standards of CEDAW at the domestic level by taking legislative, judicial, procedural, administrative or other measures to eliminate discrimination against women. It provides for the adoption of special and temporary measures that would accelerate the establishment of de facto equality between men and women including changing the paradigms and models of socio-cultural behavior patterns that perpetrate discrimination.

The implementation and monitoring of CEDAW is the responsibility of the states parties. However, non-state actors like FIDA International and its various Chapters scattered on over 80 countries in the world have initiated programs to contribute to the realization of the objectives of CEDAW. In particular, popularizing women and children’s rights, increasing access to justice for the poor and the quality of judicial services has been the main focus of FIDA International and its Chapters.

While progress is clearly discernable in some areas, for example many countries in Africa have reviewed their constitutions to ensure that women’s rights are guaranteed and they prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex among others, there are still laws and practices in existence that are discriminatory against women in these countries. Where there are good laws, implementation and enforcement is weak. CEDAW provisions are intended to secure de jure and de facto enjoyment of rights of women and the girl child in all spheres of life. In some countries lack of a holistic approach has sometimes led to situation where law reform in one area is negated by conflicting laws or practices. Conflict in the law due to dual or even triple legal systems, has also made it difficult to eliminate discriminatory laws and practices in many African countries.

It is 25 years since CEDAW was adopted and FIDA ­ UGANDA, which was nominated to host the 2006 FIDA Africa Regional Congress at the FIDA International Convention in November 2005, considers it timely for the FIDA Chapters in Africa to reflect on how this Convention has facilitated the breaking of barriers and building bridges to secure the advancement of women and enjoyment of the whole range of rights pronounced therein. The Congress provides a great opportunity to learn from the experiences around Africa, to celebrate achievements and strategies to meet the new and emerging challenges include the increasing levels of poverty and impact of HIV and AIDS on the legal status and the rights of the women.

The FIDA Regional Congress in Uganda was attended by representatives from FIDA Chapters in Africa that are affiliated to FIDA International and other civil society organizations which bring women lawyers together to work towards increasing access to justice for all and improving the quality of services offered by the justice systems in Africa or in their respective countries. 100 delegates came from different countries in Africa, which have ratified CEDAW and representatives from various regional bodies like the East African Community that aim at harmonizing the legal regimes of the respective member countries in order to enhance the protection of human rights.