Republic of Mauritius- Workshops to advance the cause for gender equality

In this context, a half-day workshop on ‘Les procédures du Comité des Nations Unies sur l’élimination de toutes les formes de discrimination à l’égard des femmes: les enjeux pour Maurice’ was held today at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel in Port-Louis.

The event was preceded by a press conference by the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr D. B. Seetulsingh, the French Expert on Women’s Rights, United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee Member and former Minister of Gender Issues in France, Mrs Nicole Ameline, and the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Mauritius, Mr Vincent Degert.

The activities, he said, will benefit ministries, organisations of civil society participating in the submission of reports to the CEDAW Committee, National Human Rights institutions and diplomatic missions to chart the way forward to combatting gender violence.

As for Mrs Ameline, she stressed that gender equality is essential to the effectiveness of an inclusive sustainable and equitable world adding that the workshops will support stakeholders in Mauritius to tackle the issue of gender inequality in a multitude of ways in terms of legal barriers, charting a road map, and recommendations. She also called on the authorities to mobilise, innovate and double their efforts so as to consolidate the cause to combat gender violence.

For his part, Ambassador Degert underlined that gender equality is a serious issue despite the fact that women are progressing in the world at various levels. Combatting violence against women through legislative and policy measures, financial support and awareness is a priority for the EU, he stated.