Okeil: The training of international human rights mechanisms seeks to spread the human rights culture among workers in relevant fields
Mennatalla Bakr: We discussed the items of the CEDAW in light of the local controversy it raises
Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights has launched the first version of its training program entitled “International Advocacy for Women's Rights: Protection & Promotion”. The two-day training program, held at the headquarters of Maat Training Center, aims to provide support to women's organizations, journalists and women's rights activists in order to raise their awareness of the tools of international advocacy that women-oriented civil society organizations, journalists and media professionals can use to influence public opinion, raise awareness of women's rights, and effectively cover relevant local and international events.
On day one of the training program, the contractual mechanisms were discussed, a brief on the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was provided, and the articles of the Convention as well as the possible ways to cooperate with the Committee were explored. On the second day, however, the non-contractual mechanisms were touched upon. In addition, the possible means for cooperating with the Human Rights Council, the Comprehensive Periodic Review as well as the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women for advocating and protecting women’s rights, were all explored and discussed.
In this context, Ayman Okeil, the international human rights expert, confirmed that many human rights workers, journalists and media professionals lack knowledge and awareness of the role of international mechanisms in protecting human rights and don’t know how to access these mechanisms.
The human rights expert added that Maat, as holding a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, will focus its attention on spreading awareness of international mechanisms by contributing to the exchange of information about those mechanisms, and effective advocacy tools at the international level to protect groups vulnerable to discrimination or deprivation. This will be achieved through organizing training programs, the first of which was the "International Advocacy for Women's Rights".
For her part, Mennatalla Bakr, Director of the International Mechanisms Unit at Maat, stated that in the two-day program, we discussed the tools of international advocacy to protect women's rights and the means of accessing and dealing with them, in addition to reviewing the items of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women "CEDAW", given the local controversy it raises.
