Women from Darfur participated in the AU pre-summit meetings

25 January 2008 - A two day meeting organized by the Geneva based Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS and the African Center for gender and Social Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Women Gender and Development Directorate of the African Union took place In Addis Ababa.

With the support of other African Women and international experts, the women from Darfur drafted a Plan of Action for Peace to present to the decision makers in Sudan . the AU, the United Nations (UN) and its Committee on the status of Women, the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council and its resolution (1325)

Approximately sixty women Darfurian women delegates spoke about their living conditions and the violence they have faced since the beginning of the conflict.

According to several international reports, tens of thousands of women in Darfur have been displaced and separated from their children, husbands, families, and homes and driven far away from their region. Since the beginning of the conflict, women in Darfur have been raped and killed.

Information on how women from refugee camps are systematically raped when they leave the camps to fetch water, firewood or charcoal. Of all the conflicts in the world today, non seem to have a devastating an effect on women as the one in Darfur , and an end to the violence does not seem to be in sight.

At the meeting women from Darfur and other African Countries shared their experiences and placed a special focus on the gender aspect of the Plan of Action for Peace.

As talks continue between combatant factions and the government of Sudan , the question of participation of civil society organizations in Darfur remains open, and the African Women's Consultation on Darfur is the first step in an effort to ensure that Darfuri women's voices are heard.

The meeting also noted that since 2002, women have been systematically targeted for sexual violence, while domestic violence has also increased as traditional social structures have broken down during displacement and long confinements in refugee camps. Contrary to this believe the women who met in Addis agreed that Darfuri women cannot be considered only as symbols of victimization but rather must have an active role in all aspects of the peace process.

“ It is important that all those involved in the peace process understand that the women of Darfur, many of whom have been victims of violence, are also strong community leaders who are ready to help negotiate an equitable peace settlement and without whom the structures of Darfuri society cannot be built” said Dr. Sidiga Washi, Babikar Badri, Scientific Association of Women Studies in Sudan.

The African Women's consultation on Darfur was organized on the margins of the 10 th African Union Heads of State Summit, with the support of the African Center for Gender and Social Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Women, Gender and Development Directorate of the African Union Commission and the Department of International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom.