By Kemo Cham, AfricaNews
DAKAR, Senegal, 19 November 2009: The deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Commission for Africa, Lalla Ben Barka, has urged governments and the international community to prioritize achievements of gender equality and women’ rights as these are essential in the crusade of poverty reduction and the promotion of growth.
She was addressing the 8th African Regional Conference on Women (Beijing+15), which commenced in Banjul, Gambia. The conference brings together participants from over 43 African countries, among them about 28 African ministers in charge of gender affairs.
According to the organizers, this conference will seek to look at progress achieved in Africa since the Beijing Summit on Women fifteen years ago, and it will seek to identify pending challenges for the implementation of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA).
