FAS Puts Darfur-Chad, DRC Conflicts on Agenda of UN Security Council

New York City, USA

2 October 2007 

 

Since returning from the research and solidarity mission in eastern Chad, Bineta Diop, Executive Director of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), has been working tirelessly to bring the voices of Darfur's and Chad's refugee and internally displaced women to the international community. Most recently, FAS' advocacy activities brought Mme Diop to the United Nations Security Council in New York City, USA.

This advocacy mission on behalf of women in Darfur and Chad began just over a month ago when Mme Diop and Ms. Robinson travelled together to eastern Chad in early September on a fact-finding and solidarity mission to the refugee camps of the region. Six other prominent women also took part in the mission, including Asha Hagi Elmi Amin, leader of Somalia's Sixth Clan and a member of the Somali parliament.

Since returning from Chad, Mme Diop has met with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Rama Yade, French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in Paris. In Geneva, Mme Diop met with several African delegations to the United Nations, most notably the delegations of Sudan and the DRC.

In London, Mme Diop attended the Labour Party's annual convention on 22 and 23 September. As a representative of the mission, she met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown to confirm the Labour Government's support for the plight of women in Darfur and Chad.

On 2 October at an Arria Formula Meeting with members of the Security Council and other NGOs, Mme Diop and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and president of the NGO Realizing Rights, spoke on the dire human rights situation in Darfur, eastern Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The work of Mme Diop and the other women that undertook the mission to eastern Chad has received widespread press coverage and positive publicity. Thanks to the efforts of Mme Diop and her fellow mission delegates, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged his support to bring a group of women from Darfur and Chad to the peace negotiations on 27 October in Tripoli, Libya. By representing the interests of women affected by the conflict, their participation in the peace negotiations will help broker a lasting peace agreement that guarantees the respect of women's rights in Chad and Sudan.