The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo

A documentary on the life of acclaimed African Writer ("The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo") has been released by the African Women Development Fund, in Accra (Ghana). 

Ama Ata Aidoo is an icon, a force of nature advocating for social change, justice and gender equality.

I had the pleasure to meet Ama Ata Aidoo within the framework of Women for AFrica Foundation's projects in Ghana. I have taken as a gift every one of the inspiring conversations I have had with her.   I have witnessed the respect she enjoys from African women leaders and women writers. Despite her physical fragility, her words and her head remain excepcionatlly clear (the clarity that comes from wisdom), firm and strong, committed to African women and to women writers. Her wonderful stories will illuminate generations of women from Africa and all over the world.

Seminario sobre el Futuro de Mali: Universidad Carlos III - 22 de octubre

El 22 de octubre, la Cátedra UNESCO de Libertades Públicas y la Fundación Mujeres por África organizan un Seminario sobre el Futuro de Mali: las Mujeres y la Reconciliación Nacional.

El programa se puede consultar AQUÍ.

Este Seminario es de asistencia libre y tendrá lugar el 22 de octubre a partir de las 16.00 horas en el Campus de Getafe de la Universidad Carlos III.

CURSO EN RESOLUCIÓN DE CONFLICTOS PARA MUJERES AFRICANAS EN ESPAÑA

Si eres una mujer africana afincada en España, te invitamos a solicitar una plaza en este Curso gratuito que se celebrará en la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, entre el 20 y el 24 de octubre próximos.

Es un curso organizado por la Fundación Mujeres por África, la Cátedra UNESCO en Libertades Públicas y el Vicerrectorado de Igualdad y Cooperación.

Puedes encontrar más información aquí.
 

Responsibility to Protect to Fight Ebola

The Security Council has issued Resolution 2177 (2014) referred to the ebola outbreak in Western Africa. 

It is a very interesting Resolution for various reasons. Firstly, it considers the ebola outbreak as a threat to international peace and security. Secondly it calls on the international community as a whole to articulate a global and integrated response to this threat. Among the actors praised by the Council for their involvement and commitment to assist the affected countries, we find Medecins sans frontiers and the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. The acknowledgment  of the important role played by humanitarian medical organizations is one aspect that deserves to be underlined. 

A global response from the international community (represented by affected Governments, Governments of the region, Member States of the United Nations, regional actors such as the AFrican Union, ECOWAS or the European Union as well as civil socity) is even more necessary in this case where the capacities of the affected States are widely exceeded.

LA Violencia Sexual en el Conflicto de Mali: Mujeres en Lucha contra la Impunidad

Os presento este artículo en el que estoy trabajando. En cuanto que tenga confirmación de la revista donde se publicará, la facilitaré. 

LA VIOLENCIA SEXUAL EN EL CONFLICTO DE MALI: La Mujer como Víctima y como Protagonista de la Lucha contra la Impunidad

Alicia Cebada Romero

1. Reflexiones Introductorias

El consenso global sobre la existencia de una obligación de prevenir, investigar y castigar la violencia sexual en los conflictos armados se refleja hoy en día en el Derecho internacional, donde se ha consagrado una prohibición amplia de este tipo de violencia, que ha sido calificada como crimen de guerra, como un crimen de lesa humanidad e incluso como un acto de genocidio. Se puede sostener hoy que esta prohibición está recogida en una norma de ius cogens internacional, que no admite ningún tipo de derogación. ^[1]

Lo que ha ocurrido en Mali durante el conflicto, demuestra sin embargo, lo lejos que estamos de conseguir erradicar esta lacra. Las mujeres no son las únicas víctimas de la violencia sexual, pero sí son las que mayoritariamente la sufren y las que se enfrentan a barreras prácticamente insalvables para acceder a la justicia y para beneficiarse de la asistencia que necesitan para poder recuperarse del trauma físico y psicológico al que han sido sometidas.

Ghanaian nurses leaders program in NYC

Attending at New York University the session where the Ghana Wins nurses are presenting the projects they are going to implement at their respective hospitals in the following months. Most of the projects are related to maternal health.
This programme is being sponsored by Bank of Santander and Women for Africa Foundation.

The Changing Role of Law in the Age of Supra and Transnational Governance

“Global Law: The Human Face of International Law”, en: NICKEL; GREPPI (Eds.) The changing role of Law in the Age of Supra and Transnational Governance, Nomos, 2014, pp. 101-126. ISBN: 978-8487-5361-4

Congratulations Caddy Adzuba

Some weeks ago in this blog I published a post on one of the most pressing moral issues of our age: sexual violence in armed conflicts. We referred to the journalist Caddy Adzuba as an example of the fight against this scourge in one of the most hostile environments we can imagine: Republic Democratic of Congo.

Caddy Adzuba has been awarded with the prestigious Prince of Asturias Concorde Prize. Congratulations Caddy Adzuba!

We can take this as a recognition of the need to put an end to the use of sexual violence as a war weapon, and as a gesture of support to the victims and all people who are trying to end it.

Felicidades!