The Network of Community Radios in West Africa, in collaboration with Diapol and Procas, an NGO based in Casamance, Senegal, recently concluded a four-day capacity training for 20 community radio broadcasters in Brikama, Western Region.

The training, which brought together participants from Guinea Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia, was geared towards enhancing the capacity of radio broadcasters and also fostering the relationship between the three countries.

During the training, the participants were introduced to broadcast media ethics, production techniques, trans-national communication and cross border programming amongst others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Abdou Jawo, network coordinator, the training offered participants the opportunity to acquire new skills in production and co-production. He added that the roles of community radios in the consolidation of peace, solidarity and integration along the borders of the three countries are infinitive. He then urged the participants to take the training seriously.

For his part, Ardy Fatty, media trainer and consultant, who is also the managing editor and head of news at GRTS TV, urged participants to make good use of the knowledge gained during the training to foster integration and promote unity within the three neighboring states.

According to him, the primary role of a community radio is to serve the local populace in which it operates.

Out of 53 members states of the African Union only 26 submitted reports on the Solemn Declaration. Among those who have submitted were Ghana , Mali, Ivory cost ,

South Africa, Nambia  and Senegal , madam Jeanne Flora Kayites, programme officer , women’s right(AUC) African Union commission , gender directorates was delivering a paper at a workshop on human rights education for west Africa in Banjul The Gambia.

Kayitesi , speaking on the second day of the  workshop on 15 April 2008, told participants that AU solemn declaration on gender equality in Africa is facing problems of submitting reports . At the AU level letters were sending to African leaders and also regional workshops were held for parliamentarian so that they can act as advocate but to submit their reports.

The commission of the African Union , in collaboration  with the African Commission on human and People’s Rights and Economic Commission for Africa , organize a workshop on women’s rights through  education , from 14^th -16^th  April 2008, in Banjul , The Gambia.

There is an  international consensus that human rights education makes a fundamental contribution to the  realization of human rights .Human rights education aims  at developing a common understanding of the responsibility to make human rights a reality in every community and society at large .

 On 10 December 2004, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the World Programme for Human Rights Education (WPHRE), which began on 1^st January 2005, with first phase running from 2005-2007. This programme is a follow –up to the United Nations Decade for human rights education which ran from 1995 to 2004.

The regional decade review of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action (7^th regional Conference o Women , Addis Ababa, October 2004), highlighted progress made in the last ten years in a addressing the human rights of women . The country reports noted that the legal framework for gender equality has been strengthened in many countries, by ensuring that de jure equality for women is institutional frameworks. Constitutions in many countries now include provisions guaranteeing equality between men and women. New laws have been adopted to bring civil, penal and family provisions into conformity with the Convention on the elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.

At the Continental level , the Heads of States and Government Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa enshrine  numerous commitments of African leaders to the protection of the rights of women and girls , to gender equality and to women’s empowerments in all sector.

Measures protecting women against violence especially domestic violence are in place in several countries . However , the Regional Review indicated that despite these successes , the Beijing and Dakar Platforms for Action remain far from being fully achieved . Attitudes towards gender equality and empowerment of women among the general public have not changed at the same peace as policy, legal and institutional frameworks. In some countries discrimination in legislation continues to deprive women of their human rights in all spheres.          The coexistence of multiple legal systems remains a source of great concern, especially as they relate to customary and religious laws governing personal status and private life. Women continue to experience discrimination and are disadvantaged in owing and inheriting property, as well as in having access to economic resources and social services. In addition, they face different kinds of  violence , which inhibit them from fully  exercising and enjoying their human rights. In all countries , women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuses, whether in public or in their private life. Discriminatory social norms, violence and men continue to be major obstacles to the fulfillment of women’s human rights  in most African countries.

A number of strategies have been formulated to address the large gap between de jure and Dakar Platforms for action and most international and regional instruments pay attention to the role of education in promoting women’s rights . “Provision of human rights education is essential for promoting an understanding of the rights of women, including knowledge of recourse mechanisms to redress violation of their rights”(Beijing Platform for Action, Para.227). Schools are widely recognized as important sites for learning about gender equality, and education and can be a key for change towards a gender equality culture. Human  rights education and gender sensitization at all levels are a critical dimension of a rights-based approach. In many countries , there have also been sustained efforts to promote gender equality in the curricula .

The promotion and protection of human rights, including gender equality, is an integral  part of the African Union Constitutive Act and the African Union has adopted various instruments , declarations and decisions on human rights. In particular , the Constitutive Act provides for promotion and protection of human rights accordance with the African charter on Human and People’s Rights and other relevant human rights instruments Act 3(h) . The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa provides for States parties to take specific position action to promote literacy among women; education and training for women at all levels ad in all discipline particularly in the fields of science and technology ; promote the enrolment and retention of girls in schools are other  training institutions and the organization of programmes for women  who leave school prematurely , Act . 12(2). The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the child provides that every child shall have the right to education Act.11(1).

In October 2005, the African Union , in collaboration with Economic Commission for Africa and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, organized in Kigali, Rwanda, a sub-regional workshop for east African  Countries on the “Realization of women ‘s Rights through  Human Rights Education” This was  followed by similar workshop for North African Countries. These workshops were attended by government officials, National Human Rights Institutions, Civil Society Organizations and UN Agencies . It is the African Union’s desire to organize a similar workshop in all the regions of Africa in a bid to build a culture of respect for human rights gender equality , security and peace on the Continent. It is therefore against this background that the African Union in collaboration with its partners organizes a Human Rights Education Workshop for its member’s states in West Africa.

The Gambia Red Cross Society, in collaboration with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFCR) Dakar Zone responsible for West and Central African countries, on Monday, began a five-day Regional Food Security Assessment Training (RFSAT) workshop at the Sea View Garden Hotel, Kololi.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Kanja Sanneh, secretary of state for Agriculture acknowledged the role played by these organisations in ensuring food availability.

According to him the training will further strengthen the capacities of the Red Cross national societies responsible for Food security Assessment, Programming and Analysis (FSAPA).  “The Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies’ intervention in this area, demonstrates your understanding of how vulnerable populations normally become, the risk involve, the causes and impact of disasters on the immediate and future well being of affected populations,” he said.

SoS Sanneh challenged participants at the training to look at the different components of food security ranging from availability, accessibility and utilisation of food in the communities and at household level. He noted that the training will compliment sub-regional governments’ efforts in identifying food security gaps and means and methods of handling them when they arise.  He urged participants to meaningfully utilise the knowledge gained from the training to support their governments as auxiliary bodies to public authorities.

For her part, Fatou Mas Jobe, president of the Gambia Red Cross Society, who doubles as the managing director of Dunes Resort and Casino underscored the importance of the training.

She said poverty and exclusion are the root causes of vulnerability and that the cruel fate of vulnerable people, especially in Africa is exacerbated by disease, disaster and conflict.

“To be able to deal with what lies ahead, we need to be prepared to fulfil our mission in this changing world. Given the global challenges we face, good cooperation among all participants, including states, is indispensable to face them successfully,” she concluded.