The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has commended today the
Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) and the African Union for committing to
support the UNiTE Campaign to End Violence Against Women in Africa.
“This
campaign is about our lives and our societies; the media organisations should
empower the newsrooms and reporters who have been covering gender and gender
base violence”. Said Beth Costa, General Secretary of the IFJ.
The UN
Campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women was launched in 2008
by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon and will end in
2015. The Africa UNiTE Campaign launched in 2010 rallied the IFJ and the FAJ to
support the Africa UNiTE Campaign to End Violence Against Women and Girls.
“The election
of a Mrs. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the Chairperson of the African Union by
African Heads of States who are predominantly male is one of the most important
messages of our times, » said Mrs. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Director of Women,
Gender and Development at the African Union Commission and co-chair of the
Campaign.
« The
African Union has found it worthwhile to break the glass ceiling and
demonstrate its determination to entrench gender equality and women’s
empowerment at the centre of its political transformation..” She added.
The
Committee of the Africa UNiTE Campaign meeting closed today in Abuja, Nigeria
at ECOWAS headquarters reviewed the mid-term progress and adopted the work plan
of the Africa UNiTE Campaign. The IFJ and FAJ have stressed the commitment of
journalists’ organisations in tackling violence against women in Africa.
For more
information contact the IFJ: 221 33 867 95 86/87
The IFJ
represents more than 600.000 journalists in 134 countries