Introducing FAS
Friday 14th July 2006

By Ceesaynding Jallow

Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS) is women’s NGO that seeks to develop consolidate and promote the role women leaders in the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict around Africa. FAS is working to expand the campaign for the promotion and protection of African Women’s rights.

FAS were formed in 1996 in response to an eruption of violence conflicts around the continent that were tearing apart the fabric of African society. The International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, co-ordinates programmes in Africa and serves as a point of contact for international organisations, NGOs and donors. FAS established office to facilitate the mobilization of resources and to maximize the visibility of African women’s initiatives. FAS also has a permanent representative in New York, located near the United Nations, to facilitate its presence at the international level.
FAS has also opened a Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal to guarantee an effective collaboration with women’s organisation around Africa. This office has allowed FAS better support the activities of women working for democracy and decision-making mechanisms.

Priorities
FAS believes that peace process is a vital aspect to the total elimination of violent conflict on the African continent. The tools and strategies used to resolve conflicts and address their root causes cannot be successful without the rehabilitation of all its victims, particularly women, who are disproportionately affected by conflict. With active participation of women, we can build the foundation of sustainable peace through development, good governance, human rights and justice.

Recent achievements
At the international level, the experiences of FAS on the effects of war on women in the Mano River and Great Lakes regions have contributed to the adoption of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, by the Security Council of the United Nations in October 2000. FAS helped monitored SCR 1325 through the United Nations Non Governmental Commission on the Status of women in Geneva, which it has presided over since December 2000.

At the regional level, FAS has waged a campaign for the adoption of the Additional Protocol to the African Charter of Human Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Since the adoption and recent ratification of the Protocol, FAS has pushed for its implementation and domestication at the national level.

In collaboration with the Committee for Peace and Development (CFAPD), FAS has expanded its regional campaign to encourage the application of the gender parity principle in all African Union bodies. In July 2004, the efforts of FAS resulted in the application of the gender parity principle in the AU Commission, with the election of five women commissioners out of ten.
To Be Continued.