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Zambia: State to Address Gender Violence
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
27 November 2007
Posted to the web 27 November 2007
Ndola
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa says the Government will enact laws and domesticate relevant international conventions to address gender-based violence.
Addressing women and men who participated in the launch of 16 days of activism against gender violence in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Mwanawasa said the Government was wary of the negative effects gender violence had on society and the economy.
In a speech read for him by acting Vice-President, George Mpombo, the President said it was for that reason that the Government had already development a roadmap for accelerated domestication of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) into Law.
Dr Mwanawasa told the gathering at Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) that he had instructed Justice Minister, George Kunda to speed up the process of drafting the Bill on gender-based violence to further strengthen the law.
"In this regard my Government will within the term of this Parliament introduce a bill to Parliament which will specifically deal with gender violence.
"In order to reach consensus on the matter, the Government had embarked on countrywide stakeholder consultation with a view of bringing on board divergent views in the proposed bills," he said.
Dr Mwanawasa said the issue, however, required concerted efforts of all the people and called for unity among stakeholders.
He said gender violence was a threat to national integrity and pride and it was only through unified efforts that it could be eradicated.
Just like corruption, any gender violence impacted negatively on national production and productivity, he said.
Dr Mwanawasa paid tribute to the judiciary for administering stiffer penalties on defilers and rapists which would serve as a deterrent.
Earlier Non-Government Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC ) chairperson, Marian Munyinda called for the domestication of various conventions and treaties Zambia had assented to.
Ms Munyinda said there had been too much rhetoric on the fight against gender-based violence but little progress had been made hence the need for more commitment.
She said that the Government should come up with laws to help fight the scourge of gender violence against women and children saying currently there was no legal definition of the vice.
She said the defilement of girls coupled by the advent of HIV/AIDS had compounded the situation for women and any efforts to address that would be appreciated.
At the same function, Human Rights Commission acting chairperson, Pixie Yangailo said that women's rights were human rights and they should, therefore be safeguarded.
And the United Nations (UN) said it was concerned about the high incidences of gender-based violence in the world. In a statement delivered by UN Systems head in Zambia, Aeneas Chuma, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the UN was committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and children.
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In his personal capacity, Mr Chuma commended the Government for efforts in the fight against the scourge and pledged support.
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