News
Government of Timor-Leste Says NO to Violence against Women
Date: 10 September 2008
Dili — The President of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Fernando Lasama de Araujo, officially launched the Say NO to Violence against Women campaign at a ceremony in Dili on 10 September 2008. Mr. Araujo, who stood in for President José Manuel Ramos-Horta, signed the campaign card on behalf of the Government during the Third National Women’s Congress, demonstrating the Timorese Government’s commitment to end violence against women.
Other distinguished guests who joined the head of Parliament in signing on to the campaign included Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão; Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Timor-Leste Mr. Atul Khare; and Ms. Maria Dias, President of Rede Feto, an umbrella body of women’s organizations in Timor-Leste. The launching ceremony was attended by government officials, politicians, diplomats, and representatives of international aid agencies, women’s organizations and UN agencies.
Ms. Jean D’Cunha, UNIFEM Regional Programme Director for East and South-East Asia, witnessed the signing ceremony and praised the Government’s level of support, political will and commitment to end violence against women. “The Say NO to Violence against Women campaign is in support of the Secretary-General’s multi-year campaign to end violence against women, which aims to engage men leaders and mobilize men and boys as partners with women and girls to put a stop to violence against them,” said Ms. D’Cunha. “If we leave male consciousness and practices unaddressed, we will be thwarting the move towards empowering gender relations and the building of wholesome human communities.”
The launch of the campaign will be complemented by a number of activities aimed at raising public awareness of gender-based violence and collecting signatures for the Say NO campaign. UNIFEM and its partners hope to amass 30,000 signatures from across the country by the end of October.
UNIFEM Country Manager Elaine Tan said the campaign is significant to the nation because it will benefit both women and men: “Ending violence against women promotes men as well as women's engagement in peacebuilding initiatives and local conflict reconciliation in Timor-Leste. It enables both men and women to build cultures and communities of peace, security and equality in gender relations.”
For more information, please contact Mr. Gerald Nyamatcherenga, gerald.nyamatcherenga[at]unifem.org, +670 3 313294 ext. 2115.
The UNIFEM-organized Say NO to Violence against Women campaign is a global advocacy and awareness raising effort on ending violence against women, designed to support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s multi-year UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign. The UNIFEM initiative aims to demonstrate that there is an ever-growing movement of people who Say NO to violence against women and Say YES to make ending it a top priority for governments everywhere. Signatures collected through the campaign will be delivered to Mr. Ban on 25 November 2008, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
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