Jeddah- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a workshop on 28-29 June 2018, in Ouagadougou, capital of the Republic of Burkina Faso, preparatory for the Seventh Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in Development in Member States. The workshop opened on Thursday under the auspices of Burkina Faso's Minister of Women, National Solidarity and Family, Helene Marie Laurence Ilboudou Marchal.
Minister Ilboudou Marchal emphasized in her inaugural address that nearly 10 years after the adoption of the first OIC Action Plan for the Promotion of women in Cairo, Member States have created a legal and institutional environment to promote women's fundamental rights. However, many challenges remain. In this regard, she urged the Member States and the OIC institutions to take appropriate measures to address these challenges.
Ambassador Hesham Youssef, OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Social and Cultural Affairs, delivered the speech of the OIC Secretary General, Dr. Yousef Al Othaimeen, in which he highlighted the efforts undertaken by the OIC through its various institutions promoting the role of women in development in the Member States, recalled the progress made in this area and welcomed the spirit of self-denial that characterized women in the Member States, particularly in Palestine where women pay a heavy price due to the oppression of the Israeli occupation. He further reaffirmed the availability of the General Secretariat to work in collaboration with Burkina Faso and the OIC institutions for the success of the 7th Conference on women.
The workshop addresses the themes, documents and projects to be submitted to the Seventh Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in Development to be held on 28 November in Burkina Faso. The workshop brought together representatives of relevant OIC organs and institutions, members of the Advisory Committee on Women as well as a numbers of Burkina Faso's institutions.