OIC Workshop for Reviewing the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) and Implementation Mechanisms

An “OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women” (OPAAW) is in preparation by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the request of the OIC Member States during a series of Ministerial Conferences on Women that were held in Istanbul in 2006, Cairo in 2008, Tehran in 2010, Jakarta in 2012 and Baku in 2014. The Plan of Action will aim at improving the status of women in the Muslim world, enhancing the capacity of women to play active roles in all walks of life and eliminating all discrimination against women, among many other objectives. Its contents were developed and adopted during the Ministerial Conference held in Tehran. Within the framework of this process, an OIC Workshop for Reviewing the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) and its Implementation Mechanisms was held on 28-29 January 2016 at IRCICA. Representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and experts representing the following OIC Subsidiary Organs and Institutions attended the Workshop: General Directorate of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs, OIC; OIC Office in New York; OIC Office in Geneva; Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA); Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC); Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO); Islamic Development Bank (IDB); Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA).  While keeping the contents of the Plan as adopted by the Member States, the workshop aimed at proposing a reviewed format and a revised text for it and elaborating upon its implementation mechanisms.
At the opening of the workshop the Director General of IRCICA, Dr. Halit Eren gave a welcoming address. Dr. Boubakari Maiga from the OIC General Secretariat conveyed the wishes of success of H.E. the Secretary General of OIC to the workshop and gave opening remarks in which he outlined the OPAAW objectives and recalled the preparation and adoption processes of the Plan and its Implementation Mechanisms. During the working sessions, the participants undertook a meticulous review of the said documents and also agreed upon a set of recommendations to be proposed to the OIC General Secretariat regarding the implementation of the Plan, for ultimate consideration and adoption by the Member States.