The Ambassador of the European Union has organised a meeting with civil society actors involved in promoting women’s rights and human rights in general. The aim of the meeting, which took place a few days after the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), was to understand the situation of violence against women and girls in Mauritius and the wider human rights situation, including children’s rights, the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and the rights of people with disabilities.
In his introduction, the new EU ambassador to Mauritius said:
– “Since my arrival in the country just over two months ago, I have been deeply saddened by the scale of domestic and gender-based violence that we hear about daily in the press. Two women – victims of domestic violence – lost their lives in October and November. Violence against women and girls is unacceptable. That’s why I was keen to meet members of civil society involved in this fight and in promoting human rights. We will continue to work with state and non-state actors to combat all forms of violence against women and girls and to promote human rights for all.”
Participants at the meeting:
– Ms Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra, Former Minister of Justice, Women’s Rights and Family Welfare, Lawyer at Dentons Mauritius
– Ms Anushka Virahsawmy, Director of Gender Links Mauritius
– Ms Hossain Saeb, Head of the Centre for Education and Development for Mauritian Children (CEDEM)
– Mélanie Vigier de Latour Bérenger, Psychologist and member of the Kolektif Drwa Imin (KDI)
– Mr Nicolas Ritter, Vice-President of PILS (Prevention, Information and Fight against AIDS)
– Mr Vipine Aubeeluck, President of Young Queer Alliance
– Mokshda Pertaub, Lawyer at Lex Aquila, Gender expert
– Dr Ramola Ramtohul, Senior Lecturer at the University of Mauritius, gender expert
– Ms Anjeelee Beegun, Human Rights Defender, Co-founder of the RekonekT platform
– Ms Vidya Charan, Director General of the Mauritius Family Planning Welfare Association
– Ms Prisheela Motee, President of Raise Brave Girls
– Ms Ambal Jeanne, Director of SOS Shelter.
The participants had the opportunity to present the situation of violence against women and girls in Mauritius, as well as the legal provisions and their implementation. They also spoke about their work and the challenges that many of them face daily in combating violence against women and girls and providing support to victims. They also discussed other human rights issues, in particular children’s rights, the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and the rights of people with disabilities.
