Press Release: HRVP Catherine Ashton hosts conference on Women’s Leadership in the Sahel Region

A High-Level Conference on Women's Leadership in the Sahel Region was held on 9 April 2013 in Brussels. The event brought together 40 women, civil society leaders of several generations, peace and security experts, peace activists, government officials and gender equality advocates from the Sahel region.

Members of the European Parliament, African and European Ambassadors, senior officials from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union and the United Nations participated in the event. They heard directly from the crisis-affected women from the Sahel region their views and recommendations on women's economic empowerment and political participation, and their role in peace and recovery.