From May 25-27, 2009, a workshop on preparing and submitting parallel reports for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was held at and sponsored by the Swedish Institute in Alexandria. Participants from Syria, Lebanon Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt gathered together to build their capacity with regard to writing and researching for these types of reports. This workshop was especially significant for the Syrian participants who, through this meeting, wrote a draft shadow report to submit to the CRC committee underlining the issues of the girl child in Syria.

Led by Mr. Maged Al Arori of Palestine who is an expert in drafting human rights reports, the workshop aimed at enhancing the skills of the participants, enabling them to draft parallel reports in order to submit them to the CEDAW and CRC Committees. A variety of training methods including brainstorming, working groups and group discussions were used to develop participants’ skills and understanding of the reporting process and guidelines.

The outcomes of the training are as follows:

1. Practical tools for drafting monitoring reports on the CEDAW Convention
2. Strategic planning for drafting parallel reports
3. Drafting parallel reports on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (pertaining
   to Syrian participants)