Khartoum - Sudan's Islamist government refused to ratify an international treaty on women's rights as it contradicts national traditions. President Omar al-Beshir told a rally to celebrate his re-election as president that he found parts of the treaty "contradicted Sudanese values and traditions," the official SUNA news agency reported.
Mr Beshir's remarks came almost five months after UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ms Karin Sham Poo, urged him to sign the Convention of Eradication of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which, she said, "seeks to remove harmful practices and maintain equality between men and women".