On 1 October 2026, the Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD) was received at the Embassy of Sweden in Dakar by Her Excellency Mrs Catharina Cappelin, Ambassador of Sweden to Senegal.
The meeting brought together the Ambassador and an RFLD delegation led from our Dakar office, which serves as one of the network's Francophone hubs. It was a moment of exchange between a partner that has long stood with civil society in the region and a pan-African network that works every day alongside women and girls across the continent.
A tribute to the Ambassador's work
RFLD warmly congratulates Ambassador Cappelin on the remarkable work she leads in Senegal and across the region in support of human rights and gender equality. Sweden's commitment carries real weight for the women human rights defenders we work with. It gives them space to organise, to speak and to be heard in the institutions that shape their lives.
RFLD is proud of this meeting, which was rich in learning.
Moments like this matter to us. They allow us to listen, to share what our members see on the ground and to understand how our partners view the challenges facing women's rights in West Africa and beyond. We left the Embassy with new ideas and a stronger sense of what we can build together.
The RFLD delegation
RFLD was represented by:
- Mrs Bathor Seck, RFLD Country Director for Senegal
- Mr John GBENAGNON, RFLD Regional Development and Strategy Director
Looking ahead in Dakar
The meeting comes a few days before the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which Dakar will host from 9 to 15 October 2026, preceded by the NGO Forum. RFLD will take part with a delegation of women human rights defenders from across the continent, who will bring their experiences and their demands directly to the Commission and its Special Rapporteurs.
We thank the whole Embassy team for their warm welcome and look forward to continuing this dialogue.
About RFLD
The Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD) is a pan-African Afrofeminist network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 African countries. Together, they advance the rights of women and girls, with RFLD standing behind them.
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