In October 1997, government ministers, senior judges and policy makers, and representatives from universities and NGOs from Eastern Africa gathered in Ethiopia for a conference on Gender and Law. Presentations from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe acknowledge that addressing gender issues in the legal framework is important for sustainable development. Discussions centred on themes identified and selected by country representatives as being particularly important to women: land-related issues, violence against women, family law, employment and labour, and implementation in decentralized governance frameworks. While on the surface the countries' areas of concern seemed different, two key themes emerged: the impact of customary laws and practices and effective implementation.