WUNRN
AFRICAN UNION - REPORT OF THE
CHAIRPERSON ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOLEMN DECLARATION ON GENDER EQUALITY
IN AFRICA - 2012
Scroll down this WUNRN Release to
see the Full Document on The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa.
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Direct Link to Full 2-Page
Recommendations Document:
21st PRE SUMMIT CONSULTATIVE MEETING
ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN THE AFRICAN UNION - RECOMMENDATIONS - JANUARY 22-23,
2013
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The
22nd Gender Is My Agenda Campaign Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on
Gender Mainstreaming in the AU, UN ECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 20-21 May 2013
The
22nd Gender is my Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) consultative meeting was
held from 20-21st May 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia prior to the 21st
Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government. The 22nd
consultative meeting coincided with the Organisation of African Unity/African
Union 50th anniversary, as well as the GIMAC 10th
anniversary. Prior to this meeting, GIMAC members contributed to the African
Union Commission (AUC) Consultative Conference of Women Stakeholders on Pan
Africanism, Renaissance and Agenda 2063 that was held from 11-12th
May 2063. " No community agenda, national agenda, no global agenda can
move forward without the involvement of women; therefore women must help to
craft the direction of Africa's Agenda 2063 instead of waiting to be presented
with a draft document to comment on", said Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
during her opening remarks. "The African Agenda 2063 cannot be defined by
governments alone, it must involve all of us in every sector of society",
she further said.......
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WUNRN
THE
SOLEMN DECLARATION ON GENDER EQUALITY IN
The African Union (AU) embarked on a new chapter of moving forward the gender equality agenda in
Furthermore, African leaders dedicated a large portion of the Summit to
a dialogue on gender equality and incorporated the African Women’s Committee on
Peace and Development (AWCPD) into its mechanisms – another milestone for
women’s effective participation was achieved, building upon the campaign for
gender mainstreaming and the principles of women, peace and security as
enshrined in Resolution 1325 (2000) of the United Nations Security Council.
The work to mainstream gender in continental organizations has been, and continues to be, a long process. For years, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) in collaboration with AWCPD has worked to bring a gender perspective to the continent’s agenda, specifically as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was transformed into the AU.
This work began in
FAS and AWCPD also organized a vigorous campaign for gender mainstreaming involving many African women’s networks. This resulted in the adoption of the principle of gender parity within the AU and the “Durban Declaration on Mainstreaming Gender and Women’s Effective Participation in the African Union”.
Initiated
by AWCPD, FAS and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of
Disputes (ACCORD), the Durban Consultation formed part of a major drive to push
forward a new agenda for gender mainstreaming with a “Strategic Consultation on
Mainstreaming Gender and Women’s Effective Participation in the African Union”
held on the eve of the inauguration of the AU in Durban in 2002. The
Consultation culminated in the adoption, by the new network, of the “Durban
Declaration on Mainstreaming Gender and Women’s Effective Participation in the
African Union.” The Declaration was
brought to the Committee of Ambassadors and the Council of Ministers.
At the Session of the Heads of State and Government in
While
the adoption of the gender parity principle by the Heads of State Assembly in
To
follow up on the Durban Declaration, FAS organized a strategic planning
conference in
The
Durban Declaration and Dakar Strategy formed the basis of the Maputo Women’s
Pre-Summit in June 2003, organized by the Foundation for Community Development
(FDC), in collaboration with FAS and under the leadership of Madam Graça
Machel. The Pre-Summit produced the “Maputo Declaration.” FAS and members of AWCPD initiated a
discussion with candidates for the post of Commissioner of the AU with the aim
of establishing a shared vision. At the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly
of Heads of State and Government of the AU in
Tangible
results were realized at the Maputo Summit and the AU committed itself to
incorporating gender mainstreaming further.
Under the leadership of H.E. Alpha Oumar Konaré, Chairperson of the
Commission, the AU set up an internal expert group to determine thematic
priority areas for gender mainstreaming in
In collaboration with the AU, FAS
organized a two-day Consultative Meeting to share and discuss the AU
Gender programme with a wide network of influential women prior to the AU
Summit in July 2004. The meeting briefed women on gender developments within
the AU and permitted them to bring their contribution to the draft Declaration
produced by the expert group. The adoption of the Solemn Declaration on Gender
Equality in
In order to consolidate the gains and advances made in the gender
agenda, FAS together with the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF) and the Women,
Gender and Development Directorate of the AU, jointly organized a two-day
Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting in
Another Consultative Meeting was organized in
October
The series of Consultative Meetings were
followed by several high-level events on gender issues to which civil society
organizations were invited to contribute. These included the AU Technical
Consultation in
The most recent Pre-Summit Consultation in
Members of the Gender is my Agenda Campaign
will meet at each Pre-Summit
Consultation, prior to the Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State
and Government. During this event, civil society organizations will present
their shadow reports on the implementation of the Solemn Declaration.
The adoption of the Solemn Declaration was a
landmark event. However, its true importance will not be realized until all
African women are aware of its existence and are able to use it as a tool for
making African member states accountable to their commitments, as well as for
promoting their rights, including their right to participate in building peace
and security for, and development of, the continent.
In this regard, the present Guidelines have
been developed by civil society organizations as an instrument for monitoring,
evaluating and reporting on the implementation of the SDGEA.
We, the Heads of State and
Government of Member States of the African Union, meeting in the Third Ordinary
Session of our Assembly in
Reaffirming our commitment to the principle of gender equality as enshrined in Article 4 (l) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, as well as other existing commitments, principles, goals and actions set out in the various regional, continental and international instruments on human and women’s rights, including the Dakar Platform for Action (1994), the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW - 1979), the African Plan of Action to Accelerate the Implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action for the Advancement of Women (1999); the Outcome Document of the Twenty-third Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (2000); UN Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security; and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003);
Standing by our Decision on
gender parity taken at the Inaugural Session of the AU Assembly of Heads
of State and Government in July
Noting with satisfaction that our Decision on gender parity is a historic achievement that does not yet exist in any other continent or regional organization;
Re-affirming our commitment to continue, expand and accelerate efforts to promote gender equality at all levels;
Determined
to build on the progress that we have achieved in addressing issues of
major concern to the women of
Taking
cognizance of the landmark decision to adopt the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa during
the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly in
Noting the decision of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission to transform the African Women’s Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD) into the African Union Women’s Committee (AUWC), which will be located in the Gender Directorate and serve as an Advisory Body to the Chairperson on Gender and Development;
Recognizing that major challenges and obstacles to gender equality still remain and require concerted and collective leadership and efforts from all of us including networks working on gender and development;
Deeply concerned about the status of women and the negative impacts on women of issues such the high incidence of HIV/AIDS among girls and women, conflict, poverty, harmful traditional practices, high population of refugee women and internally displaced women, violence against women, women’s exclusion from politics and decision-making, and illiteracy, limited access of girls to education;
Aware of the policies and programmes we have put in place to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic as well as the current challenges in this campaign;
Concerned that, while women and children bear the brunt of conflicts and internal displacement, including rapes and killings, they are largely excluded from conflict prevention, peace-negotiation, and peace-building processes in spite of African women’s experience in peace-building;
Aware the fact that low levels of women’s representation in social, economic and political decision-making structures and feminization of poverty impact negatively on women’s ability to derive full benefit from the economies of their countries and the democratization process;
Aware of
the digital divide between the North and the South, men and women, and the role of information
telecommunication technologies (ICTS) in the advancement of the gender issue as
stated in the e-gender Forum Declaration of Tunis, May
HEREBY AGREE TO:
1.
Accelerate the implementation of gender specific economic, social, and
legal measures aimed at combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic and effectively
implement both
2. Ensure the full and effective participation and representation of women in peace process including the prevention, resolution, management of conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa as stipulated in UN Resolution 1325 (2000) and also appoint women as Special Envoys and Special Representatives of the African Union;
3. Launch, within the next year, a campaign for systematic prohibition of the recruitment of child soldiers and abuse of girl children as wives and sex slaves in violation of their Rights as enshrined in the African Charter on Rights of the Child;
4. Initiate, launch and engage within two years sustained public campaigns against gender based violence as well as the problem of trafficking in women and girls; Reinforce legal mechanisms that will protect women at the national level and end impunity of crimes committed against women in a manner that will change and positively alter the attitude and behavior of the African society;
5. Expand and Promote the gender parity principle that we have adopted regarding the Commission of the African Union to all other organs of the African Union, including its NEPAD programme, to the Regional Economic Communities, and to the national and local levels in collaboration with political parties and the National parliaments in our countries;
6. Ensure the active promotion and protection of all human rights for women and girls, including the right to development, by raising awareness or by legislation where necessary;
7. Actively promote the implementation of legislation to guarantee women’s land, property and inheritance rights, including their rights to housing;
8. Take specific measures to ensure the education of girls and literacy of women, especially in the rural areas, to achieve the goal of "Education for All" (EFA);
9. Undertake to sign and ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa by the end of 2004 and to support the launching of public campaigns aimed at ensuring its entry into force by 2005 and usher in an era of domesticating and implementing the Protocol as well as other national, regional and international instruments on gender equality by all States Parties;
10. Establish AIDS Watch Africa as a unit within the Office of the Chairperson of the Commission who should render annual report on HIV/AIDS situation in the continent during annual Summits; and promote the local production of anti-retroviral drugs in our countries;
11. Accept to establish an African Trust Fund for Women for the purpose of building the capacity of African women and further request the African Union Commission to work out the modalities for the operationalization of the Fund with special focus on women in both urban and rural areas;
12. Commit ourselves to report annually on progress made in terms of gender mainstreaming and to support and champion all issues raised in this Declaration, both at the national and regional levels, and regularly provide each other with updates on progress made during our Ordinary Sessions;
13. We
request the chairperson of the African Union Commission to submit, for our
consideration, an annual report, during our ordinary sessions, on measures
taken to implement the principle of gender equality and gender mainstreaming,
and all issues raised in this Declaration both at the national and regional
levels.
III. THEMATIC CLUSTERS OF THE
DECLARATION AND GUIDELINES
The Solemn Declaration can be divided in two sections. The first (paragraphs 1-11) contains actions on specific thematic areas while the second (paragraphs 12-13) addresses the reporting commitments of African Heads of States on gender mainstreaming efforts in the continent.
In order to effectively monitor the Solemn Declaration, the articles contained in the first section are assembled into six different thematic clusters as stated below:
· Governance
· Peace and Security
· Human Rights
· Health
· Education
· Economic Empowerment
While AU member States adopted
Guidelines for reporting on the AU SDGEA in
CLUSTER 1: GOVERNANCE
OBJECTIVE
5: Expand and promote the
gender parity principle that we have adopted regarding the Commission of the
African Union to all other organs of the African Union, including its NEPAD
programme, to the Regional Economic Communities, and to the national and
local levels in collaboration with political parties and the National parliaments
in our countries. |
Targets
· The principle of gender parity is applied by AU, NEPAD and RECs at all levels
· The principle of gender parity is applied by national parliaments and political parties
·
The Gender Directorate in the AU
is functioning and effective
·
The African Union Women’s
Committee is functioning and effective
Actions
· Train women for transformative leadership
· Compile a comprehensive directory of African
women leader
· Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework
Indicators
Focal Point
CLUSTER 2: PEACE AND SECURITY
OBJECTIVE 2: Ensure the full and effective participation and representation of women in
peace process including the prevention, resolution, management of conflicts and post-conflict
reconstruction in Africa as stipulated in UN Resolution 1325 (2000) and to
also appoint women as Special Envoys and Special Representatives of the
African Union. |
Targets
·
A group of women mediators and
Special Envoys and Representatives is established for an effective and equal
participation in peace processes
·
Partnership is built between the
AU Peace and Security Council and Civil Society
·
The Resolution 1325 (2000) of
the UN Security Council is popularized among grassroots populations
·
Public awareness on humanitarian
laws is increased
Actions
·
Organize training for women
peace builders and peacekeeping forces
·
Develop a comparative database
on gender participation in peace processes at national and regional levels
·
Organize advocacy visits to
appropriate governance institutions in order to increase women’s participation
in peace processes
·
Share best practices and success
stories of women in peace building and conflict resolution
·
Develop a monitoring and
evaluation framework
Indicators
·
Number of women appointed as
Special Envoys, Representatives and Rapporteurs for the AU on prevention,
resolution, management of conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction
·
Number of women appointed as
head peace negotiators by 2007
·
Increased level of gender parity
and participation reflected at the national and regional initiatives, dialogues
and actions on peace
·
Inclusion of Gender Unit in
Peacekeeping missions
Focal
Points
·
Femmes
·
·
SaferAfrica
CLUSTER 3: HUMAN RIGHTS
OBJECTIVE
3: Launch,
within the next year, a campaign for systematic prohibition of the
recruitment of child soldiers and abuse of girl children as wives and sex
slaves in violation of their Rights as enshrined in the African Charter on
Rights of the Child; OBJECTIVE
4: Initiate, launch and engage within two years sustained public campaigns against gender based
violence as well as the problem of trafficking in women and girls; Reinforce
legal mechanisms that will protect women at the national level and end
impunity of crimes committed against women in a manner that will change
and positively alter the attitude and behaviour of the African society; OBJECTIVE
9: Undertake to
sign and ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa by the end of 2004 and to support the
launching of public campaigns aimed at ensuring its entry into force by 2005
and usher in an era of domesticating and implementing the Protocol as well as
other national, regional and international instruments on gender equality by
all States Parties; |
Targets
·
Increased public awareness on
issues of women’s rights and gender-based violence
·
The instruments for the
promotion of women rights in
·
The Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right on Women’s Rights is popularized
·
Legislation to end the phenomena
of child soldiers and forbid exploitation of young girls as sexual slaves is
adopted and fully implemented
·
Mechanisms for monitoring are
put in place within the AU as well as at national level
Actions
·
Disseminate and promote
familiarization of the African Charter on Child Rights among the general public
·
Organize public campaigns on
child soldiers and exploitation of young girls as sexual slaves
·
Advocate for the setting up of
rehabilitation centers for child soldiers and young girl victims of sexual
abuse
·
Conduct public campaigns on
issues of women’s rights, gender-based violence - including female genital
mutilation, trafficking and sexual slavery – for combating impunity of
perpetrators
·
Carry out sensitization training
and education workshops for security personnel with a mandate on women’s rights
using the Protocol and CEDAW
·
Translate the Protocol into
local languages and disseminate it
·
Build alliances with members of
parliament to initiate and lobby for bills on women’s rights to be passed by
national legislative institutions
·
Develop a monitoring and
evaluation framework
Indicators
Focal Points
CLUSTER 4: HEALTH
OBJECTIVE
1: Accelerate the
implementation of gender specific economic, social, and legal measures aimed
at combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic and effectively implement both Abuja and
Maputo Declarations on Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related
Infectious Diseases. More specifically we will ensure that treatment and
social services are available to women at the local level making it more
responsive to the needs of families that are providing care; enact
legislation to end discrimination against women living with HIV/AIDS and for
the protection and care of HIV persons, particularly women; increase
budgetary allocations in these sectors so as to alleviate women’s burden of
care; OBJECTIVE
10: Establish AIDS
Watch Africa as a unit within the Office of the Chairperson of the Commission
who should render annual report on HIV/AIDS situation in the continent during
annual Summits; and promote the local production of anti-retroviral drugs in
our countries; |
Targets
·
Treatments and social services
to HIV-positive women and women
caregivers are provided, and
resources are allocated
·
Legislation to end
discrimination against women living with HIV/AIDS and for the protection and care of HIV persons is
adopted
·
Increased budgetary allocation
to the HIV/AIDS sectors
Actions
·
Organize sub-regional meetings
with high-level policy makers on engendering national frameworks on HIV/AIDS
prevention and management
·
Conduct advocacy and lobbying
missions on gender budgeting for HIV/AIDS
·
Lobby national law makers to
enact legislations to protect women living with HIV/AIDS
·
Raise public awareness on
preventive methods on HIV/AIDS and other related infectious diseases
·
Advocate for setting up of
mechanisms for care of HIV/AIDS orphans, and pregnant women
·
Disseminate information on
·
Facilitate and promote access to
facilities, information and services to protect women from the HIV/AIDS
infection
·
Develop a monitoring and evaluation
framework
Indicators
·
Level of access of HIV-positive
women to anti-retroviral drugs
·
Number of local legislations
that protect women living with HIV/AIDS
·
Level of budgetary allocations
made available to provide support and treatment for HIV-positive women and women caretakers
·
Reduced number of deaths as a
result HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other
infectious diseases
Focal Points
CLUSTER 5: EDUCATION
OBJECTIVE
8: Take specific measures to ensure the education of girls and literacy of women, especially in
the rural areas, to achieve the goal of "Education for All" (EFA); |
Targets
·
Gender disparity in primary and
secondary education is eliminated by 2005 and at all other levels no later than
2015
·
Increased budgetary allocations
to educational sector
·
Increased access of women and
young girls to science and technology
Actions
·
Promote and enact the principle
of Education for All
·
Share best practices on child
education
·
Raise public awareness on
removal of cultural, financial and safety barriers to close gender gaps
·
Develop a monitoring and
evaluation framework
Indicators
·
Ratio of girls to boys in
primary, secondary and tertiary education
·
Ratio of literate females to
males for 15 to 24 year olds
Focal Points
·
Forum for
· African Network for the Campaign on “Education for All” (ANCEFA)
CLUSTER 6: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
OBJECTIVE
6: Ensure the active
promotion and protection of all human rights for women and girls including
the right to development by raising awareness or by legislation where
necessary; OBJECTIVE
7: Actively promote
the implementation of legislation to guarantee women’s land, property and
inheritance rights including their rights to housing; OBJECTIVE
11: Accept to establish an African Trust Fund for Women
for the purpose of building the capacity of African women and further request
the African Union Commission to work out the modalities for the
operationalization of the Fund with special focus on women in both urban and
rural areas; |
Targets
·
Economic rights are adopted,
promoted and implemented at the same level of Political and Civil rights
·
Legislation to improve the
implementation of women’s rights to inherit land and property is adopted and
fully implemented
·
Constitutional reforms are
conducted to redress existing discriminatory property ownership laws towards
women
·
Women’s right to work, as well as their right to equal pay for equal
work, are promoted
·
The African Trust Fund for Women
is operative
Actions
·
Organize training and mentoring
workshops for young women on personal and economic empowerment
·
Conduct public campaigns and
talk shows on women rights to inherit property and land
·
Lobby national legislators to
enact legislations to promote and protect women’s rights to housing, property
and land
·
Advocate for organizing
consultation for modalities for establishing the Women’s Trust Fund
·
Raise public awareness on the
removal of cultural barriers on women’s right/access to land, property, and
housing
·
Raise public awareness on CEDAW
and other international instruments on women’s right to development
·
Organize capacity building
training to increase women’s marketability in the employment sphere
·
Develop a monitoring and
evaluation framework
·
Advocate for the recognition of
the strict interdependency existing among economic, social and political rights
Indicators
·
Number of new legislations and
land reforms that end discrimination against women
·
Increased opportunities for
women and girls for economic empowerment and access to affordable credit
·
Percentage of women working at
all levels in the job market
Focal Point
· African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)
IV. MONITORING
MECHANISMS OF THE SOLEMN DECLARATION
The SDGEA has a unique operational framework:
in fact, it is a continental commitment to gender equality with a peer review
mechanism, including providing space for input from civil society.
Civil society has gone beyond contributing to
the drafting of the “Implementation Framework” and “Guidelines for Reporting”
as established during the African Union Conference of Ministers held in
As stated in the Guidelines for Reporting,
the African Union Women’s Committee (AUWC) provides the opportunity to civil
society to give its contributions through comments on reports submitted by
states. On the basis of both the reports and the civil society comments, the
AUWC will make concluding comments and recommendations to the Chairperson to be
used in its final report.
Thus, the program of the AU
Pre-Summit that took place in
Civil society organizations put in place the
“Gender is my Agenda” Campaign formed of thematic, regional focal points and
other organizations involved or interested in the SDGEA. All actors involved
signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which shares responsibilities on thematic
issues according to their area of competence. Accordingly, regional focal
points will contribute through their member organizations in data collection,
while each thematic focal point will centralize data relevant to their
monitored cluster. In addition, regional focal points may contribute through
complementary reports on the African integration and challenges
On the basis of this monitoring activity, a
shadow report will be issued prior to the AU Summit, providing a counterpart
vision to the progress on the SDGEA compared with that provided by states.
The Women, Gender and Development
Directorate, established in the Office of the Chairperson of the Commission for
the promotion of gender equality through gender mainstreaming is another entry
point for civil society organizations.
However, the action plans contained in the Solemn Declaration are not new goals or targets. Rather, the Declaration intersects with the existing national, regional and international frameworks. This strongly reinforces the existing framework.
The framework for civil society monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of the Declaration is the following:
A. National level
· Creation
of a National Civil Society Implementation and Monitoring Committee (NCSIM): Membership of the committee will be made up
of representatives from the caucus consultative meetings and review.
· Issue
Analysis Research: This
mechanism will be used at national levels to generate data and information on
the direction of the implementation of the Declaration. Implementation of each
priority will be measured according to the degree of achievement of the targets
and the indicators as earlier mentioned in this paper. National NGOs and CSOs
with strong experience and focus in research and development will lead this
process and will be expected to
provide realistic data.
B. Regional level
· African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is in charge of monitoring and evaluating the application of the African Charter and nominate the Special Rapporteur on Women’s Rights in Africa. The Civil Society Forum is organized prior to each session of the ACHPR.
· African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of NEPAD: There are similarities between this mechanism, UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and some of the priorities of the Declaration, such as priority 2 on involving women in peace processes. This mechanism can serve as an entry point and complementary implementation of the Declaration. The APRM comprises a consultation process with various stakeholders ─ among them CSOs which will have the opportunity to bring their own perspectives.
·
Women’s Empowerment Index: This mechanism is essentially a report on the Index on the Status of
Women in
· The
Platform of the African Women’s Forum: This platform promotes
dialogue and networking of
· AU
organs, NEPAD and RECs level: To verify
the implementation of the principle of parity within AU, NEPAD, RECs, and other
levels. Preparatory meetings, prior to AU Summits or NEPAD Gender Task Force
can be used as a framework for the review of the implementation of the Solemn
Declaration.
· Gender
Forum and African Gender Award: The celebration every two years of the Gender
Forum constitutes a platform for dialogue between African women and women from
other continents. It can also be used for the monitoring and evaluation of the
implementation of the Declaration and award the efforts of Governments,
intergovernmental agencies, NGOs, or other private entities towards the
realization of the principle of parity.
C. International level
·
Security Council Resolution 1325 on
Women, Peace and Security adopted in October
V. FORMAT OF THE REPORT
The shadow
report should be concise, with about 10/15 pages for each thematic cluster. It
should include:
Coordinating
organization (FAS) is responsible for collecting each thematic report and for
compiling the global shadow report for its submission to the AU.
VI.
CONCLUSIONS
Further
to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) arising from the Tripoli Commitment for
“Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting on the Implementation of the Solemn
Declaration on Gender Equality in
VII. PROFILES OF MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
Advocacy for Women in
The Advocacy for
Women in Africa (AWA) was founded and incorporated in
The Africa Leadership
Forum (ALF) is
African Centre for
Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD):
The African Centre
for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) is an international
civil-society organization working throughout
African Centre for
Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS):
The main objectives
of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) are to
better compliment the work of the African Commission and to serve the entire
African continent more efficiently in its unwavering mission of promoting human
rights and democracy through training, action-oriented research, legal service,
publications, documentation and networking.
African Network for the Campaign on “Education for All” (ANCEFA):
The African Network
for the Campaign on “Education for All” (ANCEFA) is a network aimed at
promoting and reinforcing African civil society organizations in order to
reinforce tools for advocacy and mobilization to facilitate access to free and
valuable education for all. It uses the creation of networks and coalitions to
help share experience and knowledge and to build stronger partnerships to
better influence politics on very critical issues such as HIV/ AIDS.
African Women’s
Development Fund (AWDF):
The African Women’s
Development Fund (AWDF), which was established in June 2000, is the first
Africa-wide fundraising and grant-making fund, which aims to support the work
of organizations working to promote women’s rights in Africa. The AWDF funds
local, national, sub-regional and regional organizations in
Association de Lutte contre les Violences Faites
aux Femmes (ACOLVF):
Based in
Femmes
Since its inception in 1996, FAS has been
working to foster, strengthen and promote the leadership role of women in
conflict prevention, management and resolution on the African continent. As one
of the founding members of the African women’s peace movement, the work of FAS
is set in the context of a wider campaign to protect and promote women’s human
rights in
Forum for
The Forum for African
Women Educationalists (FAWE) was created in 1992 as a response to the slow pace
of implementation of Education for All goals in sub-Saharan
FAWE was registered in
Foundation for
Community Development (FDC):
The Foundation for
Community Development (FDC) is a civic organization with no political party
affiliation, which seeks to join together the forces of all sectors of society
in achieving an ideal for development, democracy and social justice. The
Foundation is based on the conviction that poverty is not inevitable; it is the
result of a complex mechanism of marginalizing and exploiting the poor; of
feeble publicity for scientific and technical knowledge and appropriate
technologies; of a system of access to resources which those social strata who
do not benefit from education and involvement in formal institutions of society
and the economy find hard to use. This series of factors has a negative impact
on people’s attitude to nature and life and also prevents them from using the
resources that are already available for their own benefit in a sustainable
way. These structural and psychological obstacles are the root of the poverty
that the FDC seeks to combat.
Roll Back Malaria
(RBM):
The Roll Back Malaria
(RBM) was launched in 1998 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the World Bank to provide a coordinated global approach to fighting
malaria. The RBM Partnership’s goal is to halve the burden of malaria by
SaferAfrica
SaferAfrica is an
international independent not-for-profit organization operating in Africa and
Social Aspects of
HIV/AIDS Research
The Social Aspects of
HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA) programme seeks to facilitate the sharing
of information and experience and to encourage collective and coordinated
responses for the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It focuses its studies on sensitive
unexplored issues related to social aspects of HIV/AIDS in
Society for Women and
AIDS in
The Society for Women
and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) is an opportunity to define new strategies to
preserve the dignity of African women. It follows the global objective of
taking into account numerous factors that influence the impact of HIV/AIDS
activities in
Tunisian Mothers’
Association (TMA):
The Tunisian Mothers’
Association (TMA) provides medical and legal services; it receives, sensitizes
and advises maiden mothers; it offers a peaceful welcoming space for mothers
from abroad and inside the country. The association also conducts operational
researches and studies on mothers’ conditions, children and the family and
organizes national, regional and international seminars, meetings, workshops
and forums. Among its major objectives are the mobilization of information and
social mobilization all over the country,
using interpersonal communication means through home visits and immediate
services for rural illiterate and needy mothers. The association organizes
multidisciplinary caravans aimed at solidarity creation and counselling of
mothers in need.
West African Women
Association (WAWA):
The West African
Women Association (WAWA) is responsible for mobilizing women in order to ensure
the gender mainstreaming of all programmes related to setting up integration
processes on the African continent. Its actions cover all country members of
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Women in Law and
Development in
At the time of the
launching of Women in Law and Development in
WiLDAF was set up in recognition of the importance of creating a critical mass
to speak with one voice and increase pressure for change to enable women to
take their rightful place in society. WiLDAF has been involved in initiating a
number of programmes which bring women's rights and advocacy groups together at
national, sub-regional and Pan-African levels in various forums.
APPENDIXES:
1. The
2. The
3. The
4. Women’s Contribution to the Declaration on Mainstreaming Gender in the
African Union
5. The
6. The
7. The
8. The
9. Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in
10. United Nation Security Council Resolution
1325 (2000)
Appendix
1: The
We, representatives of African civil society
organisations, working on gender and development issues and meeting on the eve
of the launch of the African Union, in a consultation on Mainstreaming African Women’s Vision and Effective Participation in the
African Union, organised by the African Women’s Committee for Peace and
Development (AWCPD) in collaboration with Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) and
the facilitation by the African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes
(ACCORD) held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 to 30 June
Welcoming and
Congratulating our
Heads of State and Government on their decision and commitment to establish the
African Union, to adopt the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and
Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA) and the New Economic Partnership for African
Development (NEPAD) programmes, as well as the efforts made towards the
elaboration of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
on the Rights of Women in Africa;
Recognising African governments’ commitment to
gender equality and women’s empowerment as enshrined in the Constitutive Act of
the African Union, Article 4(1); in national, regional and international
instruments – particularly the Dakar and
Beijing Platforms for Action, the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – and other relevant decisions of
the OAU Council of Ministers calling for consultation on the participation of
women in the African Union;
Acknowledging the commitment of OAU/AU to involve
African Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in
Building upon the OAU Workshop on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union,
held at the OAU General Secretariat from 25 to
Convinced that African women must seize the
opportunity provided by the historical moment of the launching of the African
Union to ensure their full and effective participation in its
operationalisation;
Reaffirming African women’s commitment to
building strategic partnerships at all levels in these processes;
Reaffirming the importance of integrating a gender perspective in all policies, programmes and projects in line with Article 4 (1) of The Constitutive Act of the African Union;
Hereby urge the 76th
Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers to consider and recommend to the
38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the OAU to adopt the following:
I-
On the African
1.
Appointment of a
Commissioner with an exclusive mandate on gender issues, equipped with adequate
financial, human and material resources, for effective gender mainstreaming in
the African Union;
2.
Establishment of a
specialised Technical Committee on Gender in accordance with Article 14 of the
Constitutive Act of the African Union;
3.
Operationalization of
the African Women’s Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD), established by
the OAU in
4.
Inclusion of a pan
African women’s network in the Working Group for the elaboration of the ECOSOCC
Protocol; and,
5.
Guarantee a gender
balance in all the organs of the African Union within a reasonable timeframe.
II-
On the New Economic Partnership for African
Development (NEPAD):
III-
On The Conference On Security, Stability,
Development And Cooperation In
IV-
On the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights on The Rights of Women in
In the light of the foregoing, we,
the representatives here present, hereby
Pledge our
commitment to fully support these commendable initiatives of the OAU and to
work in strategic partnership to promote the ideals and principles of The African Union (AU); and,
Resolve to disseminate
and popularise the provisions of the African Union, NEPAD, CSSDCA, the Protocol
and other African political, economic, social and cultural development
initiatives.
PARTICIPANTS
1. African Centre for Constructive
Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
2. African Centre for Democracy and
Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
3. African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
4.
5. African Women’s Committee on Peace
and Development (AWCPD)
6. African Women’s Development and
Communication Network (FEMNET)
7. Commission on Gender Equality –
8. Comité National Femmes et Développement –
DRC (CONAFED)
9. Femme
10. OAU Women, Gender and Development Division
11. Women in Law and Development in
Appendix 2: The
We representatives of African civil society
organizations and government working on gender and development issues
participating in the consultation on
Mainstreaming Gender and Women’s Effective Participation in the African Union
and NEPAD organized by Femmes Africa
Solidarité from April 24-26,
Welcoming and recognizing our Heads of States and Government on their decisions
taken in
Further recognizing the establishment of a Gender
Directorate in the Chairperson’s Office to mainstream gender in all the
portfolios of the Commission according to Article 12 of the Statutes as well
the provision under Article 18 of the Statutes calling for gender equality in
the recruitment of senior, professional and technical staff in the Commission;
Recalling the decision of the Heads of State
and Government to ensure gender parity within the African Union, taking note of
the up-grading of the Gender Division into a Directorate within the Office of
the Interim Commissioner;
Noting with concern that the Gender
Directorate is severely under-resourced both financially and in terms of human
resources, thus constraining the process of gender mainstreaming in the African
Union;
Also noting
the decision AHG/Dec. 175 (XXXVIII) of the Assembly which approved the
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Security, Stability, Development and
Cooperation (CSSDCA) as a policy development forum, a framework for the
advancement of common values and as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism of
the African Union.
Further noting
that under indicators 22 and 27 of the MOU calls for increased participation of
women in politics and decision-making as well as adoption and implementation of
those instruments that guarantee the rights of women as entrenched in the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);
Recognizing the importance attached to issues
of peace and security in Africa, the Assembly of the African Union under
Article 5 (2) of the Constitutive Act
established a Peace and Security Council as a collective security and early
warning arrangement to facilitate timely and efficient response to conflict and
crisis situations in Africa to be supported by the Commission, a Panel of the
Wise, a continental early warning system, an African Standby Force and a
Special Fund;
Noting with concern the absence of provisions
for gender mainstreaming in the Peace and Security Council and urging the
inclusion of women in the Panel of the wise as a matter of priority;
Noting further the adoption of a
Declaration on the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) decision ASS/AU/Dec.1 (l) by the Assembly of the African
Union in
Acknowledging the African Union’s recognition of
the contribution of African Civil Society Organizations involving women and
youth to
Recognizing the importance attached to the
effective participation of women in development by African leaders, request in
particular President Abdoulaye Wade of
Reaffirming the commitment of African women to
building strategic partnerships at all levels and in the activities of the
African Union hereby recommends the following to the 2nd Ordinary
Session of the Council of Ministers and the 1st Ordinary Session of
the Heads of States and Government of the African Union:
A African
B New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD)
C Draft Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in
D Conference on
Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in
1. That
all activities of the CSSDCA be strengthened, expanded, and be gender
mainstreamed to ensure effective participation of women.
E Participation of African Women in
the Organs of the
African
In light of the foregoing, we the
representatives here present, hereby pledge our commitment to fully support
these commendable initiatives of the African Union and will work in strategic
partnership to promote the ideals and principles of the African Union.
Done in
PARTICIPANTS:
Abantu for Development
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution
of Disputes (ACCORD)
African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights
Studies (ACDHRS)
African Women’s Committee on Peace and
Development (AWCPD)
African Women’s Development and Communication
Network (FEMNET)
Equality Now-Africa Office
Femmes
Foundation for Community Development (FCD)
International Alert
SaferAfrica
Women in Law and Development in
Appendix 3: The
We, the representatives of African women’s organizations and networks working on gender and development issues, gathered on the eve of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Government, at a women’s pre-summit meeting, convened by the Foundation for Community Development (FDC) in collaboration with UNIFEM (Southern Africa Regional Office), Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Centre for Human Rights – University of Pretoria, Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender Unit, Forum Mulher, Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) - Mozambique, African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), in Maputo, Mozambique from 23 to 24 June 2003
Reaffirming our support for the outcomes of meetings as
embodied in the:
·
· Dakar Strategy on Mainstreaming Gender and
Women’s Effective Participation in the African Union (
Appreciating the role and contributions of the
African Women’s Committee on Peace and Development on the continent
Acknowledging
§
The establishment of
the Women, Gender and Development Directorate in office of the Chairperson of
the African Union ;
§
The entrenchment in the
Statutes of the African Union Commission, of the principle of gender equality
in the recruitment of the Commission’s senior staff and top management;
§
The opportunity for
civil society participation in the activities of the African Union through the
Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC); and
§
The efforts of Heads of
States and Government in their endeavour to address poverty through the New
Partnership for
Welcoming
§
The progress made in
the elaboration of the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; and
§
The openness of the
NEPAD Secretariat to the secondment of gender specialists and opportunities for
gender mainstreaming.
Concerned that:
§
Despite
commendable action by Heads
of States and Government in mainstreaming gender,
there is need for concerted acceleration of the process;
§
There is
yet no provision for a Specialised Technical Committee on Gender;
§
The Women, Gender and
Development Directorate is severely under-resourced;
§
There is no mechanism
for dialogue between women’s organisations and networks and the key
decision-making structures of the African Union;
§
The Pan African
Parliament Protocol provision that at least one of the five representatives
from each member state must be a women, is inadequate;
§
There is an acute
under-representation of women ambassadors and other plenipotentiaries
accredited to the African Union;
§
Despite the continent
having the highest incidence of maternal mortality in the world; legal, policy
and programmatic interventions are not commensurate with the gravity of the
challenge;
§
Discriminatory laws and
harmful traditional practices continue to exacerbate the high incidence of
HIV/AIDS, particularly among women and girls;
§
Women in agriculture
face many constraints, inadequate access to land, credit, information and the
acquisition of skills; and
§
War and
conflict negatively impact on women in that among other things, it disrupts
women’s major source of livelihood and food security.
Recognising the need:
§
For the elaboration and
implementation of an African Union Gender Policy and Declaration;
§
For an effective gender
mainstreaming strategy and efficient co-ordinating framework for managing
gender issues on the continent;
§
For sensitisation on
gender issues throughout the African Union; and
§
For the clarification
of the status and role of the African Women’s Committee on Peace and
Development.
Reaffirming our commitment to building
strategic partnerships at all levels and in the activities of the African
Union, we hereby recommend the
following to the 3rd Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers
and the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Heads of States and Government
of the African Union:
A.
African
1.
That an African
2.
That a Specialised
Technical Committee on Women and Gender be established under Article 14 of the
African Union Constitutive Act; and
B. Participation of African Women in the Organs
of the African
1.
That the Pan African
Parliament Protocol should be amended to allow for at least two women
representatives out of the five representatives from each member country;
2.
That the Economic,
Social and Cultural Council ensure gender parity in its membership; and
3.
That a high level
mechanism is provided for dialogue between women’s organisations and networks
and the key decision-making structures of the African Union.
C. Draft Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in
1.
That the Draft Protocol
is adopted and the mechanism for ratification be put into place; and
2.
That member States
consider withdrawing reservations made on certain key Articles of the Draft
Protocol, with a view to strengthening the final Protocol
D. The
New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
1.
That the establishment
of a task team to ensure that specific issues faced by poor women are addressed
in poverty reduction strategies, as envisaged in par 119 of the NEPAD, be
expedited; and
2.
The rapid
implementation of paragraphs 132 – 137 of the NEPAD, pertaining to agriculture.
E.
Maternal mortality
1.
The adoption of
concrete legal, policy and programmatic interventions to curb the high
incidence of maternal mortality;
2.
Prioritising the
commitment of adequate financial resources to health care services, including
maternal mortality, at a regional and national level; and
3.
Eradicating
discriminatory and harmful practices against women that expose them to dying
during pregnancy and birth.
F. HIV/ AIDS
1.
That HIV/AIDS policies
and programming interventions take due cognisance of the gender implications of
the epidemic
G. Agriculture
1.
The establishment of an
African food bank reserve to be used in cases of emergency
Done in
PARTICIPANTS:
Appendix
4: Women’s
Contribution to the Declaration on Mainstreaming Gender in the African
We, representatives of African women’s organizations, working
on gender and development issues, based in Africa and Diaspora and meeting on
the eve of the 3rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of
State and Government the eve of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of
Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), in a consultative
meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the AU organized by the AU in collaboration
with Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 28-29
June 2004.
Congratulating our Heads of State and Government for the leadership and
historic action demonstrated by their decision on gender parity and their
commitment to place gender on the agenda of the AU;
Welcoming
the adoption of the Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and Peoples Right on the Rights of Women in Africa in
Maputo, Mozambique (July 2003) which promotes and protects the human rights of
African women, and among others empowers them in the battle against HIV/AIDS,
gender-based violence as well as promotes their political and economic
participation;
Noting with appreciation the efforts made by the Office of the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) to ensure that gender remains
a priority in the agenda and in ensuring that women occupy key positions in the
AU and to tap from the collective experiences of AU partners, particularly
those organizations actively working on issues of gender and development;
Acknowledging
the transformation of the African Women
Committee on Peace and Development into an AU Women’s Committee and its new
role as an advisory organ to the Chairperson of the AUC;
Applauding
the establishment of the Gender
Directorate in the Office of Chairperson to coordinate all activities and programmes of the Commission relating to gender;
Commending the process of formulation and development of the vision,
the mission and strategic framework of the AUC including the gender component;
Encouraged by the desire of the Commissioners of the AU to integrate
gender into their policies and programmes to ensure
the successful implementation of the mission, vision and strategic framework of
the AUC;
Recognising
the importance
of the
Considering the fact that those valuable
contributions of African women in the political, economic, social and cultural
spheres will accelerate regional integration;
Committing ourselves to sustain the
consultative process with women’s groups at all levels in the true spirit of
democracy, transparency, accountability and good governance;
WE HEREBY PLEDGE OUR SUPPORT TO THE VISION
OUTLINED IN THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE AFRICAN
We:
Gender parity
1. URGE the Assembly of Heads of
State and Government of the AU to ensure the implementation of decisions on
gender parity at regional, sub-regional, national and local levels;
2. CALL UPON Members States of the
AU to support the programmes, the vision, mission and strategic framework,
particularly with regard to the gender component;
3. REQUEST the AUC to accelerate the
programmes of
the Gender Directorate and the process of gender mainstreaming in the AU
policies and programmes.
4. Call upon the AUC and the
Economic Commission for
The
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of
Women in
5. Urge the member states to sign
and ratify the Protocol by the end of 2004 and to support the launching of
public campaigns aimed at ensuring its entry into force by 2005 to usher in an
era of domesticating the Protocol as well as other national, regional and
international instruments on gender equality by all states parties.
Partnership
6. Urge the AUC to develop linkages
and strategic partnership with appropriate institutions, NGOs and organisations
to facilitate the implantations of its programmes and the activities.
Done in
PARTICIPANTS:
ABANTU for
Development
Advocacy
for Women in
African
Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
African
Centre for Gender and Development (ACGD)
African
Leadership Forum (ALF)
African
Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET)
Akina Mama Wa
Africa
Association des
femmes de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (AFAO-WAWA- Senegal)
Association
of African Women for Research and Development (AFARD-AAWORD)
AWCPD
Centre for
Egyptian
Business Women Association (EBWA)
Equality
Now
Ersnt and
Young
Femmes
Forum for
Foundation
for Community Development (FCD)
ICRC
IFAN
ILO
Interafrican
Committee Against Traditional Practices
International
Alert
IOM
MARWOPNET
Mouvement
Burkinabé des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples (UIDH)
OHCHR
SaferAfrica
UNICEF
UNDP
UNFPA
UNHCR
Women
Centre for Education and Empowerment
Women in
Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF- West
Appendix 5: The
We, the Civil Society Organizations across Africa meeting at the 5th Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming of the African Union in Abuja, Nigeria, from 25-26 January 2005 prior to the 4th ordinary session of the Conference Heads of State and Government to organize follow up of progress made in the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, as well as to facilitate dialogue and revision of strategies on gender mainstreaming within the African Union, under the auspices of the Women, Gender and Development Directorate of the African Union, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) and Africa Leadership Forum (ALF) :
Recalling the commitment of the African Heads of State and
Government to gender equality as a
major goal of the AU as enshrined in Article 4 (1) of the Constitutive Act of
the African Union, in particular the decision to implement and uphold the
principle of gender parity taken at the Inaugural session of the AU Assembly of
Heads of State and Government in July
Recognizing their previous commitments to the implementation of Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination Against Women; and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003); Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on the Rights of the Child and all other relevant international, regional and sub-regional instruments aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and promoting equality between women and men;
Considering their commitment to implement the UN Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security; to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other related infectious diseases as contained in the Maputo Declarations on Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other Related Infectious Diseases; as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and the NEPAD programme;
Commending African Heads of States and Government who have signed and ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human Rights and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; and reminding those who have not done so to take that action;
Bearing in mind the efforts of the AU in ensuring visibility of the gender machinery by the recent creation of a Gender Directorate within the Office of the Chairperson of the African Union;
Bearing also in mind and building upon important work
already accomplished by the Women Networks gathered around the African Union
process under the facilitation of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS);
Aware of the continued deprivation of women and the disadvantages that women face in access and control of resources and denial of economic opportunities;
Determined however to build on the momentum of these developments to ensure effective implementation of the Solemn Declaration instrument and promote gender parity;
We applaud the African Heads of State and Government for this memorable decision, which will bring a great change in the lives of the African women as well as the African population in general;
We salute the Commitment and the determination of the Chairperson of the African Union, H.E. Alpha Oumar Konaré, to make of the Gender parity a reality within the African Union.
We commit ourselves to:
Increase our networking and advocacy for the implementation of the Declaration at various levels of operation within our comparative advantage;
Partnership with the AU and its organs, the RECs as well as all international partners on the implementation of the Solemn Declaration;
Develop a framework that we will use in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Solemn Declaration;
Document processes that lead to the adoption Solemn Declaration including action by civil society;
Explore how to integrate the Declaration into the Peer Review Monitoring mechanism of NEPAD:
Convene another regional forum as soon as possible to investigate progress in the implementation of the Solemn Declaration.
To effect the implementation of the Solemn
Declaration on Gender Equality in
To organize a meeting of the African Ministers of Gender to develop implementation strategies of the Solemn Declaration;
To ensure submission by July 2005 of a first annual report on progress made in terms of Gender mainstreaming as per paragraphs 12 and 13 of the Solemn Declaration;
To allocate adequate resources for the implementation of the Solemn Declaration.
To allocate
adequate human and financial resources to the implementation of the Gender
parity principle as well as the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in
To support the efforts of
Done in
PARTICIPANTS:
23.
Association of African Women for Research and Development (AFARD/AAWORD)
Appendix 6: The
We, the Civil Society Organizations working across Africa meeting at the 6th Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union (AU) in Tripoli, Libya, 1-2 July 2005 prior to the 5th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government to follow-up on the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality (SDGEA):
Building upon the important work and achievements accomplished by African women’s networks under the initiative of the African Women’s Committee for Peace and Development (AWCPD) and Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) during previous consultative meetings in: Durban in June 2002 organized by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD); in Dakar in April 2003; in Maputo in June 2003 organized by the Foundation for Community Development (FCD); in Addis Ababa in June 2004 organized by the AU Gender Directorate; and in Abuja in January 2005 organized by the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF). In addition to the organizations above, participating networks committed to this campaign include: FEMNET, WiLDAF, ACDHRS, WAWA, MARWOPNET, ATM, EBWA, Akina Mama Wa Africa, AWA, FAWE, Equality Now, ABANTU, AAWORD, NPI, SSWC, ANSEDI, Pan African Movement, CAFOB and other partners,
Recognizing, the commitment of the Minister of Social Affairs of The Great Socialist Peoples Libyan Arabe Jamahiriya in facilitating the 6th Women’s Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting;
Recalling the commitment
of the African Heads of State to gender equality as a major goal of the
AU as enshrined in Article 4 (1) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union,
in particular the decision to implement and uphold the principle of gender
parity taken at the Inaugural session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and
Government in July
Recognizing their previous commitments to the implementation of Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); the Beijing Platform for Action; the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003); Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on the Rights of the Child and all other relevant international, regional and sub-regional instruments aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and promoting equality between women and men;
Considering their commitment to implement the UN Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security; to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other related infectious diseases as contained in the Maputo Declarations on Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases; as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and the NEPAD programme;
Acknowledging the AU Gender Directorate Meeting of gender experts in May 2005 on developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality;
Resolving, to build on the momentum of the adoption of the SDGEA by agreeing to partner in facilitating a process to monitor, evaluate and report on the implementation of the SDGEA;
We, the civil society organizations present in
We urge Member States:
We urge the Commission of the African
Done in
PARTICIPANTS:
Appendix 7: The
We, Civil Society
Organizations from
all over Africa, comprising : the African Centre for the Constructive
Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Africa Leadership Forum (ALF), Femme Africa
Solidarité (FAS) Foundation for Community Development (FCD), FEMNET, WiLDAF,
ACDHRS, WAWA, MARWOPNET, ATM, EBWA, Akina Mama Wa Africa, AWA, FAWE, Equality
Now, ABANTU, AAWORD, NPI, SSWC, ANSEDI, Pan African Movement, CAFOB;
Building upon the important work and achievements
accomplished by African women’s networks under the initiative of the African
Women’s Committee for Peace and Development (AWCPD) and Femmes Africa
Solidarité (FAS) during previous consultative meetings in Durban in June
Meeting at the 7th Consultative meeting on
Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union (AU) in Dakar, Senegal, prior to the
1st AU Conference of Ministers responsible for Women and Gender that will take
place from the 12th to the 16th of October
Recall the commitment of the African Heads
of State to gender equality as a major goal of the AU as enshrined in Article 4
(1) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, in particular the decision to
implement and uphold the principle of gender parity both at regional and
national levels, as well as the
Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa;
Applaud the initiative taken by the
ministers responsible for Women and Gender Equality in Africa, under the
leadership of Ms. Aida Mbodj, the Senegalese Minister of Women, Development and
Social Affairs to take ownership of the SDGEA by participating at this historic
conference organised by the Gender Directorate of the African Union with the
full support of His Excellency Maitre Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic
of Senegal;
Congratulate all States that have ratified the
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa namely: Cape Verde; Comoros; Djibouti; Gambia; Lesotho; Libya;
Malawi; Mali; Namibia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; South Africa;
Reiterate our commitment to:
Recommend to Member States:
TO domesticate the Solemn Declaration
on Gender Equality in
A. Having noted that 6 countries, namely Benin,
Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mauritania, Togo and Zambia have already adopted the
legislation authorising the ratification of the protocol within their
respective parliament; we hereby urge these States to do all the necessary to deposit the instrument of ratification
at the African Union Commission not later than November 15, 2005 to ensure that
their commitment made in paragraph 9 of the SDGEA relating to the entry into
the force of the Protocol by end of 2005 becomes a reality.
B. We, further encourage all Member States that
have ratified the protocol with reservations to remove those reservations and
urge all others to ratify the
protocol without delay and without reservations to enable all African women to
benefit from this instrument which will ensure their full accomplishment and
participation in national development;
That:
While commending Member States for taking the
bold step of establishing a trust fund for women (paragraph: 11), we urge them to take all required measures to
operationalize the African Trust Fund for Women by requesting the African Union
Commission to accelerate the process by organising the proposed meeting of
experts on this subject. Meanwhile, we recommend that States and their partners
in development contribute towards the existing African Women Development Fund
(AWDF) in order to fund activities related to the promotion of gender
equality.
As enshrined in paragraph 5 of the SDGEA that
encourages States to expand and
promote the gender parity principle within all bodies of the AU, including
NEPAD:
· We ask the Head of states to
encourage women’s candidature for elections for public office, particularly
that of the presidency. We urge States to use affirmative action in the
realisation of the principle of gender parity;
· We ask the AU Commission to
effectively ensure that the proposed expansion is reflected in the management
of the 8 priorities of the NEPAD.
6) Consolidation of the
implementation process:
To approach the implementation of the
SDGEA in consonance with other instruments and declarations on women including
the MDGs, CEDAW, the protocol on the
rights of women in Africa, the
To support the appointment of a
special rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women by the UN Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW) by 2006 (UN Resolution 49/3)
Adopted in
Participants:
Appendix
8:
We, the Civil Society Organizations working across Africa and meeting at the 8th Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union (AU) in Banjul, the Gambia 26-27 June 2005 prior to the 7th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government to follow-up on the “Gender is My Agenda” Campaign on the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA), co-organized by the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) and Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS):
Building upon the important work and achievements accomplished by African women’s networks under the initiative of the African Women’s Committee for Peace and Development (AWCPD) and Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) during previous consultative meetings in: Durban in June 2002 organized by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD); in Dakar in April 2003; in Maputo in June 2003 organized by the Foundation for Community Development (FCD); in Addis Ababa in June 2004 organized by the AU Gender Directorate; in Abuja in January 2005 organized by the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF); in Tripoli in July 2005 with the Ministry of Social Affairs of Libya; and in Dakar, in October 2005 organized by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS);
Recognizing, the support of Her Excellency Madame Isatou Njie
Saidy, Vice President of the Republic of the
Recalling the commitment
of the African Heads of State to gender equality as a major goal of the
AU as enshrined in Article 4 (1) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union,
in particular the decision to implement and uphold the principle of gender
parity taken at the Inaugural session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and
Government in July
Bearing in mind our commitment to monitor, evaluate and report on the implementation of the SDGEA;
We, the civil society organizations present in
Note with appreciation the following achievements:
1. The holding of the first conference of ministers
responsible for gender and women’s affairs in
2. The establishment of the African Union Women’s Committee;
3. The entry into force of the Protocol of the Rights of
Women in
4. The application of the parity principle in the commission
in the AU including the commission on human and people’s rights and the ECOSOCC;
5. The steps taken by the AU to investigate the allegations
of sexual abuse by AU peacekeeping forces
in
Deplore the following unfulfilled commitments, two
years after the adoption of the Solemn Declaration,
1. No report has been presented on its implementation;
2. The Establishment of the African Trust Fund for women has not yet been created;
3. The Parity
principle has not been applied in the nomination and election of judges to the
4. Violence and sexual abuse of women are intensifying with impunity;
5. No steps have been taken to prevent recruitment of child soldiers;
6. Only 19 state parties out of 53 have ratified the
Protocol on the Rights of Women in
Make the following recommendations:
1. The Pan African Parliament (PAP) Protocol should be amended to allow for at least 2 women representatives out of the five;
2. The African Union should work to simplify and harmonize
systems of reporting by Member States;
3. Integrate “life skills” education into school curricula;
4. Each country put into place a system that ensures women access to health care;
5. Ensure women’s access to land and to resources or profits obtained from extractive industries;
6. Establish a group of women mediators and peacebuilders at all levels, including the grassroots.
Take the following commitments:
1. To contribute to the reporting process at the national level as well as at the level of the AU Commission;
2. To establish a system of mentoring to promote the inclusion of youth in our programs;
3. To work towards building a women’s movement in
4. To encourage the participation of women in politics and advocate for the reform of electoral systems to facilitate their participation;
5. To document lessons learned and best practices to share
experiences in the different areas of intervention.
PARTICIPANTS:
ACCORD
ACDHRS
ACHPR
Action Aid
AFAO
African
Commission on Human and People’s Rights
African
Initiative for the Promotion of Democracy and Good Governance
African
African
Union Commission
Association
of Tunisian Mothers,
ATCN
ATPDH
AWODO
CAFOB
CODESIRA
Comit »
Appel à la Paix
CONUAFEM
CREAW
Department
of State for Health
ECOWAS
Gender Centre
Efa Gambian
Network
Equality
Now
FAMEDEV
FAWE
Femmes Africa
Solidarité
FIDH
GAMCOTRAP
GAMESCO
GRA-REDEP
International
Criminal Court
Liberian
Women Association
MARWOPNET
National
Association of Youth for Food Security
NWA
Office of
the Ombudsman
PAGAD
PanAfrican Movement
Pura
RDC Women’s
Association in the
RifAD
SaferAfrica
SAHARA
SLWA (ANDD)
Southern
African Women Miners Trust
SWAA
International
WiLDAF
Worldview
WISDOM
Women’s
Advancement Support
Women’s
Centre for Education Empowerment
WOPPA/RDC
Youth OAU
YWCA
Appendix 9: Protocol To The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights On The
Rights Of Women In
The States Parties to this Protocol,
CONSIDERING that
Article 66 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights provides for
special protocols or agreements, if necessary, to supplement the provisions of
the African Charter, and that the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of
the Organization of African Unity meeting in its Thirty-first Ordinary
Session in
Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to elaborate a
Protocol on the Rights of Women in
CONSIDERING that
Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights enshrines the
principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic group, colour,
sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social
origin, fortune, birth or other status;
FURTHER
CONSIDERING that Article 18 of the African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights calls on all States Parties to eliminate every discrimination
against women and to ensure the protection of the rights of women as stipulated
in international declarations and conventions;
NOTING that
Articles 60 and 61 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
recognise regional and international human rights instruments and African
practices consistent with international norms on human and peoples' rights as
being important reference points for the application and interpretation of the
African Charter;
RECALLING that
women's rights have been recognised and guaranteed in all international human
rights instruments, notably the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women and its Optional Protocol, the African Charter on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and all other international and regional
conventions and covenants relating to the rights of women as being inalienable,
interdependent and indivisible human rights;
NOTING that
women's rights and women's essential role in development, have been reaffirmed
in the United Nations Plans of Action on the Environment and Development in
1992, on Human Rights in 1993, on Population and Development in 1994 and on
Social Development in 1995;
RECALLING ALSO United Nations Security Council’s
Resolution 1325 (2000) on the role
of Women in promoting peace and security;
REAFFIRMING the
principle of promoting gender equality as enshrined in the Constitutive Act of
the African Union as well as the New Partnership for
Resolutions and Decisions, which underline the
commitment of the African States to ensure the full participation of African
women as equal partners in
FURTHER
NOTING that the African Platform for Action and the Dakar Declaration of 1994
and the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995 call on all Member States of the
United Nations, which have made a solemn commitment to implement them, to take
concrete steps to give greater attention to the human rights of women in order
to eliminate all forms of discrimination and of gender-based violence against
women;
RECOGNISING
the crucial role of women in the preservation of African values based on
the principles of equality, peace, freedom, dignity, justice, solidarity and
democracy;
BEARING IN
MIND related Resolutions, Declarations, Recommendations, Decisions,
Conventions and other Regional and Sub-Regional Instruments aimed at
eliminating all forms of discrimination and at promoting equality between women
and men;
CONCERNED that
despite the ratification of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
and other international human rights instruments by the majority of States
Parties, and their solemn commitment to eliminate all forms of discrimination
and harmful practices against women, women in Africa still continue to be
victims of discrimination and harmful practices;
FIRMLY
CONVINCED that any practice that hinders or endangers the
normal growth and affects the physical and psychological development of women
and girls should be condemned and eliminated;
DETERMINED to ensure
that the rights of women are promoted,
realised and protected in order to enable them to
enjoy fully all their human rights;
HAVE
AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purpose of the present Protocol:
a) "African Charter" means the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights;
b) "African Commission" means the African
Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights;
c) "Assembly" means the Assembly of Heads of
State and Government of the African Union;
d) “AU” means the African Union;
e) ‘‘Constitutive Act’’ means the Constitutive Act of
the African Union;
f) "Discrimination against women" means any
distinction, exclusion or restriction or any differential treatment based on
sex and whose objectives or effects compromise or destroy the recognition,
enjoyment or the exercise by women, regardless of their marital status, of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in all spheres of life;
g) "Harmful Practices" means all behaviour,
attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of
women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and
physical integrity;
h) ‘‘NEPAD’’ means the New Partnership for
i) "States Parties" means the States Parties
to this Protocol;
j) "Violence against women" means all acts
perpetrated against women which cause or could cause them physical, sexual,
psychological, and economic harm, including the threat to take such acts; or to
undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on or deprivation of
fundamental freedoms in private or public life in peace time and during
situations of armed conflicts or of war;
k) “Women” means persons of female gender, including
girls.
Article 2
Elimination
of Discrimination Against Women
1. States Parties shall combat all forms of discrimination
against women through appropriate legislative, institutional and other
measures. In this regard they shall:
a) Include in their national constitutions and other
legislative instruments, if not already done, the principle of equality between
women and men and ensure its effective application;
b) Enact and
effectively implement appropriate legislative or regulatory measures, including
those prohibiting and curbing all forms of discrimination, particularly those harmful
practices which endanger the health and general well-being of women;
c) Integrate a
gender perspective in their policy decisions, legislation, development plans,
programmes and activities and in all other spheres of life;
d) Take
corrective and positive action in those areas where discrimination against
women in law and in fact continues to exist;
e) Support the local, national, regional and
continental initiatives directed at eradicating all forms of discrimination
against women.
2. States
Parties shall commit themselves to modify the social and cultural patterns of
conduct of women and men through public education, information, education and
communication strategies, with a view to achieving the elimination of harmful
cultural and traditional practices and all other practices which are based on
the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes, or on
stereotyped roles for women and men.
Article 3
Right to
Dignity
1. Every woman shall have the right to dignity
inherent in a human being and to the recognition and protection of her human
and legal rights.
2. Every woman shall have the right to respect as a
person and to the free development of her personality.
3. States Parties shall adopt and implement
appropriate measures to prohibit any exploitation or degradation of women.
4. States Parties shall adopt and implement
appropriate measures to ensure the
protection of every woman’s right to respect for her dignity and protection of
women from all forms of violence, particularly sexual and verbal violence.
Article 4
The Rights
to Life, Integrity and Security of the Person
1. Every woman shall be entitled to respect for her
life and the integrity and security of her person. All forms of exploitation, cruel, inhuman or
degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited.
2. States
Parties shall take appropriate and effective measures to:
a) Enact and enforce laws to prohibit all forms of
violence against women including unwanted or forced sex whether the violence
takes place in private or public;
b) Adopt such other legislative, administrative,
social and economic measures as may be necessary to ensure the prevention,
punishment and eradication of all forms of violence against women;
c) Identify the causes and consequences of violence
against women and take appropriate measures to prevent and eliminate such
violence;
d) Actively promote peace education through curricula
and social communication in order to eradicate elements in traditional and
cultural beliefs, practices and stereotypes which legitimise and exacerbate the
persistence and tolerance of violence against women;
e) Punish the perpetrators of violence against women
and implement programmes for the rehabilitation of women victims;
f) Establish mechanisms and accessible services for
effective information, rehabilitation and reparation for victims of violence
against women;
g) Prevent and condemn trafficking in women, prosecute
the perpetrators of such trafficking and protect those women most at risk;
h) Prohibit all medical or scientific experiments on
women without their informed consent;
i) Provide adequate
budgetary and other resources for the implementation and monitoring of
actions aimed at preventing and eradicating violence against women;
j) Ensure that, in those countries where the death
penalty still exists, not to carry out death sentences on pregnant or nursing
women;
k) Ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights in
terms of access to refugee status determination procedures and that women
refugees are accorded the full protection and benefits guaranteed under
international refugee law, including their own identity and other documents.
Article 5
Elimination
of Harmful Practices
States Parties shall prohibit and condemn all forms of
harmful practices which negatively affect the human rights of women and which
are contrary to recognised international standards. States Parties shall take
all necessary legislative and other measures to eliminate such practices,
including:
a) Creation of
public awareness in all sectors of society regarding harmful practices through
information, formal and informal education and outreach programmes;
b) Prohibition, through legislative measures backed by
sanctions, of all forms of female genital mutilation, scarification,
medicalisation and para-medicalisation of female genital mutilation and all other practices in order to eradicate
them;
c) Provision of necessary support to victims of
harmful practices through basic services such as health services, legal and
judicial support, emotional and
psychological counselling as well as vocational training to make them
self-supporting;
d) Protection of women who are at risk of being
subjected to harmful practices or all other forms of violence, abuse and
intolerance.
Article 6
Marriage
States Parties shall ensure that women and men enjoy
equal rights and are regarded as equal partners in marriage. They shall enact
appropriate national legislative measures to guarantee that:
a) No marriage shall take place without the free and
full consent of both parties;
b) The minimum age of marriage for women shall be 18
years;
c) Monogamy is encouraged as the preferred form of
marriage and that the rights of women in marriage and family, including in
polygamous marital relationships are promoted and protected;
d) Every marriage shall be recorded in writing and
registered in accordance with national laws, in order to be legally recognised;
e) The husband and wife shall, by mutual agreement,
choose their matrimonial regime and place of residence;
f) A married woman shall have the right to retain her
maiden name, to use it as she pleases, jointly or separately with her husband's
surname;
g) A woman shall have the right to retain her
nationality or to acquire the nationality of her husband;
h) A woman and a man shall have equal rights with
respect to the nationality of their children, except where this is contrary to a
provision in national legislation or is contrary to national security
interests;
i) A woman and a man shall jointly contribute to
safeguarding the interests of the
family, protecting and educating their children;
j) During her marriage, a woman shall have the right
to acquire her own property and to administer and manage it freely.
Article 7
Separation,
Divorce and Annulment of Marriage
States Parties shall enact appropriate legislation to
ensure that women and men enjoy the same rights in case of separation, divorce
or annulment of marriage. In this regard, they shall ensure that:
a) Separation, divorce or annulment of a marriage
shall be effected by judicial order;
b) Women and men shall have the same rights to seek
separation, divorce or annulment of a marriage;
c) In case of separation, divorce or annulment of
marriage, women and men shall have reciprocal rights and responsibilities towards their children. In any case, the interests of the children
shall be given paramount importance;
d) In case of separation, divorce or annulment of
marriage, women and men shall have
the right to an equitable sharing of the joint property deriving from the
marriage.
Article 8
Access to
Justice and Equal Protection before the Law
Women and men are
equal before the law and shall have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. States Parties shall take all appropriate
measures to ensure:
a) Effective access by women to judicial and legal services,
including legal aid;
b) Support to local, national, regional and
continental initiatives directed at providing women access to legal services,
including legal aid;
c) The establishment of adequate educational and other
appropriate structures with particular attention to women and to sensitise
everyone to the rights of women;
d) That law enforcement organs at all levels are
equipped to effectively interpret and enforce gender equality rights;
e) That women are represented equally in the judiciary
and law enforcement organs;
f) Reform of existing discriminatory laws and
practices in order to promote and protect the rights of women.
Article 9
Right to
Participation in the Political and Decision-Making Process
1. States Parties shall take specific positive action
to promote participative governance and the equal participation of women in the
political life of their countries through affirmative action, enabling national
legislation and other measures to ensure that:
a) Women
participate without any discrimination in all elections;
b) Women are
represented equally at all levels with men in all electoral processes;
c) Women are
equal partners with men at all levels of development and implementation of
State policies and development programmes.
2. States
Parties shall ensure increased and effective representation and participation
of women at all levels of decision-making.
Article 10
Right to
Peace
1. Women have the right to a peaceful existence and the
right to participate in the promotion and maintenance of peace.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures
to ensure the increased participation of women:
a) In
programmes of education for peace and a culture of peace;
b) In the
structures and processes for conflict prevention, management and resolution at local, national, regional,
continental and international levels;
c) In the local, national, regional, continental and
international decision-making structures to ensure physical, psychological,
social and legal protection of asylum seekers, refugees, returnees and
displaced persons, in particular women;
d) In all levels of the structures established for the
management of camps and settlements for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees and
displaced persons, in particular, women;
e) In all aspects of planning, formulation and
implementation of post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation.
3. States Parties shall take the necessary measures to
reduce military expenditure significantly in favour of spending on social
development in general, and the promotion of women in particular.
Article 11
Protection
of Women in Armed Conflicts
1. States Parties undertake to respect and ensure
respect for the rules of international humanitarian law applicable in armed
conflict situations, which affect the population, particularly women.
2. States Parties shall, in accordance with the
obligations incumbent upon them under international humanitarian law, protect
civilians including women, irrespective of the population to which they belong, in the event of armed conflict.
3. States Parties undertake to protect asylum seeking
women, refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, against all forms
of violence, rape and other forms of sexual exploitation, and to ensure that
such acts are considered war crimes, genocide and/or crimes against humanity
and that their perpetrators are brought to justice before a competent criminal
jurisdiction.
4. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to
ensure that no child, especially girls under 18 years of age, take a direct
part in hostilities and that no
child is recruited as a soldier.
Article 12
Right to
Education and Training
1. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to:
a) Eliminate
all forms of discrimination against women and guarantee equal opportunity and
access in the sphere of education and training;
b) Eliminate all stereotypes in textbooks, syllabuses
and the media, that perpetuate such discrimination;
c) Protect women, especially the girl-child from all
forms of abuse, including sexual harassment in schools and other educational
institutions and provide for sanctions against the perpetrators of such
practices;
d) Provide access to counselling and rehabilitation
services to women who suffer abuses and sexual harassment;
e) Integrate gender sensitisation and human rights
education at all levels of education curricula including teacher training.
2. States
Parties shall take specific positive action to:
a) Promote
literacy among women;
b) Promote
education and training for women at all levels and in all disciplines,
particularly in the fields of science and technology;
c) Promote the
enrolment and retention of girls in schools and other training institutions and
the organisation of programmes for women who leave school prematurely.
Article 13
Economic
and Social Welfare Rights
States Parties shall adopt and enforce legislative and
other measures to guarantee women equal
opportunities in work and career advancement and other economic opportunities.
In this respect, they shall:
a) Promote
equality of access to employment;
b) Promote the
right to equal remuneration for jobs of equal value for women and men;
c) Ensure
transparency in recruitment, promotion and dismissal of women and combat and
punish sexual harassment in the workplace;
d) Guarantee
women the freedom to choose their occupation, and protect them from
exploitation by their employers violating and exploiting their fundamental
rights as recognised and guaranteed by conventions, laws and regulations in
force;
e) Create
conditions to promote and support the occupations and economic activities of
women, in particular, within the informal sector;
f) Establish a system of protection and social
insurance for women working in the informal sector and sensitise them to adhere
to it;
g) Introduce a
minimum age for work and prohibit the employment of children below that age, and prohibit, combat and punish all forms
of exploitation of children, especially the girl-child;
h) Take the
necessary measures to recognise the economic value of the work of women in the
home;
i) Guarantee
adequate and paid pre- and post-natal maternity leave in both the private and
public sectors;
j) Ensure the
equal application of taxation laws to women and men;
k) Recognise
and enforce the right of salaried women to the same allowances and entitlements
as those granted to salaried men for their spouses and children;
l) Recognise
that both parents bear the primary responsibility for the upbringing and
development of children and that this is a social function for which the State
and the private sector have secondary responsibility;
m) Take
effective legislative and administrative measures to prevent the exploitation
and abuse of women in advertising and pornography.
Article 14
Health and
Reproductive Rights
1. States
Parties shall ensure that the right to health of women, including sexual and
reproductive health is respected and promoted.
This includes:
a) The right to control their fertility;
b) The right to decide whether to have children, the
number of children and the spacing of children;
c) The right to
choose any method of contraception;
d) The right to
self-protection and to be protected against sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV/AIDS;
e) The right to
be informed on one's health status and on the health status of one's partner,
particularly if affected with sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV/AIDS, in accordance with internationally recognised standards and best
practices;
g) The right to have family planning education.
2. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to:
a) Provide
adequate, affordable and accessible health services, including information,
education and communication programmes to women especially those in rural
areas;
b) Establish
and strengthen existing pre-natal, delivery and post-natal health and
nutritional services for women during pregnancy and while they are
breast-feeding;
c) Protect the
reproductive rights of women by authorising medical abortion in cases of sexual
assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental
and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the foetus.
Article 15
Right to
Food Security
States Parties shall ensure that women have the right
to nutritious and adequate food. In this
regard, they shall take appropriate measures to:
a) Provide
women with access to clean drinking water, sources of domestic fuel, land, and
the means of producing nutritious food;
b) Establish
adequate systems of supply and storage to ensure food security.
Article 16
Right to
Adequate Housing
Women shall have the right to equal access to housing
and to acceptable living conditions in a healthy environment. To ensure this
right, States Parties shall grant to women, whatever their marital status,
access to adequate housing.
Article 17
Right to
Positive Cultural Context
1. Women shall
have the right to live in a positive cultural context and to participate at all
levels in the determination of cultural policies.
2. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to enhance the participation of
women in the formulation of cultural policies at all levels.
Article 18
Right to a
Healthy and Sustainable Environment
1. Women shall
have the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment.
2. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to:
a) Ensure
greater participation of women in the planning, management and preservation of
the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources at all levels;
b) Promote research and investment in new and
renewable energy sources and appropriate technologies, including information
technologies and facilitate women's access to, and participation in their
control;
c) Protect and
enable the development of women’s indigenous knowledge systems;
c) Regulate the
management, processing, storage and disposal of domestic waste;
d) Ensure that proper standards are followed for the
storage, transportation and disposal of toxic waste.
Article 19
Right to
Sustainable Development
Women shall have the right to fully enjoy their right
to sustainable development. In this connection, the States Parties shall take
all appropriate measures to:
a) Introduce the gender perspective in the national
development planning procedures;
b) Ensure participation of women at all levels in the
conceptualisation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation of
development policies and programmes;
c) Promote women’s access to and control over
productive resources such as land and guarantee their right to property;
d) Promote women’s access to credit, training, skills
development and extension services at rural and urban levels in order to
provide women with a higher quality of life and reduce the level of poverty
among women;
e) Take into account indicators of human development
specifically relating to women in the elaboration of development policies and
programmes; and
f) Ensure that the negative effects of globalisation
and any adverse effects of the implementation of trade and economic policies
and programmes are reduced to the minimum for women.
Article 20
Widows'
Rights
States Parties shall take appropriate legal measures
to ensure that widows enjoy all human rights through the implementation of the
following provisions:
a) That widows
are not subjected to inhuman, humiliating or degrading treatment;
b) That a widow
shall automatically become the guardian and custodian of her children, after
the death of her husband, unless this is contrary to the interests and the
welfare of the children;
c) That a
widow shall have the right to remarry, and in that event, to marry the person
of her choice.
Article 21
Right to
Inheritance
2. Women and men shall have the right to inherit, in
equitable shares, their parents' properties.
Article
22
Special
Protection of Elderly Women
The States Parties undertake to:
a) Provide protection to elderly women and take
specific measures commensurate with their physical, economic and social needs
as well as their access to employment and professional training;
b) Ensure the right of elderly women to freedom from
violence, including sexual abuse, discrimination based on age and the right to
be treated with dignity.
Article 23
Special
Protection of Women with Disabilities
The States Parties undertake to:
a) Ensure the protection of women with disabilities
and take specific measures commensurate with their physical, economic and
social needs to facilitate their access to employment, professional and
vocational training as well as their participation in decision-making;
b) Ensure the right of women with disabilities to
freedom from violence, including sexual abuse, discrimination based on
disability and the right to be treated with dignity.
Article 24
Special
Protection of Women in Distress
The States Parties undertake to:
a) Ensure the protection of poor women and women heads
of families including women from marginalized population groups and provide an
environment suitable to their condition and their special physical, economic
and social needs;
b) Ensure the right of pregnant or nursing women or
women in detention by providing them with an environment which is suitable to
their condition and the right to be treated with dignity.
Article 25
Remedies
States Parties shall undertake to:
a) Provide for appropriate remedies to any woman whose
rights or freedoms, as herein recognised, have been violated;
b) Ensure that such remedies are determined by
competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other
competent authority provided for by law.
Article 26
Implementation
and Monitoring
1. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of
this Protocol at national level, and in their periodic reports submitted in
accordance with Article 62 of the African Charter, indicate the legislative and
other measures undertaken for the full realisation of the rights herein
recognised.
2. States Parties undertake to adopt all necessary
measures and in particular shall provide budgetary and other resources for the
full and effective implementation of the rights herein recognised.
Article 27
Interpretation
The
Article 28
Signature,
Ratification and Accession
1. This
Protocol shall be open for signature, ratification and accession by the States
Parties, in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures.
2. The
instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the
Chairperson of the Commission of the AU.
Article 29
Entry into
Force
1. This Protocol shall enter into force thirty (30)
days after the deposit of the fifteenth (15) instrument of ratification.
2. For each State Party that accedes to this Protocol
after its coming into force, the Protocol shall come into force on the date of
deposit of the instrument of accession.
3. The
Chairperson of the Commission of the AU shall notify all Member States of the coming into force of this
Protocol.
Article 30
Amendment
and Revision
1. Any State
Party may submit proposals for the amendment or revision of this Protocol.
2. Proposals
for amendment or revision shall be submitted, in writing, to the Chairperson of
the Commission of the AU who shall transmit the same to the States Parties
within thirty (30) days of receipt thereof.
3. The
Assembly, upon advice of the African Commission, shall examine these proposals
within a period of one (1) year following notification of States Parties, in
accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article.
4. Amendments or revision shall be adopted by the
Assembly by a simple majority.
5. The
amendment shall come into force for each State Party, which has accepted it
thirty (30) days after the Chairperson of the Commission of the AU has received
notice of the acceptance.
Article 31
Status of
the Present Protocol
None of the provisions of the present Protocol shall
affect more favourable provisions for the realisation of the rights of women
contained in the national legislation of States Parties or in any other
regional, continental or international conventions, treaties or agreements
applicable in these States Parties.
Article 32
Transitional
Provisions
Pending the establishment of the
Rights shall be seized with matters of interpretation
arising from the application and implementation of this Protocol.
Adopted by
the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the
Appendix 10: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000)
The Security Council,
Recalling its resolutions 1261
(1999) of 25 August 1999, 1265 (1999) of 17 September 1999, 1296 (2000) of 19
April 2000 and 1314 (2000) of 11 August 2000, as well as relevant statements of
its President and recalling also the statement of its President, to the press
on the occasion of the United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International
Peace of 8 March 2000 (SC/6816),
Recalling also the commitments
of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (A/52/231) as well as those
contained in the outcome document of the twenty-third Special Session of the
United Nations General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality,
Development and Peace for the twenty-first century" (A/S-23/10/Rev.1), in
particular those concerning women and armed conflict,
Bearing in mind the purposes
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the primary
responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter for the maintenance of
international peace and security,
Expressing concern that
civilians, particularly women and children, account for the vast majority of
those adversely affected by armed conflict, including as refugees and
internally displaced persons, and increasingly are targeted by combatants and
armed elements, and recognizing the consequent impact this has on durable peace
and reconciliation,
Reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and
resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stressing the importance of
their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the
maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their
role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution,
Reaffirming also the need to implement fully international
humanitarian and human rights law that protects the rights of women and girls
during and after conflicts,
Emphasizing the need for all
parties to ensure that mine clearance and mine awareness programmes take into
account the special needs of women and girls,
Recognizing the urgent need to
mainstream a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations, and in this
regard noting the Windhoek Declaration and the Namibia Plan of Action on
Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations
(S/2000/693),
Recognizing also the importance
of the recommendation contained in the statement of its President to the press
of 8 March 2000 for specialized training for all peacekeeping personnel on the
protection, special needs and human rights of women and children in conflict
situations,
Recognizing that an understanding
of the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, effective institutional
arrangements to guarantee their protection and full participation in the peace
process can significantly contribute to the maintenance and promotion of
international peace and security,
Noting the need to
consolidate data on the impact of armed conflict on women and girls,
1. Urges Member States to ensure
increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national,
regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention,
management, and resolution of conflict;
2. Encourages the Secretary-General to
implement his strategic plan of action (A/49/587) calling for an increase in
the participation of women at decision-making levels in conflict resolution and
peace processes;
3. Urges the Secretary-General to
appoint more women as special representatives and envoys to pursue good offices
on his behalf, and in this regard calls on Member States to provide candidates
to the Secretary-General, for inclusion in a regularly updated centralized
roster;
4. Further urges the Secretary-General
to seek to expand the role and contribution of women in United Nations
field-based operations, and especially among military observers, civilian
police, human rights and humanitarian personnel;
5. Expresses its willingness to
incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations and urges the
Secretary-General to ensure that, where appropriate, field operations include a
gender component;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to
provide to Member States training guidelines and materials on the protection,
rights and the particular needs of women, as well as on the importance of
involving women in all peacekeeping and peace-building measures, invites Member
States to incorporate these elements as well as HIV/AIDS awareness training
into their national training programmes for military and civilian police
personnel in preparation for deployment and further requests the
Secretary-General to ensure that civilian personnel of peacekeeping operations
receive similar training;
7. Urges Member States to increase
their voluntary financial, technical and logistical support for
gender-sensitive training efforts, including those undertaken by relevant funds
and programmes, inter alia, the United Nations Fund for Women and United
Nations Children's Fund, and by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and other relevant bodies;
8. Calls on all actors involved, when
negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective,
including, inter alia: (a) The special needs of women and girls during
repatriation and resettlement and for rehabilitation, reintegration and
post-conflict reconstruction; (b) Measures that support local women's peace
initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution, and that involve
women in all of the implementation mechanisms of the peace agreements; (c)
Measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women
and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral
system, the police and the judiciary;
9. Calls upon all parties to armed
conflict to respect fully international law applicable to the rights and
protection of women and girls as civilians, in particular the obligations applicable
to them under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols
thereto of 1977, the Refugee Convention of 1951 and the Protocol thereto of
1967, the Convention Security Council - 5 - Press Release SC/6942 4213th
Meeting (PM) 31 October 2000 on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women of 1979 and the Optional Protocol thereto of 1999 and the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 and the two Optional
Protocols thereto of 25 May 2000, and to bear in mind the relevant provisions
of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
10. Calls on all parties to armed
conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence,
particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of
violence in situations of armed conflict;
11. Emphasizes the responsibility of all
States to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for
genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes including those relating to
sexual violence against women and girls, and in this regard, stresses the need
to exclude these crimes, where feasible from amnesty provisions;
12. Calls upon all parties to armed
conflict to respect the civilian and humanitarian character of refugee camps
and settlements, and to take into account the particular needs of women and
girls, including in their design, and recalls its resolution 1208 (1998) of 19
November 1998;
13. Encourages all those involved in the
planning for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration to consider the
different needs of female and male ex-combatants and to take into account the
needs of their dependants;
14. Reaffirms its readiness, whenever
measures are adopted under Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations, to
give consideration to their potential impact on the civilian population,
bearing in mind the special needs of women and girls, in order to consider
appropriate humanitarian exemptions;
15. Expresses its willingness to ensure
that Security Council missions take into account gender considerations and the
rights of women, including through consultation with local and international
women's groups;
16. Invites the Secretary-General to
carry out a study on the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, the role
of women in peace-building and the gender dimensions of peace processes and
conflict resolution, and further invites him to submit a report to the Security
Council on the results of this study and to make this available to all Member
States of the United Nations;
17. Requests the Secretary-General,
where appropriate, to include in his reporting to the Security Council,
progress on gender mainstreaming throughout peacekeeping missions and all other
aspects relating to women and girls;
18. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter
;