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Call for African Women’s Organizations to Endorse. Please go to above link and scroll down after Statement to complete endorsement.
CSW 59 African Women's Caucus Statement – Continued
Call For Endorsement
African Women’s Rights Organizations have been and will continue to be at
the forefront of shaping the global agenda for women's rights. From the First
World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975 to the Fourth World Conference
on Women in Beijing in 1995 and beyond, they have continued to ensure that
women’s rights instruments, including the 12 critical areas of concern of the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA) reflect priorities of
African women and girls.
Over the past two decades, Africa has made tremendous strides in
developing progressive policy frameworks to advance the rights of women on the
continent as evidenced from the adoption of the gender parity principle in the
African Union's (AU) Constitutive Act of 2002, the AU Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa of 2003,
and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa of 2004, to mention a
few. Despite these achievements, the 20 year review of the BDPfA comes within a
social, political and economic environment in which many of the gains made in
1995 are facing serious threats.
The African Women’s Caucus of the 59th session of the Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW59) is deeply concerned by the weak Political
Declaration that was adopted by Member States, which falls far short of the
transformative and progressive objectives of the Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action. We were surprised and disappointed that the Political
Declaration was negotiated prior to CSW59 and devoid of civil society
consultation.
We are also concerned that civil society organizations were also
left out of the Working Methods process and that the Working Methods Resolution
did not strongly emphasize the critical role of civil society organizations,
especially women’s rights and feminist organizations, as part and parcel of the
decision-making process on issues that directly affect the lives of women and
girls. Furthermore, the Working Methods Resolution did not incorporate stronger
language on commitment to human rights for women and girls.
2015 has been dedicated as the Year of Women’s Empowerment and
Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063 by the African Union. It also marks
the mid-way point in the African Women’s Decade, as declared by the AU in 2010.
We also recall the numerous regional inter-governmental consultations held in
2014 and during the January 2015 African Union Summit where Member States
committed to accelerated implementation of women’s rights instruments without
renegotiating their content. Thus, we are deeply concerned that the African
Group position in the negotiations of both the Political Declaration and the
Working Methods Resolution at the global level was not fully in line with the
agreements and promises made by African Governments both at the continental,
regional and national levels.
Going forward, as women’s organizations, feminist organizations,
individual activists and citizens of African Countries that work at different
levels to achieve gender equality, empowerment and the full realization of the
human rights of women and girls, we call upon our governments to:
1. Commit towards full realization of gender equality, the human rights and
empowerment of women and girls without renegotiating already agreed upon
commitments made by our governments at national, regional, continental and
global levels.
2. Ensure continuity and consistency in negotiations on commitments to women’s
human rights and empowerment in country positions at all levels – national,
regional, continental and global, as well as while negotiating as a bloc.
3. Commit to accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action, along with the outcomes of the 23rd United Nations General Assembly
Special Session, the Beijing+10 and Beijing+15 political declarations, the
agreed conclusions and resolutions of the Commission on the Status of Women, as
well as the women’s rights regional instruments highlighted above.
4. Recognize the critical and unequivocal role that African women’s
organizations, feminist organizations and women human rights defenders have
played in advancing gender equality, the human rights and empowerment of women
and girls.
5. Commit to create an enabling and conducive environment that allows women’s
rights organizations, feminist organizations and other CSOs to participate
fully in the CSW sessions.
6. Recognize and commit to address the emerging challenges that are setbacks on
gains made for gender equality and the realization of the human rights of all
women and girls.
7. Affirm the strong linkages between the BDPfA and the Sustainable Development
Goals. Realizing gender equality, empowerment and the human rights of women and
girls will be critical for the success of the post-2015 development agenda.
8. Strongly recognize, in future processes, including the CSW, the links
between the human rights of women and girls and development, particularly as
women and girls are disproportionately affected by the consequences of
under-development.
We cannot have true development if more than half the population
is left behind.