WUNRN
African Union Declaration on 2015 Year of Women’s Empowerment & Development Towards Africa’s Agenda 2063
We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, having
met at our Twenty Fifth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in
Johannesburg, South Africa, from 14 to 15 June 2015, on the 2015 Theme “Year of
Women’s Empowerment towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”;
Recalling our previous Decisions and
Declarations on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in particular the
Protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa in 2003 (Assembly AU/Dec.19(II)), the Solemn Declaration on
Gender Equality in Africa in 2004 (Assembly AU/Dec.12 (III)), the African
Women’s Decade (2010-2020) (Assembly AU/Dec. 229 (XII)), the Fund for African
Women (Assembly AU/Dec. 277(XIV)), Malabo Decision on Theme for 2015 Year
(Assembly AU/Dec. 539 (XXIII)) and all global policies, namely the Convention
on Elimination of all forms of Discriminations against Women (CEDAW), and the
UN Security Council Resolution Number 1325, among others;
Acknowledging the persistent efforts made
in implementation of the AU Gender Architecture above-mentioned at national,
regional and continental levels, and the positive and visible results of
implementation of gender equality and women’s empowerment made by our continent
since Beijing 1995;
Also acknowledging the challenges faced in the
implementation of many of those Decisions and Declarations, in particular on
progress made in attaining the minimum targets of gender equality and women’s
empowerment in women’s socio-economic and political life that should
demonstrate Africa’s willingness, leadership and commitment to the achievement
of goals as enshrined in the 2003 Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa;
Noting with Concern that despite positive
achievements registered recently in decision-making, women, the largest
proportion of our population, still remain at-risk and impoverished due to the
challenges caused by social, economic and political marginalization,
gender-based violence and discrimination against women; and
reiterating our resolve to ending violence against women and
girls, and improving access to, and control of, finances, land, education,
health, sciences and technology and decision-making in political governance and
business enterprises, consistent with our Declaration on Agenda 2063 and our
continental Gender Architecture and our commitments on global initiatives;
Reaffirming our resolve towards
ensuring that all categories of our populations, in particular women and young
girls, must participate and benefit directly from the growth and transformation
opportunities to improve their lives and livelihoods, with continued positive
impact on the lives of our citizenry in rural and urban areas, through
deliberate and targeted public support;
Reiterating our commitment to the Addis
Ababa Declaration on Accelerating the Implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action – Towards a Transformational Change for Women and Girls in Africa,
adopted during the Ninth African Regional Conference on Women in November 2014;
Reflecting that hunger and
malnutrition are major causes of risk, impoverishment, and persistent
underdevelopment in Africa and causes of poor health, low levels of energy, and
mental impairment, all leading to low productivity and low educational attainment,
all of which can in turn lead to even greater hunger and malnutrition, and
increased economic costs, thereby creating a vicious cycle;
Noting the progress made towards alignment,
harmonization and coordination of initiatives and activities of stakeholders
and partners with our priorities as defined in the Beijing and Dakar Platforms
of Action and stressing on the significance of accelerating this momentum;
Recognizing the importance of
multi-sectoral engagement and co-ownership of this societal and economic
transformation agenda within our public sectors, including agriculture, science
and technology, health, peace and security, infrastructure, energy, finance,
trade, industry, hence the importance of putting in place a coherent
inter-sectoral coordination of the efforts and initiatives in cabinet and other
national and regional governance frameworks, for optimizing resource access and
control, synergy and maximizing positive outcomes and greater impact;
Further recognizing the complementary roles and
responsibilities that should be enhanced among relevant stakeholders, including
public sectors, private enterprises – especially with African headquarters,
civil society with African leadership, academia, African think-tanks,
grassroots and business women, in all formal and informal sectors in driving
our shared continental development Agenda 2063;
Reiterating its support to the mandate
of the AUC Chairperson’s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security to promote
the rights of women during conflict, their participation in the prevention and
resolution of conflict, and their protection from sexual and gender-based
violence;
Welcoming the Recommendations of the
Stakeholder’s Consultation with AU Ministers of Gender and Women’s Affairs,
GIMAC (Gender is my Agenda Campaign) network of civil society organizations,
Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and UN System, held in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia from 20th to 23rd January 2015 at the AUC Headquarters, and in
particular their recommendations calling for our Assembly to consider adopting
commitments along specific and concrete priorities.
We hereby adopt the following Declaration:
I. COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION, AND BENEFIT
FROM FORMAL AGRICULTURE/AGRIBUSINESS VALUE CHAINS
We commit to enhance women’s access and full inclusion in
agriculture and agribusiness, as contributors and beneficiaries; and to this
end, we resolve
a) AU
Member States to continuously orient policy and decision makers to understand
the important role that women play in development, and specifically in
agribusiness, agricultural value chain, food security, nutrition, and care, by
putting in place mechanisms for the empowerment of women;
b) AU
Member States to implement women’s right to access, control, ownership and
benefit from financial resources, including access to public procurement
processes in agribusiness, productive assets, including land, enabling basic
infrastructure, education, information and skills development, innovative
technologies and practices, to capacitate and develop women’s economic
empowerment in agribusiness;
c) AU
Member States to intensify initiatives to create a conducive environment for
women to conduct agribusiness and the agricultural value chain through
prevention and responding to conflict on the Continent, addressing, adapting
and mitigating climate change impacts, and addressing the impact of epidemics
and natural disasters;
d) AU
Member States to facilitate the development of agribusiness and agricultural
value chains through mechanisation, technological innovation and skills
development for women;
e) AU
Member States to reintroduce agriculture as a field of study, including
agribusiness and agricultural value chain, of the education curriculum;
f) AU
Member States and the Commission to ensure that the Continental Free Trade Area
(CFTA) promotes the empowerment of women in agribusiness/agricultural value
chains;
g) AU
Member States to integrate gender responsive indicators in the Comprehensive Africa
Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Results Framework of the Malabo
Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared
Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods
II. COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO HEALTH
We commit to enhance women’s access to health; and to this end,
we resolve:
a) To
take into account women sensitive issues to emerging threats such as Ebola and
other impediments to Africa’s development, which disproportionately have a
negative impact on women and girls;
b) To
establish mechanisms to identify survivors of sexual and genderbased abuses and
provide psycho-social and economic care during conflict and post-conflict
situations;
c) To
ensure that Sexual and Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights of African
women are implemented and mutually accounted for in the existing commitments to
women’s reproductive health and rights, as adopted by African Heads of State in
the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women (Maputo Protocol) in 2003, and the
Maputo Plan of Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in 2006; and
d) To
ensure ending of the AIDS Epidemic by 2030, as part of the Agenda 2063, has an
inclusive, human rights approach that leaves no-one behind; including children,
adolescents, women of child bearing age, female key populations, such as women
and girls in conflict and postconflict settings.
III. COMMITMENT TO PUSHING FORWARD WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
We commit to empower women at all economic levels, including
women at-risk and impoverished located in rural and urban areas, with access
to, and control of, finances; and to this end, we resolve:
a) AU
Heads of State and Government to place the Gender Agenda at the centre of their
Development Agenda, which should match allocation of adequate resources, based
on a fixed percentage of the budget, with the elevated location of the Ministry
responsible for Gender and Women’s Affairs in order to enable Ministers
responsible for Gender and Women’s Affairs to drive the programmes of gender
equality and women’s empowerment; and
b) AU
Member States, as we move towards the adoption of the Post 2015 Development
Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, to create and mainstream
mechanisms to ensure women’s access to finances, financial and entrepreneurial
skills development, to move away from limited ring fenced women’s funds, and to
challenge the financial institutions to have minimum quota of 50% to finance
women for them to grow from micro to macro business.
IV. COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING THE AGENDA ON WOMEN PEACE AND
SECURITY
We commit to push forward the women’s full and effective
participation in conflict prevention, management, peace-building,
reconstruction and negotiation; and to this end, we resolve:
a) To
develop, implement and report on National and Regional Action Plans on UNSRC
1325 to accelerate the Women, Peace and Security Agenda;
b) To
develop and implement a Plan of Action towards Silencing the Guns by 2020 for
promoting women’s participation in conflict prevention, resolution and
post-conflict rebuilding;
c) To
establish mechanisms to identify survivors of sexual and genderbased abuses and
provide psycho-social and economic care during conflict and post-conflict
situations;
d) To
eliminate impunity on all forms of violence against women and girls;
e) To
facilitate access to justice, rehabilitation and recovery, especially for child
soldiers, and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; and
f) To
install a monument at the Africa Union Headquarters honouring women who have
contributed to the African anti-colonial and antiapartheid liberation
movements, and the resolution of conflicts on the continent.
V. COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNANCE
We commit to implement all AU policies on gender parity and
participation of women in judicial processes and institutions, especially in
governance and at decisionmaking levels, such as the Supreme Court,
Constitutional Courts, and Regional Courts; and to this end, we resolve:
a) To
ensure that women are part of the electoral machinery, including Institutions
that address violence before, during, and after elections.
VI. COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING WOMEN AND GIRLS’ ACCESS TO
EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
We commit to enhance women’s and girls’ access to education,
science and technology and to this end we resolve;
a) To
increase education and training investment in institutions/enterprises,
accredited for quality, in science and technology (S&T), information and
communications technology (ICT), engineering, mathematics, agriculture and
agribusiness, nutrition, and law with focus on women and innovation; and
b) To end
child marriage, also referred to as defilement, in Africa through adoption of
the Common African Position on Ending Child Marriage, develop and implement
comprehensive action plans as an indicator for monitoring Agenda 2063 for
girls’ empowerment and well-being.
VII. COMMITMENT TO MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO ACTIONS AND RESULTS
We commit to systematic data gathering, regular review, and
progress monitoring of implementation of Agenda 2063 and its 10-Year Action
Plan using the Solemn Declaration Index (SDI), developed by the GIMAC and
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); and to this end, we
resolve
a) To
conduct the five year progress review of the Africa Women’s Decade that
involves tracking, monitoring and reporting on progress;
b) To
foster alignment, harmonization and coordination among multisectorial efforts
and multi-institutional platforms for peer review, mutual learning and mutual
accountability;
c) To
strengthen national and regional institutional capacities, including technology
software, equipment and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for data collection,
analysis, generation, and management and knowledge generation and
dissemination, that supports evidence based planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation; and,
d) To
share high-impact best practices and solutions with a focus on
scalability/technology divisibility and replicability to improve the lives of
women in the diverse settings of Africa.
VIII. STRENGTHENING THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION TO SUPPORT
DELIVERY ON THESE COMMITMENTS
We will strengthen the capacity of the African Union Commission
to help it fulfil the growing roles and mandates that we have ascribed through
this Declaration, as well as other relevant previous Declarations and
Decisions; and to this end we invite the Chairperson of the Commission to
submit a proposal with a view to enhancing the institutional capacity of the
lead Department as well as other relevant units, for consideration and approval
by the July 2015 Ordinary Session of the Executive Council.
IX. A CALL FOR ACTION
We commit to an expedient process of translation of these
economic, transformational commitments into results; and to this end, we call
upon:
a) The
AUC to work closely with Member States and RECs to enhance the implementation
of the call to action, and to develop an implementation strategy and roadmap to
facilitate translation of the seven (7) aspirations of Agenda 2063’s vision and
goals of the African Women’s Decade (2010-2020) and the Addis Ababa Declaration
on Accelerating the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action – Towards
a Transformational Change for Women and Girls in Africa (Beijing+20), and the
Communiqué of the Stakeholders’ Consultation on AU 2015 Theme “Year of Women’s
Empowerment and Development Towards Africa’s Agenda 2063” as well as the
Johannesburg Declaration and Call for Action on Financial Inclusion of Women in
Agribusiness adopted by the Ministers responsible for Gender and Women Affairs
on 12 June 2015;
b) AU Member States to review and evaluate the implementation of the call to action every 2 years and to link it to other reporting mechanisms.