Africa: From OAU to AU and NEPAD: Strategies for African Women

From OAU to AU and NEPAD: Strategies for African Women

REPORT:
Regional Strategy Meeting on Women’s Political Participation and Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union and Its Specialized Mechanisms

Organised by FEMNET with support from The Ford Foundation’s Special Initiative For Africa (SIA)

Nairobi, Kenya 27-31 October 2003
By Grace Githaiga
Edited by Mary Wandia and Alpana Patel

Table of Contents

Section 1 Introduction and Action Plan
1.1. Background 4
1.2. Introduction 6
1.3. Objectives 7
1.4. Participants Expectations 7
1.5. Action Plan 8

Section 2 Formal opening
2.1. Welcome Remarks 16
2.2. Opening Remarks 17
2.3. Keynote Address 19
2.4. Remarks by Hon Beth Mugo 26

Section 3 Plenary Sessions
Day 1
3.1. From Durban to Maputo: What Strategies and Challenges 28
3.2. Gender Mainstreaming in Africa Union (AU) 34
Day 2
3.3. Peace and Security Council: What Role for African Women? 39
3.4. Pan African Parliament: The Quest for Gender Parity 52
Day 3
3.5. Elaborating a Coordination Framework that links and
Streamlines Gender Work within the AU and other Stakeholders 60
3.6. Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on
the Rights of Women in Africa 65

3.7. Economic Social and Cultural Council: Opportunities for African
Women 75
Day 4
3.8. Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation
in Africa (CSSDCA) 85
3.9. New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD):
Gender and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) 87
Day 5
3.10. Organisations involved in AU Work 90
3.11. Criteria for Gender Task Force on NEPAD 91
3.12 Organisations to form the Gender Task Force 92
3.13 Organisations to Form the Co-ordination Framework 93

Section 4 Formal Closing 94

Section 5 Annexes
List of Participants 100
Agenda 116
Brief on Amina Lawal 120
Acronyms and Abbreviations

ACCORD African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes
ACDHRS African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies
ACHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
ADB African Development Bank
ADF African Development Forum
ALF Africa Leadership Forum
APRM African Peer Review Mechanism
AU African Union
AWCPD African Women’s Committee on Peace and Development
AWDF African Women’s Development Fund
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women
COMESA Common Market for East and Southern African States
CSSDCA Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Co-operation in Africa
CSOs Civil Society Organisations
EAC East African Community
EALA East Africa Legislative Assembly
ECOSOCC Economic Social and Cultural Council
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
FAS Femmes Africa Solidarite
FAWE Forum for African Women Educationalists
FDC Foundation for Community Development
FEMNET African Women’s Development and Communication Network
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development
MPs Members of Parliament
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
OAU Organisation of African Unity
PAP Pan African Parliament
PSC Peace and Security Council
RECs Regional Economic Communities
SADC Southern Africa Development Community
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
WilDAF Women in Law and Development in Africa

Section 1
Introduction and Action Plan

1.1 Background

The African Union (AU) came into being when two thirds of the members of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU) signed the Constitutive Act in July 2001. The AU was formally launched in Durban South Africa on July 2002, replacing the OAU. One of key differences between the AU and the OAU is that AU is conceived as a union of peoples rather than of the leaders of Africa.

Women were virtually absent from the former OAU, holding no positions of influence within the OAU during its 39 years of existence. A notable departure from the OAU is the inclusion of the principles of democracy, gender equality, good governance, and the rule law in the Constitutive Act of the AU. Building on those principles, the African women’s movement has been exploring strategies to mainstream gender in all structures of the AU.

In May 2002, the Gender and Development Division of the OAU held a meeting with gender desks of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on how to mainstream gender in the AU and made recommendations to the Secretary General of the AU. To follow up on those recommendations, the African women’s movement utilized the space offered by the African Development Forum (ADF) on regional integration, hosted by the OAU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in March 2002 as well as the OAU’s civil society meeting in June 2002. Another strategy meeting on mainstreaming the African Women’s Committee for Peace and Development of the OAU was hosted by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) in June 2002 in Durban, South Africa.

As a result of advocacy by the African women’s movement and other Pan-African Civil Society Organisation (CSOs), the first ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State of the AU recognized the contributions of African women and CSOs. The Assembly affirmed the pivotal role of women and acknowledged that the objectives of AU could not be achieved without the full involvement and participation of women at all its levels and in all its structures. It therefore called on the African women’s movement to participate in the regeneration of the African continent through the AU.

The Assembly made a number of decisions to advance the mainstreaming of gender in the AU. The Commission of the AU, which will drive the agenda of the AU, will have 50% representation of women. Noting that gender cuts across all the portfolios of the Commission, the Assembly approved establishment of the Women, Gender and Development Directorate (Gender Directorate) in the Office of the Chairperson to coordinate all activities and programmes of the Commission. It was further agreed that the recruitment of senior administrative, professional and technical staff of the Commission must uphold the principles of gender equality.

The Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State of the AU, held from July 10-12, 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique implemented the decision and elected five women to the AU’s Commission- Saida Agrebi of Tunisia, Bience Philomina Gawanas of Namibia, Julia Dolly Joiner of the Gambia, Rosebud Kurwijila of Tanzania and Elisabeth Tankeu of Cameroon.

However, although women’s political participation has improved at the level of the AU’s Commission, the following challenges with respect to gender mainstreaming in the AU have to be addressed through partnerships within the African women’s movement and other Pan African CSOs and African governments.

First, the Assembly has established a Peace and Security Commision (PSC) as the decision-making organ for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts. Although the PSC has not come into force, its Protocol does not indicate how gender will be mainstreamed into its structure and activities. The OAU’s African Women Committee on Peace and Development is unmentioned and its status in relation to the PSC remains contested and unknown. As African women bear the brunt of conflict in Africa it is therefore suggested that African women constitute the proposed Panel of the Wise to support the PSC. The African women’s movement needs to engage the AU to ensure that this suggestion is taken on board.

Second, the Constitutive Act includes provisions for the establishment of a Pan-African Parliament as a means to ensure people’s participation in the AU. The AU Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) says that each country shall be represented by five members from national parliaments or other deliberative organs. It further stipulates that at least one-woman form every country shall be represented in the PAP. Although the Protocol is yet to come into force, the provisions for women’s participation falls below the 30 percent standard provided for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PFA) acceded to by most African countries.

Third, the Constitutive Act allows for the creation of an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOCC), through which African CSOs will have the right to participate in the affairs of the AU. A provisional working group of CSOs, including African women’s organizations and networks, has drafted the protocol establishing ECOSOCC, meaning that a constituent, fair and open process is likely to be the result. There is need to share information on this process and enhance the capacity of African women’s organizations and networks to use the ECOSOCC to input into all the affairs of the AU.

Fourth, the Assembly has adopted the Declaration on the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as an AU programme for action on Africa’s development. African women are concerned that the process of developing NEPAD and its content, particularly the macro-economic proposals, lack gender-responsiveness. There is need for deeper and more systematic consultations on the NEPAD process, particularly given the fact that the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and its Panel of Experts are now in place. Furthermore, there is also a need for more information and capacity among the African women’s movement in order to engage the AU and NEPAD.

Fifth, the Assembly has approved the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conference on Security Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDA) as a framework for the advancement of common values, as a policy development forum and as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the AU. The framework, which is initiated by African civil society, is a potentially useful tool if embraced by African women’s organizations to monitor the implementation of regional and international commitment on women’s human rights. To achieve this, women have to be informed and involved in all CSSDCA mechanisms and processes at both the regional and national levels to ensure that gender is mainstreamed.

Finally, in Maputo, the Assembly adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Protocol). To ensure its implementation at the national level, there is need to disseminate the Protocol widely so as to lobby African governments to ratify it and enable it to come into force.

During the Beijing Plus Five review process from late 1999 to mid 2000, African women identified decision-making and political participation, globalisation, conflict, HIV/AIDS and women’s human rights as the five critical areas of concern hindering advancement on the implementation of the Beijing and Dakar Platform for Action (PFAs). The challenges noted above fall under these critical areas. Regional level advocacy for policies and programmes to address these five critical areas is critical to advance African women’s development, equality and other human rights.

1.2 Introduction

In line with outcomes of the Beijing Plus Five review process and intensified efforts at regional integration, FEMNET, in collaboration with other Pan African networks has been increasingly focusing its advocacy work at the regional level on the AU). To further that work, FEMNET hosted a regional strategy meeting to assess the progress made to date and identify strategies and entry points for more long-term work on gender mainstreaming in the AU and its specialized mechanisms.

The regional strategy meeting followed three consultations among African women’s networks and organizations, from which were issued the Durban Declaration (2002), the Dakar Strategy (2003) and the Maputo Declaration (2003). The Durban declaration resulted in the adoption of a gender parity proposal for the AU Commission by the Head of States and Government. The Dakar Strategy and the Maputo Declaration proposed further recommendations for gender mainstreaming and women’s political participation in all structures of the AU and its specialized mechanisms.

Participants were drawn from Algeria, Burundi Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom and AU officials.

The meeting focused on the following issues:
- Peace and Security Council (PSC);
- Pan African Parliament (PAP);
- Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Protocol);
- Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC);
- Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA), and
- New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).