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Preamble
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 State 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 Solidaritи (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, and the African Women’s Development and Communication
Network (FEMNET) in Maputo, Mozambique from 23 to 24 June 2003.
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Welcoming
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The recognition of the promotion of gender equality as a key
principle and goal of the African Union; and
The adoption, by Heads of State and Government, of the
principle of 50% gender representation in the African Union.
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Affirming
our support for the outcome of meetings as embodied in the:
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Durban Declaration on Gender and Mainstreaming and the
Effective Participation of Women in the African Union (30 June
2003); and
Dakar Strategy on Mainstreaming Gender and Women’s
Effective Participation in the African Union (26 April 2003).
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Appreciating
the role and contributions of the African Women’s Committee
on Peace and Development on the Continent.
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Acknowledging
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The establishment of the Women, Gender and Development
Directorate in the office of the Chairperson of the African Union;
The entrenchment of 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 State and Government in their
endeavour to address poverty through the New partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
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Welcoming
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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.
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Concerned that:
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Despite commendable action by Heads of State and Government
in mainstreaming gender, there is need for concerted
acceleration of the process;
There is as yet no provision for a Specialized Technical
Committee on Gender;
The Women, Gender and Development Directorate is severely
under-resourced;
There is no mechanism for dialogue between women’s
organizations 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
woman, 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, programmatic and
budgetary interventions are not commensurate with the gravity
of the challenge;
Certain discriminatory and harmful practices expose women to
dying during pregnancy and birth;
Discriminatory laws and harmful traditional practices continue
to exacerbate the high incidence of HIV/AIDS, particularly
among women and girls;
Certain parts of the Continent are experiencing famine and
Africa is become a dumping ground for genetically modified food
and seeds;
Women in agriculture face many constraints, including
inadequate access to credit, information and the acquisition of
skills;
Despite the fact that women are responsible for up to eighty
percent of the total food production in Africa, they generally lack
access to, and control and tenure of, land; and
War and conflict negatively impact on women in that among
other things, it disrupts women’s major source of livelihood and
food security.
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Recognising the need:
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To elaborate and implement an African Union Gender Policy
and Declaration;
For an effective gender mainstreaming strategy and efficient coordinating
framework for managing gender issues on the
continent;
For sensitization on gender issues throughout the African
Union; and
To clarify the status and role of the African Women’s Committee
on Peace and Development.
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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 State and Government of the African
Union:
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African Union
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That an African Union Gender Policy and Declaration, as well
as a gender mainstreaming strategy and coordinating
framework, are put in place as soon as possible;
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That a Specialized Technical Committee on Women and
gender be established under Article 14 of the African Union
Constitutive Act; and
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That adequate resources be availed for the work of the
Women, Gender and Development Directorate.
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Participation of African Women in the Organs of the African Union
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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;
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That the Economic, Social and Cultural Council ensures gender
parity in its membership; and
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That a high level mechanism is provided for dialogue between
women’s oganizations and networks and the key decisionmaking
structures of the African Union.
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Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa
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That the Draft Protocol is adopted and the mechanism for
ratification be put into place as to reinforce it as soon as possible;
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That Member States consider withdrawing reservations entered
to Articles of the draft Protocol with a view to strengthening the final Protocol.
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The New Partnership for Africa’s development (NEPAD)
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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 para 119 of the NEPAD, be expedited; and
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The rapid implementation of paragraphs 132-137 of the NEPAD, pertaining to agriculture
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Maternal Mortality
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The adoption of concrete legal, policy and programmatic interventions to curb the high incidence of maternal mortality;
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Prioritising the commitment of adequate financial resources to health care services
and measures aimed at reducing maternal mortality, at a regional and national levels; and
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Eradicating discriminatory and harmful practices against women that expose them to dying during pregnancy and birth.
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HIV/AIDS
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That all Member States establish as a matter of national security and stability, comprehensive laws and strategies to
fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic;
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That HIV/AIDS policies and programming interventions take due cognizance of the gender implications of the pandemic.
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Agriculture
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That Member States adopt and implement policies and legislation to ensure equal access to,
and control and ownership of, land by women;
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The introduction of measures to facilitate women’s access to credit, information and skills training;
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That Member States acknowledge that food security strategies imply necessarily the empowerment of rural women; and
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The establishment of an African food bank reserve to be used incases of emergency.
Done in Maputo, Mozambique on 24 June 2003.
ABANTU for Development (Regional Office for East and Southern Africa
Office)
Africa Gender Institute – University of Cape Town
African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
African Union – Women, Gender and Development Directorate
African Women’s Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD)
African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)
Akina Mana wa Africa
Associacao das Mulhers Empresarias
Associacaon das Mulhers Juristas de Mozambique
Association Nationale de Soutien aux Enfants em Difficulte et em
Institution (ANSEDI)
Association Tunisienne des Meres
Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Center for Reproductive Rights
Commissao Africana dos Direitos Humanos e dos Povos
Commission on Gender Equality – South Africa
Development Bank of South Africa
Economic Commission of Africa – African Center for Gender and Development
Embassy of Finland, Maputo
Equality Now – Africa Regional Office
Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS)
Forum do ONG Femininas de Norte, Provincia da Zambezia
Forum for Africa Women Educationalists (FAWE)
Forum Mulher
Fundacao para Desenvolvimento da Communidade (FDC)
Gabinete Juridico da Mulher, Pemba, Mozambique
Ministerio de Coordinacao da Accao Social, Mozambique
Ministerio de Saude, Mozambique
Modeste, Societe Civile du Congo DRC et OPDAL
Muleidi
Office for the Status of Women, Northern Cape, RSA
PACFA (First Lady’s Office –Rwanda)
SADC, Gender Unit
SADC, Parliamentarians
South African High Commission
Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC)
UNDP
UNFPA
UNHCR
Uniao Geral das Cooperatives (UGC)
WLSA, Mozambique
WWGG
Women and Law in Southern Africa (WiLSA)
Women’s Caucus, Assembleia da Republica da Mozambique
Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF)
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