IV. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS
TO BE TAKEN
A. Measures required [followed]
7. Women's legal and human rights
and women with special needs
106. Rationale
Nearly 20 years ago, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted. As of 20
May 1994, 20 African countries had neither ratified nor implemented
it. And among those which have ratified many have entered reservations
which limit the socio-economic status of women.
The African Platform for Action urges
firm political commitment and concrete action towards the elimination
of all forms of discrimination against women.
In most African countries, violence against
women in domestic, private or public places has increased to
alarming levels. This is further exacerbated by gender bias
in the administration of justice, conflicts which arise between
the rights of women and certain traditional and customary practices,
cultural prejudices and extremism as well as armed conflicts.
Governments are urged to put an end to this unacceptable situation.
Women's rights are universal and indivisible
from human rights. The equal status of African women and their
legal and human rights should be integrated into the mainstream
of African Governments' legislative, judicial and administrative
bodies. The African Platform for Action endorses and urges action
towards the eradication of all forms of discrimination against
women, whether overt or covert. It also supports the universal
ratification and implementation by all States of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
In line with the Vienna Declaration (para. 38), this Platform
stresses the importance of working towards the elimination of
violence against women in public and private life, the elimination
of gender bias in the administration of justice and eradication
of any conflicts which may arise between the rights of women
and the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary
practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism and armed
conflict. The Platform further endorses the view that violations
of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflict
are violations of the fundamental principles of international
human rights and humanitarian law.
107. Objectives
(a) To empower women with knowledge about
their rights, and the ability to attain them;
(b) To remove discriminatory and oppressive
laws and practices by enacting laws and ensuring their implementation;
(c) To ensure that conventions, treaties,
instruments and charters on women's rights are implemented.
This, inter alia, includes the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Charter
on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, the Declaration on the Rights of the Child (Dakar
Consensus), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention
against torture, other inhuman or degrading treatment and the
Abuja Treaty;
(d) To assess implications of certain
penal codes with regard to women's and children's rights;
(e) To eradicate gender bias in law enforcement
and the administration of justice;
(f) To increase the participation of
women at decision-making levels and the administration of justice.
108. Proposed actions
With regard to women's legal and human
rights, action should be taken to:
(a) Urge Governments which have not yet
done so to sign and ratify without resolution the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
the African Charter for Human and Peoples' Rights and other
legal instruments concerning women and organize campaigns to
this end;
(b) Adopt strategies for effective national
implementation and consolidation of internationally accepted
norms and standards on women's rights;
(c) Reform the judicial system to make
it more responsive to gender issues and establish and/or strengthen
institutions to support and assist women to enjoy their rights;
(d) Socialize boys and girls to develop
awareness and respect for the equality between the sexes;
(e) Eliminate violence against women
and girls and the negative image portrayed by the media and
encourage the latter to report on women's legal issues and to
create public awareness on the violation of human and women's
rights;
(f) Provide accurate information on the
situation of women to human rights bodies and widely disseminate
information on women's rights;
(g) Promote legal literacy and build
on the existing initiatives by NGOs to create the necessary
infrastructure for reaching women at all levels; and develop
indicators to evaluate the impact of legal literacy programmes;
(h) Introduce and/or strengthen the concepts
of human and women's rights at all levels of formal and non-formal
education;
(i) Guarantee the right of all women
to buy, sell, own, inherit and administer property and the absolute
right to work;
(j) Introduce the right of petition through
the preparation of an optional protocol to the Convention to
provide for complaints procedures and increase resources to
provide training, advisory services and technical assistance
in the implementation of the Convention. The OAU should also
introduce the right of petition through the adoption of an optional
protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights;
(k) Develop indicators to evaluate the
impact of legal literacy programmes;
(l) Set up mobile legal clinics and paralegal
services in rural and urban areas to help women understand the
provisions and the correct interpretation of laws.
The media should report on women's issues
and collaborate with other partners to create public awareness
of human and women's rights.
With regard to violence against women,
particular attention should be given to:
(a) Adopt and promote the strategic objective
to eliminate violence against women, and review existing legislation
with a view to making necessary changes to deal with violence;
(b) Provide training and orientation
to police and judicial personnel, doctors, social workers, nurses
and others to recognize abuses perpetrated against women, and
develop national strategies to address the causes of violence
through the education system and the mass media;
(c) Organize shelters and support groups
and undertake campaigns against violence as well as providing
legal assistance to women faced with violence;
(d) Support the work of the Special Rapporteur
on Violence against Women, and monitor the implementation of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination
of Violence against Women (adopted by the General Assembly in
December 1993);
(e) Monitor the situation of violence
against women by developing appropriate indicators. Women with
special needs
109. Rationale
Traditionally in Africa, the aged have
long been cared for by the extended family system and other
community arrangements. However, urbanization, mobility, civil
and ethnic strife, frequent droughts and families have weakened
and disrupted the extended family system and communal ties.
Most existing systems in the region provide inadequate protection
for women with disabilities, the old, widows, internally displaced
persons, refugees, and female-headed households. Informal community-
and family-based arrangements are weakening. The demand for
social and health services increases, since health problems
and costly medical technologies are concentrated among the old
and the disabled.
110. Objectives
(a) To develop special programmes for
women with special needs and, in doing so, to ensure the active
contribution of the women themselves in the planning, design
and management of such programmes;
(b) To develop programmes for the disadvantaged
and vulnerable women that reflect a true understanding of the
underlying needs of each group and which must be both equitable,
efficient and culturally appropriate;
(c) To provide social assistance in kind
to the poorest groups in society, including disabled and aged
women who may not be covered by contributory plans, taking into
account their vulnerability stemming from their diminished ability
to work;
(d) To encourage informal support systems
and offer incentives to families to continue the caretaking
of their older and disabled relatives;
(e) To create institutional and policy
mechanisms to encourage greater performance of such valuable
services such as care for the disabled and ageing populations.
111. Proposed actions
(a) Ensure that women with special needs
have access to adequate food, water, shelter, clothing and health
care through the provision of income, family and community support
and self-help;
(b) Give women with special needs the
opportunity to work or to have access to other income-generating
opportunities;
(c) Facilitate the integration into society
of women with special needs and their active participation in
the formulation and implementation of policies that directly
affect their well-being;
(d) Ensure that women with special needs
benefit from community care and protection in accordance with
each society's system of cultural values;
(e) Ensure that women with special needs
are able to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
full respect for their dignity, beliefs, needs and privacy;
(f) Continuously monitor programmes designed
and implemented for the groups with special needs, and periodically
evaluate them in order to ensure that they are reaching their
intended beneficiaries.
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8. Women in the peace process
112. Rationale
Peace is a prerequisite for the advancement
of women. According to the Kampala Action Plan, if peace is
to be attained, conflicting factions in society must be reconciled
and not polarized. The African traditional way of resolving
conflict is often more relevant to our current problems than
adversarial methods of adjudication in which there is a winner
and a loser, and the winner takes all. Peace is not just the
absence of war, violence and hostilities but a situation in
which all people have equal access to economic and social justice,
and to the entire range of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Women fleeing from conflict situations
should receive special attention to protect the human rights,
ensure access to basic facilities and provide them with opportunities
to become self-reliant.
Without peace in the countries of the
African region, none of the proposed actions in this Platform
can be implemented. It is imperative that African Governments
work towards the resolution of the conflicts currently plaguing
the region but above all, women must be regarded as crucial
stake holders in the search for peace and must be included as
active participants and contributors in all mechanisms for conflict
resolution, particularly the OAU mechanism for conflict prevention,
management and resolution.
113. Objectives
(a) To accelerate and enhance the involvement
of women including refugees and internally displaced in conflict
prevention, management and resolution and peace process;
(b) To promote awareness and recognition
of internally displaced persons;
(c) To include more women in the higher
hierarchies of the armed forces and the diplomatic service so
that they can participate effectively in decision- making regarding
peace process;
(d) To ensure the protection of women,
children and refugees during wars and other kinds of conflict;
(e) To reduce systematically military
expenditure and channel it to economic activities for women;
(f) To stop the planting of landmines
in agricultural fields and bombings in order to ensure the safety
of women and children;
(g) Educate women to increase their capacity
in peace building and conflict resolution.
114. Proposed actions
Peace making, maintenance and education
is a life-long process that is based on the concept of partnership
between men and women and between people. It expounds and advocates
the necessity of eradicating all types of violence in society,
at the family land community levels. In this connection, the
proposed actions are to:
(a) Reduce expenditure on armaments and
"defence" and reallocate the financial resources so
saved to improve science and technology for peaceful development
and social services especially for women. OAU jointly with the
United Nations should establish mechanism to monitor and expose
the profit-motivated sale of arms to African countries;
(b) Reinforce those aspects of culture
which enhance the status and importance of women in the peace
process;
(c) Identify potential situations of
violence in a timely way and take preventive measures to avert
it instead of responding only when fighting has actually broken
out;
(d) Strengthen the representation of
women in peace negotiation mechanisms and support the establishment
of women-for-peace networks accredited to OAU, the United Nations
and their national, subregional and regional institutions;
(e) Develop and support programmes to
introduce, promote and sustain peace;
(f) Recognize and support the national
machineries of women and NGOs to work as pressure groups and
mobilize necessary action to ensure that women achieve a critical
mass at the national cabinet level in key ministries and departments
and in international organizations that make or influence policy
with regard to matters related to collective security and peace;
(g) Put into place mechanisms to ensure
the development and reinforcement of democratic and political
rights especially to support grass- roots women's networks;
(h) Support OAU so that it can play a
more active role in averting, managing and resolving conflicts
and participating in peace-keeping endeavours. To this end,
member States are urged to contribute to its Peace Fund for
Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, as well as establish
early-warning mechanisms spearheaded by women to act to avert
conflict;
(i) OAU and ECA should be fully supported
to review, monitor and appraise the implementation of the Kampala
Action Plan on Women and Peace and to regularly convene conferences
to assess progress and promote implementation;
(j) African Governments should ensure
gender parity in peace negotiations and conflict resolution
and take concrete steps to provide both men and women with necessary
training in this area;
(k) Refugee victims of sexual violence
and their families should be provided with adequate medical
and psycho-social care, including culturally appropriate counselling;
(l) The "Review conference on the
1980 Inhuman Weapons Convention" should categorically prohibit
the use of landmines in all armed internal and international
conflicts;
(m) African Governments should be encouraged
to enact legislation prohibiting enlisting of minors in armed
conflicts in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of
the Child.
Peace education
(a) Make peace education, human rights
and humanitarian law a compulsory component of the school and
college curricula and syllabi;
(b) Educate emergency service givers
and peace keepers to respect the human rights of women, children,
displaced peoples and refugees, and sensitize them about criminal
and civil procedures in relation to peace and peace making;
(c) Organize seminars to sensitize community
leaders and women on the important role women should play in
developing a culture of peace in the family and in society;
(d) Young people, and especially girls,
should participate in all conferences and fora devoted to peace;
(e) Women to be educated in their civic
rights and sensitized about criminal and civil procedures and
enact a law to prosecute peace offenders;
(f) Encourage rehabilitation centres
to ensure that the knowledge and professions of displaced and
refugee people are utilized;
(g) Regional research and training institutes
to carry out research on the role of women in the peace process
and to identify and analyse policies and action programmes.
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9. Mainstreaming of gender-disaggregated
data
115. Rationale
Proper implementation and monitoring of the Platform for Action
require information, data and continuous research for updating
information. Furthermore, women as stake holders need to have
knowledge and the statistics with which to assert their rights
to mobilize for change and to make informed choices. In addition,
the concept of mainstreaming and integration requires development
of indicators and guidelines to guide policy makers, planners
and the actors in the socio-economic, cultural and political
sectors.
116. Objectives
(a) To effect research as a necessary
component for the development of knowledge towards the understanding
of gender issues in Africa;
(b) To develop data and tools that can
evaluate and quantify work, including women's work in agriculture,
in the home and in the community and marketed and non-marketed
production;
(c) To mainstream the use and application
of gender and age disaggregated data by policy makers, planners
and programme implementers in all sectors;
(d) To undertake time budget studies,
develop and use other methodologies to produce qualitative and
quantitative data to value women's non-market and unpaid work
with particular emphasis on participatory action research;
(e) To establish in all member States
reliable and updated databases on women;
(f) To achieve visibility of women at
all levels and in all types of databases;
(g) To ensure that information is disseminated
to reach all women.
117. Proposed actions
(a) Facilitate national central bureaux
of statistics to incorporate gender statistics units in their
structures and to ensure that member States establish information
and resource centre for women;
(b) Improve the collection and dissemination of gender and age
disaggregated information on target groups and target areas
in order to facilitate the design of focused programmes and
activities consistent with the identified needs;
(c) Ensure and facilitate the mainstreaming
and application of gender and age-disaggregated data by development
agents and member States and to establish networks for the exchange
of gender disaggregated information;
(d) Strengthen the data gathering capability
of women machineries and sectoral gender focal points;
(e) Improve skills for the collection
of gender statistics and issue guidelines and indicators for
data and information development for and about women;
(f) Enhance the capacity and strengthen
the advisory, coordinating, operational and research roles of
the African Centre for Women;
(g) Empower women through the research
process by developing research capacity that will be participatory,
accessible and informative.
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10. Women, information, communication
and arts
118. Rationale
The media's role as a powerful tool of
national development cannot be underestimated. Although information
is one of the strongest tools for empowerment of women, access
to the media and to other sources of information is limited.
Most media is targeted at urban areas, while the majority of
women live in the rural areas. In addition, stereotyped portrayal
of women as objects rather than people still continues, which
impede the contribution and participation of women to the development
process.
Most of the available information do
not correspond to the real practical needs of the majority of
women especially in the rural areas. Materials and demonstration
written for and about women as well as those written by women
remain inadequate, information centres are insufficient or lacking.
Women have limited or no access to information
about their legal and human rights, opportunities for development
and/or other tools for their empowerment. Positions of power
of formal authority are the main common denominators among those
who have the greatest access to or get to speak through the
different channels of the media. Since women are not in positions
of power in society and have limited formal authority, they
are largely invisible in the media. The challenge now is to
gather more information and to devise strategies to begin to
shift the media and society in a direction that is more developmental,
gender equitable and positive.
119. Objectives
(a) To increase women's access to and
use of the media and information;
(b) To increase women's participation in the management of the
media so as to facilitate the use of media to provide women's
positive contribution to society.
120. Proposed actions
(a) Governments to adopt gender-awareness
programmes at all media training institutions and media organizations
targeted at both men and women media practitioners;
(b) Introduce affirmative action policies
in favour of women to be introduced at all media organizations;
(c) Provide funds for training of women
in journalism, film and video making and in specialized areas,
e.g., science, technology, environment, economics, politics
and related subjects;
(d) Sensitize media managers and practitioners
to increase coverage on women's activities;
(e) Promotion of media literacy programmes;
(f) Introduction of media monitoring
units that ensure positive portrayal of women in the media and
hold the media accountable when it propagates negative stereotypes
of women or exploit women and girls in pornography;
(g) Enhance the role of the traditional
and modern communication media to promote gender equality;
(h) Develop and strengthen alternative
forms of media, e.g., story telling, drama, especially in the
rural areas;
(i) Introduce community radio stations
as a way of increasing women's access to and use of the media;
(j) Governments to undertake research
studies on the impact of the content of media product especially
violence on television;
(k) Governments to encourage consumer
boycotts on products whose advertisements portray women negatively;
(l) Celebrate February 25 of every year
to be celebrated as a special day for Women and the Media;
(m) Running themes for the International
Press Freedom Day (May 3) to also focus on media women, portrayal
of women by the media;
(n) Governments to come up with a new
criteria of what news is and this should be incorporated into
curriculum of journalism training schools, in order to move
away from the trend portrays bad news as good news ;
(o) Undertake research and documentation
on gender and media issues as well as research related to gender,
media and culture;
(p) Review of media policies to be done
to ensure that these are gender-responsive and committed to
the goal of democracy and freedom of expression for all participants
in society.
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11. The girl-child
121. Rationale
The girl-child of today is the woman
of tomorrow. In order that she may grow up with the health,
confidence and education necessary for her to take her place
with dignity and equal to man in society, special attention
needs to be focused on her. The girl-child with disabilities
needs the special help of Governments to ensure that she has
access to all the special devices needed, even when her family
is poor.
122. Objectives
(a) To eliminate discrimination of girls
in the areas of education and training, health and nutrition;
(b) To advocate for elimination of negative
cultural attitudes and practices against women and girls;
(c) To enhance the capacities and esteem
of girls especially those with special needs;
(d) To sensitize the girl-child about
social, economic and political issues and problems.
123. Proposed actions
(a) Undertake research on the situation
of girls. Information and data should be disaggregated by gender
and age to provide a basis for action;
(b) Create awareness on the disadvantaged
situation of girls among policy makers, implementors and communities;
(c) Review policies and legislation to
ensure the promotion of girls in matters pertaining to education,
health and early marriage;
(d) Support NGOs and community-based
organizations in their efforts to promote changes in practices
and attitudes towards women and girls;
(e) Provide education and skill training
after primary education to increase girls' opportunities for
employment. The education of the girl-child with disabilities
should be free and compulsory to ensure that her needs are met;
(f) Support sex education beginning in
primary school;
(g) Review school curriculum and text
books to include gender equality;
(h) Promote public information for equal
treatment of women and girls regarding nutrition, health care,
education and participation in decision- making;
(i) Mobilize men and boys to promote
girls' and women's status and to work towards equal partnership
between girls and boys and women and men;
(j) Provide opportunities for pupils
who become pregnant while at school to enable them to continue
with their education. 2/
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B. Resource implications and mobilization
124. Implementation of the African Platform
for Action will require the mobilization of all available human,
physical and financial resources internationally, regionally
and nationally. Investment in people (men, women and youth)
and, inter alia, in infrastructure, education, health, employment,
food production and food security, including proper functioning
of institutions, are prerequisites for the success of the implementation
process. Such mobilization will have to be based on short-,
medium- and long-term objectives and perspectives. In addition,
commitments from the central actors should be reflected in specific
and substantial allocations proportionate to their operating
budgets. The main rationale for assistance to African countries
to implement the Platform for Action should be based on ethics
of mutual benefit, collective responsibility and sustainable
development. Africa and its partners in development must recognize
the responsibilities in adopting criteria for the allocation
of resources and the need and new strategies towards a durable
solution to the crippling external debt should be applied in
a timely and flexible manner through measures such as debt cancellation
and conversion, debt for social development swaps especially
for women programmes. Therefore all African Governments should
allocate more resources for the financing of women's programmes.
Appropriate emphasis should be placed on bilateral and multilateral
assistance for empowering women for poverty alleviation and
the economic empowerment through job creation programmes; credit
schemes for the poor, for women and self-employed; rural employment
generation programmes, non-farm employment in the women-dominated
rural sector; programmes for education; nutrition and health.
125. Alongside these measures, effective
planning, better management, particularly through transparency
in the allocation of resources must be encouraged. African Governments
should endeavour to explain economic reform and adjustment measures
to their citizens, focusing on how these measures affect the
lives of people. Governments must also introduce and publicize
measures aimed at encouraging accountability within their own
operations as well as in the operations of NGOs. In turn, women's
organizations and NGOs can also exert pressure on Governments
to avoid the mismanagement of resources in order to free these
resources for more pressing and priority national needs.
126. Resources will be mobilized from
the following sources:
(a) Governmental and intergovernmental:
in the national budgets, adequate provision should be made to
fund the proposed actions for implementation on a sustainable
basis;
(b) Women's organizations, national and
international NGOs: to show their commitment towards the success
of the follow-up to the Platform for Action, individual women,
women's organizations and men should also make provision for
funding the proposed actions;
(c) Development partners: for facilitating
women political action groups' participation in national elections;
(h) Bilateral partners: There is growing
consensus among countries in the African region that at least
20 per cent of ODA should be committed to human development
programmes, as compared with the average of l7 per cent. Africa's
development partners should commit themselves to meeting this
target and to match the increased allocations that African countries
will make to human and social development fields. Africa's social
development, particularly through the economic empowerment of
women, will further require the availability of new and additional
resources. This Platform reaffirms the setting of 0.7 per cent
of the gross national product (GNP) of industrialized countries
as the internationally agreed target for official development
assistance (ODA). This target should be implemented and enhanced
through new and additional resources within specific time frames.
In addition, the 20-20 concept, which calls to donor countries
and agencies to allocate a minimum of 20 per cent of their development
assistance, and developing countries to also allocate the same
percentage of their budget to social sector expenditure, is
supported, with a special focus on women;
(ii) Multilateral financial institutions:
Multilateral partners should establish special windows for financing
the implementation of the Platform for Action. In particular,
such windows should offer easy access to women entrepreneurs;
(iii) The United Nations system should
incorporate a strong funding component in their programme of
work and regular budgets in support of the implementation of
the activities of the Platform for Action. It is proposed that
such budgetary allocations should be between 20 and 25 per cent.
(iv) As a matter of priority, the proceeds
of debt by-back, equity conversion or debt progressiveness should
be channelled by African countries and their development partners
into women's programmes.
127. The proposed financial arrangements
should address the stated objectives and the proposed actions
in the Platform for Action. At the national level, African Governments
should apply gender-sensitive planning and evaluation to all
public spending including identification of the amounts directed
to benefit women, and their impact. At the international, regional
and subregional levels, emphasis should be on evaluating and
coordinating the programmes undertaken by United Nations agencies
and regional and subregional intergovernmental organizations.
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C. Institutional arrangements for
the implementation of the African Platform for Action
128. The importance of core structures
for the effective implementation of the strategies and plans
of action for the advancement of women was recognized at the
onset of the Decade for Women. Experiences since then have confirmed
not only the need for such structures, but also the basic requirements
that can make them more effective, especially in view of the
need to bring women's concerns into the mainstream of development.
These requirements include strong political will, locating such
structures at the highest level of decision-making and providing
them high technical capabilities and adequate resources. Institutional
arrangements for implementation and monitoring of the African
Platform for Action have to be clearly identified, bearing in
mind that gender issues and concerns cut across all areas of
development and therefore involve multiple institutions and
actors at all levels. However, a core structure with a direct
mandate of coordinating, monitoring and evaluating implementation
of, and accountability to, the Platform for Action is required
at international, regional and national levels. A review of
the current institutional arrangements in support of programmes
for the advancement of women is a useful starting point. The
core structure for the implementation of the African Platform
for Action should have the mandate for advocacy and for ensuring
the mainstreaming of gender concerns in all sectors, programmes
and at all levels; monitoring, evaluation and accountability
required at all levels.
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(a) National machineries for the advancement
of women
129. The need to monitor the empowerment
of women in all areas of life through the establishment of responsible
institutions has been recognized and called for by African Governments.
Several global and regional conferences have outlined the mandates
and purposes and activities of such institutions and the strategies
to accelerate the advancement of women. National machineries
are defined as institutions or formal entities recognized by
Governments and entrusted with particular responsibility for
the advancement of women and the elimination of all forms of
discrimination against women in monitoring the ramifications
of gender relations in a given society, and acting as advocates
on behalf of women. Africa also has a rich history of grass-roots
women's organizations.
130. Several reports and studies indicate
that in mid-1980s, Africa had over 50 different types of institutions.
The growth of such machineries has continued and by the end
of the 1980s, there were about 66 machineries. To date, there
are approximately 650 to 800 NGOs dealing with gender issues
and the advancement of women. Most of these are independent
grass-roots groups dealing with women's issues in different
capacities. A number of them are attached to the ruling political
parties and there are a few cases where NGOs and mixed governmental
and non-governmental organizations are recognized as national
machineries. These institutions are engaged in activities ranging
from welfare concerns of women to improving women's access to
resources. A number of them, especially those tied to political
parties, have also been engaged in advocacy and awareness-creation
on women's concerns. National machineries in Africa have covered
a lot of ground towards the implementation of the Nairobi and
Arusha Strategies.
131. This Platform proposes that institutional
arrangements for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
its objectives and actions should be based on three major activities,
namely:
(a) Strengthening, mainstreaming and
harmonizing the existing institutions at all levels, through
increased human and financial resources; and creating new institutional
arrangements, where necessary;
(b) Expanding the mandates and operations
of existing institutions (e.g., by mainstreaming women's needs
and perspectives, defining clear mandates, policies and management
approaches and establishing strong gender sensitive development
programmes, women's networks and strengthening technical capacities).
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(b) Subregional level
132. At the subregional level, several
agencies and treaties exist that can be instrumental to the
implementation of the Platform for Action. These include, inter
alia, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),
the Preferential Trade Area of Eastern and Southern African
States (PTA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC),
the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Central African Customs and
Economic Union (UDEAC), the West African Monetary Union (UMOA)
and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
These agencies, as well as the African Development Bank (ADB),
should provide opportunities for empowering and mainstreaming
women in the economic area and for eliminating gender biases
in their operations.
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(c) Regional level
133. Since 1975, United Nations regional
commissions have been mandated by General Assembly resolution
3520 (XXX) "to accord special attention to government programmes
and projects aimed at the full integration of rural women in
development". In the African region, in 1975, the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of Ministers,
established the African Training and Research Centre for Women
(ATRCW), now the African Centre for Women (ACW). The Africa
Regional Coordinating Committee for the Integration of Women
in Development (ARCC) is a subsidiary body of the ECA with subregional
representation by 15 member States. The OAU, which brings together
African Heads of State and Government as well as sectoral ministerial
conferences, is well placed to advocate and sensitize all these
target groups towards effective implementation of the Platform
for Action.
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(d) United Nations
134. United Nations system-wide coordination
on gender issues at the policy level is largely the responsibility
of existing United Nations commissions and committees such as
the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission on
Human Rights, the Population Commission, the Commission on the
Status of Women and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW). At the level of programmes for the advancement
of women, numerous specific United Nations organizations and
agencies are mandated to focus largely on gender issues. Among
them are UNIFEM, UINSTRAW, UNFPA, the United Nations Division
for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW). In addition, as already
pointed out earlier, since the 1970s all United Nations organizations
are required to include a strong gender component in all their
programmes and activities.
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V. FOLLOW-UP MECHANISM FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION
AND MONITORING OF THE AFRICAN PLATFORM FOR ACTION
135. A flexible assessment and monitoring
mechanism for the implementation of the African Platform for
Action should be put in place. The emphasis should be on strengthening
and capacity-building of the existing national mechanisms preferably
the National Preparatory Committees that could monitor and implement
the Platform for Action. The different mechanisms should establish
linkages at the community, national, regional and international
levels in order to assess the progress achieved in the implementation
of the Platform. At the regional level, coordination, monitoring
and evaluation of the implementation of the African Platform
for Action should be entrusted to ARCC in close collaboration
and consultation with existing IGOs such as PTA, SADC, ECOWAS,
etc., as well as the Joint OAU/ADB/ECA secretariat, IPU, UPA
and relevant United Nations agencies especially UNIFEM, as stipulated
in the existing institutional frameworks. The body should meet
annually and should present a progress report to the ECA Conference
of Ministers, the OAU Council of Ministers and the OAU Assembly
of Heads of State and Government every two years. There should
also be a review of the effectiveness of the delivery of donor
programmes related to gender and development.
136. To foster the dissemination of information
relating to the process and progress of implementation of the
Platform for Action, the Secretariat should publish a regional
report on African women. To ensure a better monitoring of the
African Platform for Action and other actions for the advancement
of women, it would be important to institute a prize-award scheme
for the countries on the basis of their performance for the
advancement of African women. Notes 1/ Sudan expressed its reservations.
2/ Sudan expressed reservations.
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RESOLUTION
The Implementation of the African
Platform for Action
The fifth African Regional Conference
on Women,
Having adopted the African Platform
for Action which contains all critical areas of concern, proposals
for resource mobilization, institutional arrangements for implementation
as well as follow-up mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation,
Conscious of the need for all
actors and partners in development, in particular national governments,
intergovernmental bodies, development financing institutions,
multilateral organizations, United Nations agencies, non-governmental
organizations and women's and youth organizations, to act in
concert to collaborate in the implementation of the African
Platform for Action
Aware of the fact that African
Governments, in collaboration with women's organizations, have
to demonstrate their commitment and political will and ensure
leadership in all spheres to accelerate the advancement of women,
Aware also of the fact that important
groups such as women and youth as well as their organizations
as major stake-holders, will have to make special efforts to
ensure the success of the implementation of the African Platform
for Action,
Further aware of the need to ensure
continued and coordinated implementation, monitoring and evaluation
of the African Platform for Action among all the bodies and
agencies concerned,
Conscious that the level of poverty
prevailing in African countries constitutes an impediment to
the effective implementation of the African Platform for Action,
Noting that peace is fragile in
Africa as demonstrated by the proliferation of armed conflicts
caused, inter alia, by abuses of human rights and all sorts
of intolerance such as religious extremism as well as an unprecedented
economic crisis and massive displacement of populations including
refugees in which women and children are the first victims,
Conscious that the ratification
and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and other regional
and international conventions and declarations by African States
are an important requirement for the implementation of the African
Platform for Action,
1. Urges all African Governments
to demonstrate their political will and commitment; to establish
and/or strengthen their national mechanisms, and create an enabling
environment for the implementation of the Platform for Action,
as well as to substantially increase their budgetary allocations
for implementation of women, youth and gender-based strategies,
programmes and projects ;
2. Urges also African Governments
and their development partners to act in concert and cooperation
in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Platform;
3. Call upon governmental and
non-governmental organizations to focus on support for the critical
areas of the Platform in the design and the implementation of
their programmes;
4. Further urges non-governmental
organizatios to work closely with grassroots women, community
groups, cooperatives and associations to maximize their human,
financial and technical resources and enable them to contribute
to the implementation of the Platform for Action ;
5. Also calls upon women and youth
groups to contribute actively and effectively in the implementation
of the African Platform for Action through the promotion of
peace and strengthen their advocacy role particularly for an
increased assistance and protection of women and children involved
in conflict situations as well as women's greater involvement
in early-warning mechanisms, in conflict prevention, resolution
and management;
6. Further urges the international
community to henceforth ban the sale of armaments to African
countries as a measure of avoiding the proliferation of armed
conflicts in the African continent;
7. Calls upon the development
finance institutions, particularly the World Bank, International
Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and other regional
financial institutions to support the programmes of member States
and non-governmental organizations which promote the economic
empowerment of women, and strongly urges them to establish facilities
such as credit schemes and revolving funds on highly concessional
terms of lending as a concrete step towards poverty alleviation,
the promotion of women entrepreneurs, employment and income
generation;
8. Further call upon these institutions
to take innovative and decisive steps to reduce the debt burden
and the negative impact of structural adjustment programmes
so as to strengthen efforts being made to rapidly empower women;
9. Urges African Governments,
bilateral and multilateral development institutions, in particular
the United Nations and its specialized agencies, to support
the integration of the gender perspectives in the formulation
and implementation of programmes in their respective fields
of competence;
10. Calls Upon the Inter-Parliamentary
Union and the African Union of Parliaments to urge African States
that have not yet done so, to ratify without delay and without
reservation and incorporate into their national laws all international
and regional conventions and charters on the legal rights of
women;
11. Calls upon national
governments to take strong and speedy measures to harmonize
their civil, customary and other legal systems in order to provide
an acceptable national legal framework for implementation of
the African Platform for Action;
12. Calls upon all African
women and girls to formulate, develop and adhere to a code of
conduct that promotes and sustains solidarity among them;
13. Requests the Joint Secretariat
of the Economic commission for Africa, the Organization of African
Unity and the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development
Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and
the United Nations Population Fund and other development partners
in particular the United Nations Development Fund for Women
to initiate and implement measures in support the African Platform
for Action and generally monitor its implementations;
14. Further requests the Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, the Secretary-General
of the Organization of African Unity and the President of the
African Development Bank to initiate the necessary actions for
consistent and sustained inter-agency collaboration in the implementation
of the African Platform for Action in accordance with the Platform's
recommendation on a follow-up mechanism and to submit a joint
report on progress in the implementation of the Platform to
the Conference of Minister Responsible for Women's Affairs and
Women in Development at its next session.
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