The Sixth African Development Forum (ADF VI)

We have come to this closing session of ADF VI. I salute all of you for participating in this Forum. I am pleased that this Forum was vibrant, intellectually rich and also lively. You the leaders, policy makers, the experts and practitioners in the field who have shared your insights and stories of your experiences on taking action on gender equality, women's empowerment and ending violence against women in Africa . You have worked hard over the three days. And we can take pride at what we have done.

Your excellencies distinguished ladies and gentlemen

Let me remind you that we held this meeting at the threshold of the target date for the Millennium Development Goals. There is not enough time now before 2015, but I believe that we can make a difference in the time that is remaining.

This ADF has reminded us that over the past three decades, leaders on the continent have made commitments, declarations and plans on gender equality. We have reviewed the progress that has been made on the continent in promoting gender equality, women's empowerment and ending violence against women. I am glad that you recognized that there have been some major accomplishments particularly in terms of improved participation of women in high-level decision making positions; and improved gender parity in education, just to mention a few.

In this Forum we have observed that there is still a lot more to be done towards realizing the rights of women and girls in Africa and in achieving gender equality and addressing violence against women. We noted that words have not been followed by action.

Your excellencies distinguished ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased that you have been able to work on a consensus and plan of action that can accelerate progress towards achieving gender equality, women's empowerment and ending violence against women.

There are some bold and innovative proposals in the plan of action, one of them is financing for gender equality. Indeed lack of resources has been the major impediment to the successful implementation of the commitments and declarations. Implementation of these actions will certainly help us undertake the transformative changes necessary for promoting gender equality. Discussions in this meeting have also helped prepare us for the upcoming International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Doha .

Your excellencies

I am also pleased that the Plan of Action stipulates bold Africa specific actions that build on the Secretary General's global campaign on ending violence against women. Let us strive to implement these actions so that women and girls can have lives that are indeed free of violence thereby allowing them to contribute optimally to Africa 's development.

Let me touch upon one other area that every session in this Forum has highlighted as an issue requiring urgent attention – availability of gender disaggregated statistics. Establishing sound data on all aspects of gender equality, women's empowerment and violence against women and girls is indeed a necessary precondition for establishing the best policies and monitoring the effectiveness of actions.

Implementing these actions that we have come up with today can make a huge difference in the lives of African women. African women possess formidable strength and power that we should harness to accelerate progress on development and achievement of the MDGs. Equally important is the involvement of men in helping move these actions forward. Let us galvanise their involvement at all levels.

Your excellencies distinguished ladies and gentlemen

I would like urge each one of us to take an action to implement the priority actions that we have identified in this Forum. Together our concerted efforts can help make the commitments that Africa made on gender equality be a reality to all.

In closing, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Government and people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for their support and to the President: His Excellency, Ato Girma Wolde-Giorgis, for his very inspiring and challenging address. I would like to thank the Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Migiro, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Jean Ping , and the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Donald Kaberuka for their support.

I would like to once again thank Their Excellencies, Mrs. Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice President of the Gambia , Mrs Sia Koroma, First Lady of Sierra Leone and Her Majesty, Silvia Nagginda, Queen of Buganda Kingdom in Uganda for honoring my invitations and participating in this Forum. I salute the Honorable Ministers, parliamentarians and traditional leaders for participating in this Forum.

I would like to thank each one of you who came from the different government sector; Regional Economic Communities; community-based organizations; research and academic institutions; media networks; the private sector; civil society organizations; development partners; the diaspora and many others. The record attendance and diversity of participants at this forum underscores the great importance that you all attach to issues affecting women in Africa . I would like to recognize the participation of the youth, who are the leaders of tomorrow and are key to ensuring that these actions are fully implemented.

I am grateful to all the chairs, key presenters, facilitators, resource persons, and Rapporteurs for facilitating, guiding and capturing the rich discussions.

I am so grateful to our partners – Governments of Sweden, Finland , Denmark , Spain , Norway and Britain , whose support has helped the success of this ADF. Our appreciation similarly goes to the Africa Capacity Building Foundation and the African Women's Development Fund for their contribution to this event. I once again thank the UN family that has worked as one to ensure the success of this gathering and UNDP, UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNFPA and ILO who helped to bring a large number of participants.

Let me express my gratitude to the ADF VI steering committee under the leadership of its co-chairs Ms Lalla Ben Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary and Commissioner Bience Gawanas, the Commissioner of Social Affairs, African Union for their tireless efforts in guiding the organization of this forum. This Steering Committee included UNICEF; UNIFEM; UNFPA; ILO; UNDP; the African Development Bank; representative of the Network on Violence Against Women -Embassy of Sweden; and two representatives of bilateral donors – Embassies of Finland and Denmark . I would like to thank the sub-committees that worked under the guidance of this steering committee including the logistics; technical; and communication subcommittees.

My gratitude also goes to ECA staff and staff of the African Union who spent countless hours putting this ADF together.

In conclusion, let me congratulate you all for a job well done.

For now, I wish you all a safe journey back home.

Thank you for your attention.

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