NOTE ON MODALITIES FOR RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE
ON WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT
Third
Meeting of the Committee on Women and Development
9-11 October 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa
A. Introduction
B. Membership and modalities for renewal
1. The Member States
2. Women's Non-Government Organizations
3. Service/specialized organizations
4. Resource persons
5. The Bureau of CWD
C. The Annexes
Annex I : Distribution of Countries by
Subregion in Africa
Annex II (a) : Current Members of the Committee
on Women and Development by Subregion (1999-2002)
Annex II (b) : List of the new CWD members
by subregions (2002-2004)
Annex III : Membership of the Bureau in
the last 4 years
Tables
Table 1: Distribution of membership of
CWD by subregion
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A. INTRODUCTION
The current modalities for renewal of membership of the Committee
on Women and Development (CWD) and its Bureau were discussed
and approved in the CWD meeting of June 1999 in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso and the Special Session in November 1999. The current
members who have served since November 1999 were selected according
to these modalities. These modalities were adopted to reflect
the new orientation of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
to serve its constituency better and also the approach to equality
and the advancement of women that entails the involvement of
a cross-section of actors as we seek to integrate the gender
dimension in all aspects of development.
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B. MEMBERSHIP AND MODALITIES FOR RENEWAL
The membership of the Committee is in 3 categories: the Member
States, the Non Government Organizations and Resource Persons.
Each category will be discussed separately.
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1. The Member States: According to the current rules,
a total of 19 member States are selected by alphabetical order
and per subregion to constitute CWD every two years. Representation
is by country rather than by individual. The language balance
is also an important consideration.
The 19 member States are distributed along the 5 subregions
as indicated in the Table below. Every 2 years, 2/3s of the
membership is renewed while 1/3 is retained through elections
to preserve continuity.
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Table 1: Distribution of membership of CWD by subregion
| Subregions |
Number of Member
countries |
Number of countries
retained
for second mandate |
| North Africa |
3 |
1 |
| West Africa |
5 |
2 |
| Central Africa |
3 |
1 |
| Eastern Africa |
4 |
1 |
| Southern Africa |
4 |
1 |
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2. Women's Non-Government Organizations
The women's non-governmental organizations are selected at
the national, subregional and regional levels. The requirements
include demonstrated track record of stability, good practice
and sustainability as evidenced by:
· Confirmation that they are representatives of women
· At least 5 years of stable existence
· A stable financial base as portrayed by the annual
reports
· Demonstration of concrete results achieved through
their direct intervention
The distinct categories and numbers of the women's NGOs eligible
for CWD membership at the different levels are stipulated below:
At the national level :
· Women's organizations/associations that are operating
in one of the 12 critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform
for Action. There should be a balance between the urban women
associations and the grassroot rural women organizations. Each
organization/association should have a membership of at least
5000 women.
· A total of 5 organizations/associations shall be selected,
each representing one of the 5 subregions
At the subregional level:
· Individual and/or women group membership organizations
that draw membership from the entire subregion
· A total of 5 women's organizations shall be selected
each per subregion
At the regional level:
· Membership women's organizations open to individuals
and/or representatives of women's groups from all over the continent
· A total of 3 women's organizations shall be selected
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3. Service/specialized organizations
These organizations which are not women's organizations, will
be selected on the basis of the following characteristics:
· Organizations/institutions that provide services to
women as individuals and/or groups e.g. training, counseling,
financing etc
· Research institutions that specialize in women's issues
· At least 5 years of stable existence
· Achievement of concrete results through their intervention
· Existence of relevant expertise as demonstrated by
their products (e.g. publications)
· Institutions/organizations that operate either at the
subregional or regional levels
· A total of 5 organizations shall be selected, one per
subregion
· Linguistic balance will be taken into consideration.
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4. Resource persons
The category of 5 Resource Persons selected to be ex-officio
members of CWD is filled by individuals with relevant technical
skills and knowledge in any of the 12 critical areas of concern
of the Beijing Platform for Action. They are therefore expected
to provide expertise in the priority areas of focus by the members
States and the work of ECA. This includes preparation of technical
documents, facilitation of sessions, participation in in-session
discussions during the meetings of Experts and servicing CWD
meetings upon request. Linguistic and subregional balance are
taken into consideration in their selection.
The modalities for renewal of membership of the NGOs and Resource
Persons is similar to the renewal of the member States. Two-thirds
of the membership is changed while 1/3 is retained to serve
a second mandate in order to ensure continuity. Operationally,
ECA is responsible for selecting NGOs and Resource Persons that
meet the above criteria and submitting it to the CWD Bureau
for approval. For the moment, however, the list that was constituted
to serve in the Committee during the periods 1999-2002 has not
yet been renewed. This is due to the fact that comprehensive
modalities for their identification have not yet been finalized.
On a separate Note, ECA has proposed these modalities that will
be discussed at this meeting under a different agenda item.
The finalized modalities will then be used to renew the current
list and submit the proposals to the Bureau by April 2003 for
final approval.
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5. The Bureau of CWD
Composition
The Bureau is comprised of 5 Member States out of the 19 countries
selected as members. Each represents one of the 5 subregions
of Africa. The positions of the members include:
1. The Chairperson
2. The First Vice-Chairperson
3. The Second Vice-Chairperson
4. First Rapporteur
5. Second Rapporteur
Additional members of the Bureau include the Chairperson of
the Sixth African Regional Conference on Women who is an ex-officio
until she is replaced at the next regional conference. The country
that is chairing the Summit of the African Union also sits in
the Bureau in order to create the necessary link between the
Committee and the regional institution.
Modalities for election
Once the renewal of members of CWD is completed, the heads
of delegation meet to elect the members of the Bureau. Attempts
are made to ensure that to the extent possible, the leadership
of the Bureau is rotated in the subregions.
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C. THE ANNEXES
A number of Annexes are attached to facilitate the renewal
process. Annex I consists of a list of the 53 African States
by subregion as partitioned by ECA. Annex II (a) portrays the
current membership of CWD (1999-2002) by subregion. Annex II
(b) shows the list of the new countries to serve in CWD during
the period 2002-2004. They are selected by alphabetical order.
It also shows the number of countries that should be elected
to continue serving in the Committee for a second mandate. Annex
III shows the countries that have served in the Bureau in the
last 4 years (1997-2002).
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Annex I : Distribution of Countries by Subregion in Africa
| Southern Africa |
Eastern Africa
& Indian
Ocean Islands |
Central
Africa |
West
Africa |
North
Africa |
|
Angola
Botswana
Lesotho
Mauritius
Madagascar
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Swaziland
Zambia
Zimbabwe |
Burundi
Comores
Congo(DRC)
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Rwanda
Seychelles
Somalia
Tanzania
Uganda |
Cameroon
Central African
Republic
Congo
Equatorial
Guinea
Gabon
Sao Tome
and Principe
Tchad |
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cape Verde
Cote D'Ivoire
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Liberia
Mali
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo |
Algeria
Egypt
Lybia
Morocco
Mauritania
Soudan
Tunisia |
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Annex II (a) : Current Members of the Committee on Women
and Development by Subregion (1999-2002)
Southern
Africa |
Eastern
Africa |
Central
Africa |
West
Africa |
North
Africa |
Angola
Botswana
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
Zambia
( former Chair of
African Union) |
Comoros
Djibouti
Seychelles
Tanzania |
Cameroon
Chad
Congo
( 6th Reg.
Conference Chair)
Gabon |
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cote d'Ivoire
Nigeria
Togo |
Egypt
Morocco
Sudan |
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Annex II (b) : List of the new CWD members by subregions
(2002-2004)
| Southern
Africa |
Eastern Africa |
Central
Africa |
West Africa |
North
Africa |
| Lesotho
Mauritius
Madagascar
South Africa(as Chair of AU)
One current member to be elected to continue |
Burundi
Congo (DRC)
Eritrea
One current member to be elected to continue |
Central
African Republic
Equatorial Guinea
Congo( as Chair of 6th Regional Conference)
One current member to be elected to continue |
Cape
Verde
Gambia
Ghana
Two current members to be elected to continue |
Algeria
Lybia
One current member to be elected to continue |
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Annex III : Membership of the Bureau in the last 4 years
1997-1999
| Chairperson |
Tunisia |
| First Vice-Chairperson |
Rwanda |
| Second
Vice- Chairperson |
Ethiopia |
| First
Rapporteur |
Cote d'Ivoire |
| Second
Rapporteur |
Cameroon |
1999-2002
| Chairperson |
Zimbabwe |
| First Vice-Chairperson |
Cameroon |
| Second Vice-Chairperson |
Nigeria |
| First Rapporteur
|
Morocco |
| Second
Rapporteur |
Tanzania |
