M. Any Other Business (agenda item 11)

95. A number of issues were raised under this item. The African Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (AFWE) contended that even though the debt burden and globalisation are key factors in the impoverishment of Africa, there are no specific references in the Platforms for Action that deal with debt, poverty reduction, or the modalities through which African women could benefit from globalisation. Reservations were also expressed about the UNDP restructuring that has affected the functions of their regional offices. There was concern that this exercise could have a negative impact on gender mainstreaming. Women from Portuguese- speaking African countries also submitted an open letter to the conference in which they called for an end to the linguistic discrimination against them since the Portuguese language is not used in major conferences.

96. The issue of peace was raised and the conference concluded its deliberations by reiterating its commitment to the Zanzibar Declaration and Agenda for Peace and by endorsing the Algiers Pan-African Women's Organisation's Appeal and the Declarations of the Peace Tent issued during the Sixth Regional Conference on Women. These declarations deplored the persistence of violent conflicts and political instability as well as the lack of democratisation. The declarations pointed out that these ills coalesce to marginalize Africans from participating in peace negotiations. The declarations called for, among other things: debt cancellation; promotion of human rights and the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women; demilitarisation and disarmament; and involvement of women in the political, economic and decision-making processes. ( See annex VII for the full text of the Declarations).

97. The African NGOs called on African governments to institute participatory legal and constitutional structures to outlaw and eliminate all forms of patriarchal oppression and discrimination against women. The NGO Declaration wanted debt relief to be treated as a poverty alleviation instrument to bring about social justice and gender equity. In addition, the Declaration asked for the implementation of the Zanzibar Declaration for a Culture of Peace.

98. The African Women Parliamentarians called for the formation of a Forum that would have the following objectives: strengthening the voice of African women parliamentarians; consolidating the efforts and resources of the parliamentarians; formulating, amending and legislating relevant bills for the benefit and welfare of women.

99. A Declaration on Women with Disabilities drew attention to the marginalization of persons with disability in general and of women in particular. It called for the ratification by all African countries of the United Nations rules for the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

100. A Declaration on Youth also called for the active participation of the youth in all fora. Through the Declaration, the youth representatives requested that the theme "the position, role and contribution of youths in the implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action" be included in the agenda of the Sixth African Regional Conference on Women and the Committee preparing for the Beijing +5 review process.

101. The Indian Ocean Countries at the conference underlined the poor results achieved in the implementation of the Platforms for Action and recognised the urgent need to accelerate the implementation process as well as implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth African Regional Conference in all the different regions of Africa. In this connection, the following countries of the Indian Ocean Islands - Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles- requested that they be regrouped as a subregion of their own, called "The Islands of the Indian Ocean". Alternatively, they suggested that the Comoros and Seychelles should be included in the East Africa subregion while Mauritius and Madagascar should be included in the Southern Africa subregion.

102. The conference was also informed about the millennium "World March", an opportunity for African women to affirm their solidarity with other women worldwide by participating. Such an action will provide an opportunity for powerful lobbying in two particularly sensitive areas of concern, namely violence against women and the feminisation of poverty. Ministers of Gender and Women Affairs were therefore urged to support women in their respective countries in organising a National Walk, while the African Centre for Women was requested to support the Commission in organising one at the regional level.