[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Africa: African Union and Women's Rights

[Alfred Kagan]

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>Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 09:31:46 -0500
>Subject: Africa: African Union and Women's Rights
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>AFRICA ACTION
>Africa Policy E-Journal
>July 25, 2003 (030725)
>                    
>Africa: African Union and Women's Rights
>(Reposted from sources cited below)
>
>On July 11, the African Union summit in Maputo, Mozambique adopted
>the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on
>the Rights of Women in Africa. The protocol will enter in force
>after it has been ratified by fifteen states.  This posting
>contains two press releases on this important step to establish a
>legal framework for protection of womens' rights throughout the
>continent, and a report from a gathering of women's organizations
>before the African Union summit noting needed steps to make womens'
>participation in the African Union more effective.
>
>The full text of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
>Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa can be found
>through the website of the Human Rights Education Association at:
>http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/display.php?doc_id=806&
>category_id=31&category_type=3 [type URL on one line]
>The text includes separate articles on a wide range of issues, in
>addition to strong general statements on elimination of
>discrimination against women and respect for dignity.
>
>Additional documents from the African Union summit are available at
>http://www.africa-union.org or http://www.au2003.gov.mz
>
>+++++++++++++++++end summary/introduction+++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>African Union adopts protocol on the rights of African women
>
>Equality Now
>
>July 14, 2003
>
>Contact: Lakshmi Anantnarayan
>(212) 586-0906; info at equalitynow.org                       
>
>AFRICAN UNION ADOPTS PROTOCOL ON THE RIGHTS OF AFRICAN WOMEN
>
>RIGHT TO ABORTION ARTICULATED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN INTERNATIONAL
>LAW
>
>New York, July 14, 2003 - On 11 July 2003, the African Union
>adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, a
>supplementary protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples?
>Rights, which was adopted in 1981. Advancing the human rights of
>African women through creative, substantive and detailed language,
>the new Protocol covers a broad range of human rights issues.  For
>the first time in international law, it explicitly sets forth the
>reproductive right of women to medical abortion when pregnancy
>results from rape or incest or when the continuation of pregnancy
>endangers the health or life of the mother.  In another first, the
>Protocol explicitly calls for the legal prohibition of female
>genital mutilation.
>
>In other equality advances for women, the Protocol calls for an end
>to all forms of violence against women including unwanted or forced
>sex, whether it takes place in private or in public, and a
>recognition of protection from sexual and verbal violence as
>inherent in the right to dignity.  It endorses affirmative action
>to promote the equal participation of women, including the equal
>representation of women in elected office, and calls for the equal
>representation of women in the judiciary and law enforcement
>agencies as an integral part of equal protection and benefit of the
>law.   Articulating a right to peace, the Protocol also recognizes
>the right of women to participate in the promotion and maintenance
>of peace.
>
>The broad range of economic and social welfare rights for women set
>forth in the Protocol includes the right to equal pay for equal
>work and the right to adequate and paid maternity leave in both
>private and public sectors.  It also calls on states to take
>effective measures to prevent the exploitation and abuse of women
>in advertising and pornography.  The rights of particularly
>vulnerable groups of women, including widows, elderly women,
>disabled women and 'women in distress,' which includes poor women,
>women from marginalized population groups, and pregnant or nursing
>women in detention, are specifically recognized.
>
>Equality Now, an international human rights organization, convened
>a meeting in January 2003 of African women's rights activists to
>facilitate a collective review of the draft and coordinated
>advocacy for the adoption of a text that would truly advance the
>rights of African women in international law.  Subsequent concerted
>lobbying of African governments by non-governmental organizations
>(NGOs) and networks all over Africa on a consensus text resulted in
>significant gains to the original draft.  The Africa Office of
>Equality Now, based in Nairobi, acted as a liaison with the African
>Union to push for expert discussion of the Protocol as well as
>strong NGO representation in the process.
>
>The final Protocol is indicative of the achievements that can be
>made when governments and civil society use their collective
>resources to advance the cause of human rights.  "The adoption of
>this Protocol marks a significant step forward in promoting the
>rights of women within Africa and we hope lays the groundwork for
>further gains for all women around the world," said Faiza Jama
>Mohamed, Equality Now's Africa Regional Director.
>
>************************************************************
>
>Amnesty International
>
>Press Release
>
>AI Index: AFR 01/007/2003 (Public)
>
>News Service No: 175    
>21 July 2003
>
>African Union: Adoption of the Protocol on the Rights of Women -
>positive step towards combating discrimination and violence against
>women The African Union's (AU) adoption of the Protocol on the
>Rights of Women in Africa is a significant step in the efforts to
>promote and ensure respect for the rights of African women.
>
>Adopted on 11 July 2003, at the second summit of the African Union
>in Maputo, Mozambique, the Protocol, among others, requires African
>governments to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence
>against women in Africa and to promote equality between women and
>men.
>
>The Protocol also commits African governments, if they have not
>already done so, to include in their national constitutions and
>other legislative instruments these fundamental principles and
>ensure their effective implementation.
>
>In addition, it obligates them to integrate a gender perspective in
>their policy decisions, legislation, development plans, and
>activities, and to ensure the overall well-being of women. The
>Protocol will enter into force after fifteen states have ratified.
>
>In March 2003, Amnesty International urged the African Union
>ministerial meeting convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to agree on
>the measures to be included in the Protocol to include provisions
>that would ensure greater accountability of states to eliminate
>prejudices and practices that impede African women's rights to
>equality and freedom from discrimination. The organization also
>reiterated the need for African governments to send a clear message
>that the human rights of women are inalienable, integral and
>indivisible part of internationally human rights.
>
>"Now that the Protocol has been adopted, African governments should
>show their commitment to end discrimination and violence against
>women by ensuring a speedy and full ratification to pave the way
>for a prompt entry into force of the instrument, and its effective
>implementation," Amnesty International said.
>
>If fully ratified and implemented, the Protocol could become an
>important framework for ending impunity for all attacks on human
>rights of women in Africa." We urge all the fifty-three member
>states of the African Union to pursue the process of ratification
>within the shortest possible time," Amnesty International said.
>
>Background
>
>The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on
>the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted on 11 July 2003 by the
>Assembly of the African Union second summit in Maputo Mozambique.
>
>The Protocol will enter into force thirty (30) days after the
>deposit of the fifteenth (15) instrument of ratification. The
>Protocol will complement the African Charter in ensuring the
>promotion and protection of the human rights of women in Africa.
>Its provisions include the right to life, integrity and security of
>person, right to participation in the political and decision making
>process, right to inheritance, right to food security and adequate
>housing, protection of women against harmful traditional practices
>and protection of women in armed conflict. Others include access of
>women to justice and equal protection before the law.
>
>The implementation of the Protocol will be supervised by the
>African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the body
>established to monitor compliance of states parties to the African
>Charter, pending the establishment of the African Court on Human
>and Peoples' Rights. Also, states parties to the Protocol commit
>themselves to indicate in their periodic reports to the African
>Commission the legislative and other measures undertaken to ensure
>the full realization of the rights recognized in the Protocol. The
>first African Union Ministerial Conference in May 2003 in Kigali,
>Rwanda calls upon member states of the AU to take all necessary
>measures for early adoption, ratification of the Protocol.
>
>[Public Document - For more information please call Amnesty
>International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
>Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web:
>http://www.amnesty.org For latest human rights news view
>http://news.amnesty.org]
>
>************************************************************
>
>MAPUTO DECLARATION ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING AND THE EFFECTIVE
>PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE AFRICAN UNION
>
>June 24, 2003
>
>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 Solidarite
>(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.
>
>Welcoming
>
>- 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.
>
>Affirming our support for the outcome of meetings as embodied in
>the:
>
>- 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).
>
>Appreciating the role and contributions of the African Women's
>Committee on Peace and Development on the Continent.
>
>Acknowledging
>
>- 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).
>
>Welcoming
>
>- 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.
>
>Concerned that:
>
>- 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.
>
>Recognising the need:
>
>- 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.
>
>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:
>
>A. African Union
>
>1. 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;
>
>2. That a Specialized Technical Committee on Women and gender be
>established under Article 14 of the African Union Constitutive Act;
>and
>
>3. That adequate resources be availed for the work of the Women,
>Gender and Development Directorate.
>
>B. Participation of African Women in the Organs of the African
>Union
>
>1. 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;
>
>2. That the Economic, Social and Cultural Council ensures gender
>parity in its membership; and
>
>3. That a high level mechanism is provided for dialogue between
>women's oganizations and networks and the key decisionmaking
>structures of the African Union.
>
>C. Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
>Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa
>
>1. That the Draft Protocol is adopted and the mechanism for
>ratification be put into place as to reinforce it as soon as
>possible;
>
>2. That Member States consider withdrawing reservations entered to
>Articles of the draft Protocol with a view to strengthening the
>final Protocol.
>
>D. The New Partnership for Africa's development (NEPAD)
>
>1. 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
>
>2. The rapid implementation of paragraphs 132-137 of the NEPAD,
>pertaining to agriculture
>
>E. Maternal Mortality
>
>1. The adoption of concrete legal, policy and programmatic
>interventions to curb the high incidence of maternal mortality;
>
>2. 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
>
>3. Eradicating discriminatory and harmful practices against women
>that expose them to dying during pregnancy and birth.
>
>F. HIV/AIDS
>
>1. That all Member States establish as a matter of national
>security and stability, comprehensive laws and strategies to fight
>the HIV/AIDS pandemic;
>
>2. That HIV/AIDS policies and programming interventions take due
>cognizance of the gender implications of the pandemic.
>
>G. Agriculture
>
>1. That Member States adopt and implement policies and legislation
>to ensure equal access to, and control and ownership of, land by
>women;
>
>2. The introduction of measures to facilitate women's access to
>credit, information and skills training;
>
>3. That Member States acknowledge that food security strategies
>imply necessarily the empowerment of rural women; and
>
>4. The establishment of an African food bank reserve to be used in
>cases 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)
>
>+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Date distributed (ymd): 030725
>Region: Continent-Wide
>Issue Areas: +gender/women+ +political/rights+ +security/peace+
>
>************************************************************
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-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu