African Union Statement. by Yetunde Teriba (Mrs.) at the Opening of the

Transcription

1 AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA P. O. Box 3243 Telephone : Fax : website : www. africa-union.org African Union Statement by Yetunde Teriba (Mrs.) Acting Director Women, Gender and Development Directorate at the Opening of the FOURTH WORLD CONGRESS OF RURAL WOMEN International Conference Centre, Durban- South Africa April April 2007

2 -Your Excellency, Madame Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa -Ms Lulu Xingwana, Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs of South Africa -Dr S. Ndebele, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal -Dr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO -Ms S. Kimaryo, Resident Representative, UNDP -Your, Traditional Rulers -Honourable Ministers, Speakers and Members of Parliaments -Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corp and Development Partners -Honourable Guests and Invitees -Participants, I have the honour to bring you the warm greetings of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H. E. Professor Alpha Oumar Konare and those of the Commissioner for Rural Development and Agriculture, Mrs. Rosebud Kwajiwila. I will like to start by expressing my delight and pleasure be in Durban again, the capital of Kwazulu Natal. This city holds a special place in the heart of Africa and therefore the African Union. This is because the African Union had its first ever Summit here in Durban at this very venue in That Summit marked the transition from the OAU to the African Union. It was also at that Summit that the gender parity principle in the appointment of AU Commissioners was adopted. This gender parity principle has since taken a life of is own. I want to also register my deep gratitude and sincere appreciation for the friendship and hospitality that the people and government of South Africa have been extending to us from the AU Commission, its Organs here represented and AU Member States, who have come to participate at this important Congress. 2

3 That South Africa is hosting this Fourth World Congress, the first time on African soil, is a testimony of the total commitment of the People and Government of this country to African women s quest for the improvement of their lives. The theme of this Congress aptly reflects a summary of what should emanate from this meeting-that is, the whole world should be united despite the fact that we are very diverse. This is very important in order to eradicate poverty and hunger from our rural communities. The uniqueness of the World Congress of Rural Women cannot be over emphasized as it periodically brings together rural women in civil society organizations and Government at all levels. This is the 4 th in the series. It is an opportunity for all stakeholders to interact and develop a common agenda in the journey towards the improvement in the lives of majority of women in developing countries. It is a well-known fact that the situation of women in Africa, and moreso of rural women, is grim especially when you look at the statistics. Their situation is well researched and documented. There are several publications detailing the sorry situation of rural women, especially in Africa. What needs to be done to improve and better the lives of rural women have been proposed, prescribed, published and adopted. There have been countless of meetings. Yet, despite all these facts and figures, it is observed that the situation of rural women has not improved significantly. What this means is that we need to look at approaches that have been used in the past in trying to improve the status of rural women, build on what has worked and change strategies that have not worked. All that needs to be said and written have been said and written. What is lacking is action to translate all these into implementable programmes. The outcomes of regional and world conferences and their reviews years later have emphasised the need to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women, as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate 3

4 development that is truly sustainable. In the same vain, development and human resources are linked, thus we can safely assert that addressing gender issues is addressing the problems of development. Development should logically lead to the betterment of human conditions of all members of the society. This creates a paradox in society, as on the one hand, society needs the emancipation of women as a requirement for development while on the other, it is difficult for women to access the tools of change. It is in this connection that I want to seize this opportunity to intimate you with the prospects and vision of the African Union, which is our successor organization to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Its vision and goals are informed by the experiences of the OAU and the latter has served as a crucible for its birth. The Constitutive Act of the African Union is committed to creating an entirely different and more inclusive organization, one that is guided by the need to build new partnerships between Governments and all segments of the civil society, including women, youth and the private sector, in order to strengthen the solidarity and cohesion among our peoples. The Constitutive Act of the African Union also recognizes gender mainstreaming as a goal of the Union. While the whole Commission is tasked with ensuring that it takes gender into consideration in all its work, the ultimate responsibility for gender mainstreaming within the AU lies with the Chairperson of the Commission. The Women, Gender and Development Directorate has therefore been established to spearhead the promotion of gender equality and women s empowerment within the Commission and other Organs of the AU, the RECs its building blocks as well as among Member States, through mainstreaming gender issues in all the programmes as well as implementing special programmes, to ensure the advancement of women and to fulfill their rights. 4

5 Another major step towards gender equality was the adoption of the AU Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA), by African Union Heads of State and Government at their Summit in July The Solemn Declaration was to operationalize their various decisions on gender equality and reaffirms their commitment to the principle of gender equality, as enshrined in Article 4 (L) of the Act, as well as other existing commitments, principles, goals and actions set out in the various international, regional, and sub-regional instruments and initiatives on human and women s rights. In the Solemn Declaration, the leaders agreed to undertake measures to promote gender equality and women s rights in the areas of HIV/AIDS and other Related Infectious Diseases; Peace and Security; Child Soldiers and abuse of girl children as wives and sex slaves. Others are on Gender-Based Violence and trafficking in women and girls; to expand and promote the gender parity principle; Women s Human Rights; Land, Property and Inheritance Rights; Education; and to sign and ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. The AU Executive Council and the Summit of Heads of States and Government in January this year considered a synthesis of the first reports from Member States on the implementation of the SDGEA. Of the 53 AU Member States, only 9 had submitted their reports on time for that Summit, namely: Algeria, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda have since submitted theirs. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, as adopted by OAU Heads of State and Government in 1981, constituted a unique instrument for the protection and 5

6 promotion of human rights in Africa. However, with the passage of time and the range of newly emerging issues, it was observed that the African Charter does not adequately address issue of human rights concerns pertaining to women. This was the rationale for the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. In July 2003, the African Union Heads of States adopted the Protocol during their Second Ordinary Summit held in Maputo. This was a long awaited realization, as it took 8 years to conclude discussions amongst national experts and for gender and human rights ministers to endorse the draft text. This Protocol is the only instrument specific to the rights of women in Africa, just as the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is at the global level. The Protocol, like the African Charter, takes into consideration African values, supplements the substantive provisions of the African Charter and even goes beyond the provisions of the Charter. It is a legally binding instrument and a vital lobbying tool for the protection and promotion of women s rights. As an African initiative, the Protocol signifies that all State Parties shall condemn harmful practices that affect the fundamental human rights of women and girls, and are contrary to recognized international standards. The Protocol underlines the importance of undertaking all necessary measures in terms of creating public awareness regarding harmful practices through information, formal and informal education, communication campaigns and outreach programmes targeting all stakeholders. It covers a broad range of human rights issues and advances the human rights of African women through creative, substantive and detailed language. As safeguard, it has a provision that ensures that where higher standards of rights exist in either national, regional or international laws, those would prevail over provisions in the Protocol. 6

7 Since the Protocol was adopted in Maputo in July 2003 and it entered into force on 25 th November 2005, only 20 out of the 53 AU Member States have ratified it. This has been achieved through the concerted efforts of all stakeholders through advocacy and publicity campaigns. In this regard, I wish to express our profound gratitude to all those who have contributed to these achievements Member States, National Human Rights Institutions and Civil Society Organizations. We all need to collaborate to ensure the translation of this determination into reality. There is a need to encourage those Member States that have not yet signed or ratified the Protocol to do so, as an illustration of their commitment to gender equality and women s rights. And for those that have ratified, the process of domestication must start. We have to ensure that the provisions of the Protocol are translated into practice at regional, national and community levels, and that the resources needed for its effective implementation are provided. It is however heartening to note that there is progress on the Continent in promoting gender equality including women s participation in decision-making positions. In this respect, the presence of women s organizations on the continent should be exploited to its fullest, as an opportunity to lobby at various levels, including national, regional, continental and international levels. Making the Protocol a reality will be through our collective efforts. The efforts should be though our advocacy, campaigning and popularization strategies, so that the women of all Member States of the African Union would enjoy the rights in the Protocol. There should be greater awareness about the Protocol at all levels of our Continent, including in rural areas, using diverse popularization techniques and strategies. 7

8 The African Union Commission (Through the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture) is currently addressing this issue through a Land Policy Framework and Guidelines in Africa in which women s land rights take a center stage. Cognizant of women s rights, the framework would provide a basis for commitment by African Governments at the continental level to common actions at regional and national levels by putting in place sound land policies as a basis for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. It would establish guidelines and benchmarks for good practices; serve as a platform for gaining commitment of gender-sensitive partners to a sustainable funding framework and capacity building; and ensure empowerment and social justice, transparency, accountability and partnership. All of these, we believe, will serve to improve the plight of the African woman in all spheres of social and economic development. It is the hope of the AU that the outcome of this Congress will lead to the formulation of new strategies and Action Plan to achieve the liberation of rural women and their children on all fronts and lead to the creation of a more just and egalitarian society for the benefit of all its citizens. Ensuring accountability through the implementation of commitments enshrined in the AU Solemn Declaration and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa will go a long way in making a difference in the lives of African women. To make change happen, countries need political will and commitment and adequate funding for direct interventions. I thank you for your kind attention. 8