AFRICA: 24th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union

24th PRE-SUMMIT CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN THE AFRICAN UNION
19-20 June 2014

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

RECOMMENDATIONS

We, representatives of African civil society organizations and African women, including women farmers and pastoralists, market women and young women, meeting under the umbrella of the Gender is my Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) for the 24th African Women's Pre-SummitConsultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union (AU) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from 19-20 June 2014,

Appreciating the support given to the GIMAC by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Gender Equality of Equatorial Guinea, AU/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Programme on Gender, African Union Commission (AUC), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), UN Women, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Ipas Africa Alliance, Urgent Action Fund, World YWCA and Sirleaf Market Women's Fund (SMWF), to promote accountability on women's human rights and development in Africa during the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union

Reaffirming the African Union Gender Parity Principle (2002), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) (2003), the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004), the African Youth Charter (2006), and United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000),

Appreciating the decision of African Heads of State and Government to devote the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union to the theme of Agriculture and Food Security

Recalling the recommendations of the 23rd African Women's Pre-Summit Consultative Meetingon Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union (AU) in January 2014,

Welcoming the commitment of the AUC Chairperson to women's rights and gender mainstreaming in Africa and her appointment of a Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security. Further welcoming the presence and engagement of the AUC Chairperson, the AUC Chairperson's Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, Ministers of Gender, and the Gender Focal Points of the Regional Economic Communities and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), during the 24th African Women's Pre-Summit Consultative

Committed to continual engagement of Gender Ministers in GIMAC Pre-Summit meetings,

Having deliberated on prevailing and emerging issues affecting women and girls in Africa,

Urge the Assembly of Heads of State and Government to take action on the following

1. Commit to and increase financing for women and youth farmers and pastoralists, and ensure that national budgets allocated to the agriculture sector, as well as expenditures, are gender disaggregated and inclusive of smallholder farmers;

2. Invest in road, storage and green technology infrastructure, facilitate access to credit, improved seeds and irrigation, and support women in the shift from labor intensive farming mechanisms to affordable, targeted and effective agricultural mechanization

3. Adopt and implement legal frameworks that ensure gender equality in all spheres of decision-making, as well as women's land ownership and control. Conduct nationwide sensitization programs on the implementation of gender-sensitive land laws and policies;

4. Invest in the education of girls, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Provide secure and safe spaces of learning for girls and implement international human rights commitments on protection and legal redress on the issue of violence against women and girls, including kidnappings, sexual violence, female genital mutilation, and early and forced marriages;

5. Commit to the eradication of all forms of extremism and accelerate the adoption, financing and implementation of national action plans on women, peace and security.

Urge conflict parties to seriously engage in peace negotiations and honor peace agreements, and ensure women's protection, humanitarian access, and full and meaningful participation in conflict resolution processes in Central African Republic, South Sudan, Nigeria and across the Sahel;

6. Support and strengthen references to commitments on women's human rights in Agenda 2063 and the Post-2015 sustainable development goals and targets, including strengthened references to women, peace and security and sustainable, inclusive economic development. Conduct and include civil society organizations in comprehensive national and regional reviews on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;

7. Fulfill commitment to report annually on the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in

Adopted on 20 June 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.