Despite
several existing policies, mechanisms and platforms to advance the inclusion of
women in the democratic governance and peacebuilding processes, the number and
level of women involvement in these processes remain worryingly negligible. The
Gender Pre-forum preceding the 9th High-Level Dialogue on
Democracy, Human Rights and Governance convened for two days to deliberate on
the existing and emerging challenges as well as opportunities to advance
the role and presence of women in governance and peacebuilding processes.
Convened under the auspices of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Women
Engagement Strategy (AGA-WES), the meeting
interrogated practical steps to actualize the realization of the African Union
theme of the year 2020, “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive
Conditions for Africa’s Development”. The meeting also addressed the emerging
threats on democracy and security on the continent, following the outbreak of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Men and
women experience conflict differently. Women are very often absent from the
circles that take the decisions to go to war and those that negotiate peace
settlements. Yet, over the years, women continue to mobilise internationally to
achieve global peace and security. The United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1325, amongst others, has reaffirmed over the last two decades, the
important role women play in preventing conflict and sustaining peace.
The
meeting held under the theme, “Magnifying Women’s Role in Conflict Prevention
and Silencing the Guns”, proposed strong recommendations that if fully
implemented, will move the gender agenda forward. The recommendations, include
among other key actionable points, the need for African Union member states to
demonstrate high level political commitments to accelerate and scale up actions
to ensure that women leadership in peace processes is fully recognized and
acted upon. This should combine support for institutional reforms with focus on
strengthening women’s socio-economic and political capacities and addressing
discriminatory social norms.
The
need to enhance synergies and support women groups and networks which operate
at the local and national levels, and also provide opportunities for
strengthening women’s participation in conflict prevention was restated. To
boost the effectiveness of women, linkages must be built for their
contributions to feed into the formal peacebuilding processes. Expanding the
digital platform and access for women was also underscored as a major element
to enhance access to information; opportunity to market products; form networks
and community of practice. Strengthening inter-generational engagements is
critical to empower a new generation of young African women leaders and experts
to serve Africa and the world in designing and implementing development
programmes in the context of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the global SDGs.
The
realities of women that have been displaced or forced to migrate is often times
indescribable. Even with temporary shelters made available for refugees and
displaced women, the uncertainty, food insecurity, and poor living conditions
remain an unfortunate part of the lives of women that have been displaced by
conflict. Additionally, the women and girls are susceptible to sexual abuse and
exploitation and are more likely to be trafficked and engage in sexual
transactions for humanitarian favours. Conflicts have often resulted in higher
levels of sexual violence against women and girls which includes arbitrary
killings, torture, femicide, the and often led into forced marriage.
African
Union Commissioner for Political Affairs Minata Samate Cessouma revisited the
existing challenges conflicts have on development on the continent, noting
that, this continues to remain a stumbling block to the full realization of Agenda
2063. She observed that the greatest impact of conflicts is on women and
children and in many situations, the gender perspectives of conflict are often
side-lined with far-reaching negative impact on realizing sustainable solutions
to security challenges. “We need to talk more about having women in leadership
processes, in mediation, in governance and in politics. A continent where women
are considered as equal contributors is a continent on a path to sustainable
peace”, she noted.
UNDP
Regional Bureau for Africa Director, Ahunna Eziakonwa called for more support
and relying on their ability to negotiate transformative change. “Women’s
rights are human rights and the ratification, domestication and implementation
of key gender responsive global and regional human rights instruments should be
prioritised. We need to act with a common purpose, shared urgency, and with
bold steps to translate and bring the promises from these instruments to
women’s lived reality. Through various interventions, we are strengthening the
capacity of Regional Institutions and Member States for women and girls to
further enjoy their rights in a bid to bring the much-needed transformation”,
she stated.
In
acknowledging the role of civil society organizations in advocacy for democracy
and peace, African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, Bineta
Diop noted that women Civil Society Organizations play a vital role in conflict
prevention and peace building but are often subject to scrutiny and threats in
conflict situations. When participating in peace processes women led
organizations are often subjected to intimidation and harassments. “We must
provide them with our political support and also technical and financial
support to ensure that these leaders have the resources necessary to drive
action. Outside formal structures, promoting peace by women often take place in
informal systems. In many communities in conflict, women have had the courage
to come together, breaking barriers and striving to heal wounds. In many
instances, grassroot advocacy has been instrumental in building relationships
and finding mutual understanding. A conversation that looks at the horizon must
explore the institutional framework as well as explore critical, but often
ignored structures”, she said.
Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the African Union, and Head of
the United Nations Office to the African Union, Hanna Tetteh noted that while
there are several policies and platforms to advance women’s inclusion on
democratic governance, peacebuilding and development, the missing link remains
the level of implementation of these instruments. She underscored the need to
enhance mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the
commitments to African women, adding that adequate technical and financial
resources as well as functional institutional frameworks should be prioritized.
She added, “if we actively measure women’s participation in governance and
actively hold governments accountable, then we should be able to make
progress.”
Rich
perspectives and practical recommendations were shared in the two-day
deliberations and the outcome report will be shared at the 9th High
Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance to influence the
policy decisions and actions on the continent and globally. The forum was equally timely to give
momentum to the African Union theme of the Year on Silencing the Guns in Africa; the 20th Anniversary
of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325; the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform of Action; and the related assurances to the women and
girls of Africa with 2020 as the year for the universal ratification of
the Maputo Protocol on women’s rights.
Source: Directorate of
Information and Communication, African Union Commission
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