Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA-Africa)

11c6b Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA-Africa)

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COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

ANSA-Africa is a project of the Economic Governance Programme, IDASA

Publications

Conference Commitments for the Women's Platform for Action in Africa 2008
31 October 2008

Way forward – Conference commitments
platform declaration

Preamble

We, the women located in various Legislatures, Governments, Civil Society, Academia, and Traditional Leadership structures in Africa, having gathered in Midrand from the 22 to 24 October 2008, shared our experiences regarding the role that women play in shaping African economies, the right to health, the right to technology, realising the global food security and economic crises and the importance of women in decision-making, governance and human rights structures, examined the challenges facing African women today, deliberated on what needed to be changed, and shared how each of us could use our power and influence to ensure the inclusion of women in all decision-making for a in all our respective countries in Africa.

Reaffirmation

We reaffirm our commitment to the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the African Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the AU Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action and the Strategic Action Plan of the Conference on Women and the Economic Recovery in Africa.

Commitment

We commit ourselves to:

Work for the implementation of grassroots campaigns for regional and Continental action against all forms of violence against women and children.

Ensure that all commitments contained in this declaration are deposited for action with our respective Heads of States and Executives, and popularised through our respective national media.

Building and strengthening an African women’s movement, from the grassroots, national, regional and continental level.

Building global solidarity among women.

Demands

Following our deliberation we demand that:

Women in decision making positions in:

African Governments will ensure that:

Women’s challenges with regards to trade need to be included in all trade negotiations.
Development should form the core of agreements and countries should not sacrifice development for trade liberalization. Economic independence should remain the goal of African countries.
Regional integration should be strengthened through the establishment of strategic institutions for global trade, and these institutions should play a pivotal role in negotiations.
Active steps should be taken to inform women on economic matters, as a lack of knowledge excludes women during trade negotiations and policy-making processes. Female parliamentarians and activists should form coalitions to ensure the inclusion of women’s issues in trade negotiations.
The issue of agricultural subsidies should be addressed, in light of the fact that women are largely responsible for the production of food in Africa and are unable to enter the free market due to the uneven playing-field created by subsidies in developed countries.
The World Bank has recognized that privatization is not beneficial for development, and African countries should make use this statement to stop the privatization of resources, particularly water, as the access to water is a basic human right.
African governments need to invest in gender disaggregated data that speaks to more than just unemployment figures.
The use of arable land for the production of bio-fuels and genetically modified foods should be curbed. Raising these crops cannot overshadow the right to food and work against achieving the MDGs. Given that women are the drivers of food production in Africa, high input costs, environmental impacts and the current global food crisis, it is clear that the production of bio-fuels not a viable option.
The gendered implications of the current global financial crisis should be evaluated in terms of the risk to African economic development.
African governments must stand up to foreign hostile pressure from multi-national corporations and their governments.
Strong continental, regional and national networks that will ensure practical solutions that will be sensitive to gender equality are formed at continental, regional and national levels.
Water security and sanitation should remain a government responsibility and should not be privatised.
Women are part of the design, negotiation and conclusion of agreements that regulate regional and continental partnerships in the provision of water.
African Women demonstrate their commitment to the efficient management of water.

Research into existing legislation is carried out with regard to:

	i)	free hold title from a gender perspective.
	ii)	access and disposal of land
	iii)	access to finance
	iv)	whether there is consistency within the existing legal framework as they pertain to customary and common law

Governments provide support in the form of fertilizers, seeds, expertise and infrastructure (such as farming equipment to women).
Governments ensure that women have adequate access to land.
Governments should not allow open and unhindered competition between African agricultural goods with those from outside the continent.
Governments invest in renewable sources of energy such as solar power and wind power.
Governments develop policies that will assist communities to cope with the effects of climate change.
Governments ensure that companies that exploit the resources of rural communities pay tax to those communities for development, and to assist with climate change education.
The establishment of African Literature Centres that promote the ideology of developmental and ethical journalism, particularly for girls and young women.
There is monitoring and evaluation of women’s representation in positions of influence, and in turn, an enabling environment needs to be created for women to take up these positions.
A best practice guideline relating to governance issues is drafted based on the case study examples in South Africa, Rwanda and Belgium, and that this information is disseminated to the various countries on the continent.
Priority is given to educating women and imparting skills for them to take up positions in government and private sector.
Governments ensure that surplus productions are stored in order to address the global food shortages.
When drafting legislation, Governments pay special attention to progressive customary law.
Governments introduce National Health Insurance systems to increase the access of women and children to health care so that there would be no out of pocket fees.
Governments strengthen primary health care systems by investing more in the training of auxiliary health care professionals.
Governments should introduce effective sex education programmes in schools in order to deal with teenage pregnancies and HIV and AIDS.
Governments should affirm their commitments to the implementation of MDG’s 4, 5 and 6.

Parliaments should ensure that:

They play a strong oversight role in the negotiation and implementation of trade agreements should not fall within the exclusive domain of state departments. Instead, state departments must report to their Parliaments on the implementation of trade agreements and the gendered implications of those agreements.
As the elected representatives of the people of Africa, African Parliaments should debate economic issues even before negotiations with other countries start. If this is done, the views of the people of a country will be represented during negotiations. This speaks directly to the need to establish the gendered implications of the trade negotiations.
Corruption must be rooted out at all levels relating to economic development and global trade issues.
Women in parliament should be supported and empowered to have greater participation in trade negotiations.
The role of public broadcasters in Africa needs to be re-defined in terms of the quality of information that is disseminated, particularly through legislative measures.
Regulating bodies should ensure that codes of conduct are put be put in place to ensure that the content is gender sensitive in terms of sexual and gender based violence. These codes of conduct should be subject to public scrutiny.
Parliaments must create a women’s network working in parliament in the ratification of women’s instruments in order to harmonise the equality of women.
Parliaments should encourage democracy through the promotion of women within political parties for women.
Women in positions of influence must ensure that laws are not in contradiction with the constitution.
Parliaments must ensure that when they exercise their oversight role over trade agreements, that they insist on the inclusion of specific timeframes for actions.
African Parliaments should implement capacity-building programmes in order to empower female parliamentarians.
Parliaments should be empowered to amend money bills in order to ensure the effective appropriation of funds that speak to women and the provision of health.
Parliaments should enact legislation that speak to the recognition of the rights of women to access to health, particularly in relation to MDG 4, 5 and 6.
Parliaments should introduce legislation that speak to the regulation of essential medicines.

African Civil Society:

The way in which development is measured should be revised as the use of GDP as a base line measure does not sufficiently address the need for gendered economic development.
Negotiators often lack knowledge and experience relating to gender and trade issues and as such civil society organisations have an important role to play. An example of these strategic partnerships could be the facilitation of experts from civil society that link up with government departments in order to create adequate structures for the protection of domestic economies.

That research into existing legislation needs to be carried out with regard to:

	v)	free hold title from a gender perspective.
	vi)	access and disposal of land
	vii)	access to finance
	viii)	whether there is consistency within the existing legal framework as they pertain to customary and common law

The media should portray women in a positive manner and focus on the positive contributions that women make in terms of development, community upliftment projects, contributions to the advancement of women in various spheres of government, the private sector, education and health.
It is important to build the capacity of women to continue the harmonisation, especially with regards to young women so that the same mistakes are not repeated.
Also, capacity of human rights and instruments should be built, with Rwanda and South Africa taken as examples.
Promote the Pan African Organisation for Women’s rights.
Work together with governments to educate girls and young women on issues relating to reproductive health.
Provide necessary and additional training to primary health care facilities.
Lobby government to ensure the effective realisation of the right of women’s access to health.
Assist governments with programmes that speak to the realisation of MDG 4, 5 and 6.

Pan African Parliament:

The Pan African Parliament should play a central role in strategising and giving direction to all African countries. (Pan African Parliament)
The Pan-African Parliament must establish the role of NEPAD’s Secretariat within PAP.
Existing Committees in PAP should work closely with civil society, SADC-PF and business to better track and monitor the progress of African Countries in relation to MDG 4, 5 and 6.

The African Union

The African Union (AU), although not a signatory to trade agreements, should provide guidelines that provide best-practice models for trade negotiations and provide for follow up mechanisms after these negotiations. AU representatives should accompany parliamentarians and representatives from regions during negotiations. The AU should play a role in enabling delegates’ participation in negotiations, e.g. by sending economists (particularly gender specialists) or other experts to assist parliamentarians.

Appreciation

We, as the participants of the conference, express our deep appreciation to the President of the Pan African Parliament, Her Excellency Dr Gertrude Mongella, the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Her Excellency Baleka Mbete, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Republic of South Africa, the Honourable Gwen Mhlangu-Nkabinde and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, the Honourable Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.