Make Every Woman Count
1.3. Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) is a non-binding agreement adopted by the Heads of State and Government of Member States of the AU during the Third Ordinary Session of the Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 2004.193 In adopting the SDGEA, the Heads of State and Government reaffirmed their commitment to mainstreaming the principles of gender equality at the continental level, identifying as priority areas HIV/AIDS, women’s rights to participation in peace processes, the recruitment of child soldiers and girl children as sex slaves and trafficking in women and girls, among other concerns. Since passing in 2004, the SDGEA has been used as a reporting framework on the state of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa.194 In particular, the SDGEA calls on Heads of State and Government to address the issue of violence and gender-based discrimination against women and girls at the national and regional level. It builds on the principles enshrined in Article 4 (l) of the Constitutive Act of the AU,195 as well as the Dakar Platform for Action (1994); the Beijing Platform for Action (1995); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (1979); the African Plan of Action to Accelerate the Implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action for the Advancement of Women (1999); the Outcome Document of the Twenty-Third Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (2000); UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security; and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003).
1.3.1. Structure of the Solemn Declaration The SDGEA is divided into six thematic areas: Health; Peace and Security; Governance; Human Rights; Education; and Women’s Economic Empowerment.196 In particular, it calls on Heads of State and Government to: ■ Adopt gender-specific measures to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and implement both the Abuja and the
Maputo Declarations on Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Disease (para 1); ■ Promote women’s rights to meaningful participation and representation in peace processes and post-conflict
reconstruction in Africa, as per UNSCR 1325 (2000), and ensure that women are appointed as representatives for roles at the AU and similar platforms (para 2); ■ Adopt a public campaign, within a year of the Declaration, to combat and prohibit the recruitment and abuse of
child soldiers and girl children in Africa as wives and sex slaves (para 3); ■ Conduct public campaigns, within two years of the Declaration, that aim to eliminate GBV and trafficking in
women, and reinforce legal and social mechanisms that aim to positively influence the behaviour of African society towards the protection of women from impunity for crimes committed against them (para 4); ■ Promote gender parity at all levels, from the AUC to all the other organs of the AU, including the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development and the RECs, as well as at the national and local governance levels (para 5); ■ Promote and protect women’s rights as human rights, including adopting legislative measures and raising
awareness in order to ensure women’s right to development (para 6); ■ Adopt and implement legislative reforms to protect women’s rights to land and property ownership and
inheritance, and guarantee the right to adequate housing (para 7); ■ Adopt gender-specific measures to ensure women and girls have access to quality education, particularly in rural
areas, as a way to achieve the targets under “Education For All” (para 8). Paragraph 9 encourages states to sign and ratify the Maputo Protocol, while Paragraph 10 establishes AIDS Watch Africa as a unit under the Office of the Chairperson of the AUC. AIDS Watch Africa is responsible for reporting annually on the situation of HIV/AIDS on the continent and promoting the production of anti-retroviral drugs at the local level in African states. Paragraph 11 calls for the establishment of a women’s trust fund to pool resources for the furtherance of the women’s rights agenda. Paragraphs 12 and 13 require the submission of annual reports to the Heads of State on progress in implementing the principles of gender equality and gender mainstreaming enshrined in the SDGEA.
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