UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICASubreregional Development Centre For West Africa (SRDC/WA)
NATIONS UNIES
COMMISSION ECONOMIQUE POUR L'AFRIQUECentre de DeVeloppement Sous-Regional Pour I'Afirique de l'Ouest
DISTR. : LIMITED
ECA/SRDC/WA/5.4.2.a(a)10 ORIGINAL : ENGLISH
GENDER AS CROSS CUTTING ISSUE IN THE PROGRAMMES OF
THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
GENDER AS CROSS CUTTING. ISSUE IN THE PROGRAMMES OF THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
(UNECA):
THE MISSION AT SRDC WEST AFRICA
Background
The Economic Commission for Africa <ECA) is undergoing a renewal process which could enable it to serve Africa better. The strategic directions for the renewal were approved by the Twenty- second session, of the Conference of Ministers in Addis Ababa held in May 199 6. This provides the renewal framework regarding the
structure and programmes of the Commission.ECA's clear priorities are based on comparative advantage
in its :(i) regional focus ;
(ii)commitment as an organization in and of Africa in
analyzing regional issues ;(iii) capacity for fostering regional co-operation,
identifying role models ;(iv) capacity for comparing, analysing and harmonizing
policies ; and(v) capacity for compiling and networking information and data.
The reforms at ECA are guided by the three principles : excellence, cost effectiveness and partnership. From now to the year 2001, the work of the Commission will focus on five programme areas, namely :
(i) facilitating economic and social policy analysis and implementation ;
(ii) ensuring food security and sustainable development ; (iii) strengthening development management ;
(iv) harnessing information for development ; and (v) promoting regional co-operation.
The strategic programme, places great emphasis on the gender issue within the-framework of the Beijing Platform and the Kampala Action Plan. To this end and with a view to main-streaming gender in the work of the Commission, gender is a cross cutting issue in the above stated substantive programme areas. Furthermore, the African Centre for Women (ACW) has been strengthened with additional staff and financial resources.
Another positive initiative is the strengthening of the MULPOCs now renamed Sub-Regional Development Centres (SRDCs).
Guided by the need to enhance the role of ECA's subregional offices so that they could become effective partners of the regional economic communities, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and
1
■ / ^
non-governmental organizations (NGos), in May 1997/' the Twenty-
third Meeting of the Conference of Ministers adopted a resolution
to strengthen these offices, thus, reinforcing the role of UNECA at the Sub-regional Level. This entails decentralization through redeployment of competent professional- staff and financialresources to the Centres.
In each SRDC, ..there will be a gender focal point to
facilitate ECA's focused outreach on gender issues at the sub- regional level, and by implication, the national level as well. In this regard, Western African subregion Centre covers the following countries : Burkina Faso, Benin, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
2. The Gender Programme for Western African Subregion
The main objective of the subregional programme is to promote the spirit of the Beijing Platform and the Kampala Action Plan,
which rightly redefine gender issues, giving them a cross-sectoraldimensions that go beyond "women" to encompass the underprivileged
groups of national human resources. Within this context, the programme will identify major priority development areas ; togetherwith the respective major actors in those areas, and provide
effective relevant technical support with a view to promoting regional co-operation and integration. A significant aspect of the programme is international co-operation within and outside the sub region. Essentially, this calls for keeping abreast with major development actions and actors ; with a view to enhancing ECA' s role in facilitating networking and information exchange, applying collective approaches to tackling common development issues and performing a more effective out reach function for ECA.Gender being of a cross-cutting nature, the West African Sub region and programme will concretize the programme under the African Centre for1; Women by focusing delivery to meet specific priorities of the subregion with emphasis on the development of the grass-root level women.
With regard to the implementation of the African and global Platforms for Action, programme activities will oscillate around the following three major areas of concern at the national and sub-regional levels :
(a) economic empowerment of women and youths for the reduction of poverty ;
(b) women's and youths human and legal rights ;
(c) the participation of women and youth in leadership decision making.
Modalities and approaches defining more clearly the implementation of the above emerged from an Expert Group Meeting on
/
netting. The refort' to
3- Activating Partnership with the Sub_Regilal Gender
advocates some of the
the West African^SRDC
and
rural and urban
the
'"uation m p (Gender issues
(d)_ conducting T^sub^e^onaf^1 emP°werment °f wome" ''
(e) entrepreneurship and manaqement skills fftr
(f) promoting women's human and !egal rSts W°me"; and
fs "
s,Yt fs deemed
Planning stage and also
actors from theof thesenatioL'i s^rerifnL
sub-regional monitoring ;
national ^7^
African and Global
develoPln5 effective
f ?Shtablish^ and planned
of Action^ 6 lmPlenle"tat-n of the
^h!1"9.di^logue to identify possible resource persons
the main themes in the workshops and seminars;
f) holding preliminary discussions v»th some sub-reqional
institutions for designing tailor-made training as possible venues for some activities.
g) establishing partnership with the iGOs and NGOs in order to specify mechanism.-for gender networking and in harmonising policies and strategies for the advancement
or women.
ac.tivities' the Centre will continue to information among member States. It wlll
narS °n g6nder related "sues and
pa^icIoatpTn th? gnder related "sues and
» tstP ■ conference workshops and seminars organised by member States if requested. When and where requested, it will qive
technical assistance on gender issues 9
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