7th Session of the Committee on Women and Development to review progress and promote strategies for gender equality and women’s advancement
ECA Press Release No. 65/2011
Addis Ababa, 09 May 2011 (ECA) – The 7th Session of the Committee on Women and Development (CWD) will take place from 17-20 May 2011 at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The main objective of the meeting is to serve as a platform for Member States to exchange ideas and experiences whilst reviewing progress made with regards to the Banjul Declaration and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA).
The session will also discuss strategies with regards to gender equality and track the progress of African countries in the area of women’s human rights, according to ECA’s Information and Communication Service.
According to Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Director, ECA’s African Centre for Gender and Social Development, “The CWD should guide the work of Member States towards developing specific action plans that mark the way forward, supported by adequate resources to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment”, She adds that “the African Union’s recent launch of The African Women’s Decade: 2010-2020 is a great example of the high level of attention that gender equality is continuing to maintain on the regional level.”
In light of the recent political events in North Africa, and the developments in countries such as Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, the CWD will focus its attention on the role women have played in peace building and reconciliation initiatives in the 2 regions.
On Wednesday, 18 May, the Africa UNITE Campaign on Violence against Women will be launched by Ms. Florence Butegwa, UN Women Representative to the African Union (AU) and the ECA. This campaign is in line with the UN’s strong position on the protection of women, as they bear the brunt of conflict, civil war and in society in general.
In addition, the E-Network of African Gender Machineries and the African Women’s Human Rights Observatory (AWRO) will be under discussion - both electronic resources are seen as useful tools in the fight for gender equality. Furthermore, the agenda includes the presentation of a draft report on “Recent Trends in National Mechanisms for Gender Equality”, a situational analysis of the status of national mechanisms in the 53 Member states in Africa over the last five years.
Around 150 participants are expected. They include experts from Gender and Women’s Affairs Ministries, Regional Economic Communities and the ECA; as well as representatives from UN agencies, the African Union Commission (AUC), its NEPAD Agency and the African Development Bank.
Background
The Banjul Declaration committed Member States to renewing and intensifying resource mobilization efforts, improving national strategies, and enhancing institutional, financial and human resources in order to accelerate the achievement of the goals of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action as well as the Millennium Development Goals between now and 2015. The expected outcome of the meeting is clarity on the agenda for action by different stakeholders going forward a report on the findings of the event.
Ends.
Issued by:
ECA Information and Communication Service P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: 251 11 5445098 Fax: +251-11-551 03 65 E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org Web: www.uneca.org
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