by Pamela Mhlanga – SANF 04 no 70
Preparations for the African Women NGO Forum on Beijing + 10 to be held in October this year have been initiated with the appointment of an organising committee.
A meeting convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Centre for Gender and Development (UNECA ACGD), from 22 – 23 July 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, brought together more than 50 women activists from all five sub regions of Africa to prepare for the forum, to be held in the same city, from 6 – 7 October 2004.
NGO participants appointed a twelve-person organising committee, comprising one NGO representative from each sub region (save for west Africa which has two representatives, one Anglophone and another Francophone), and four organisations with an Africa-wide mandate. In addition, two Ethiopian-based NGOs will facilitate logistical arrangements in that country.
Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), was appointed as chair of the organising committee. Rede Mulher, an NGO based in Angola, will lead southern Africa in the preparatory process.
The organising committee, which has challenging terms of reference, has barely two months to prepare for the October forum. One of the tasks is to raise over one million United States dollars for the forum to be successful.
A list of over 25 potential donors to be approached for funding was compiled, while some donors pledged their support during the preparatory meeting.
The NGO forum precedes the Africa Inter Governmental Ministerial Forum on Beijing + 10 also in October, and will provide an opportunity for an anticipated 300 women activists to consolidate their positions on the review of progress and challenges during the decade since the UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995.
Sub regional NGO reviews of progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments made in 1995 have already been undertaken in east and southern Africa, while other sub regions are expected to convene theirs before 31 August 2004.
The October meeting should also identify and debate emerging challenges such as trafficking in women and girls which is on the increase in Africa, and make new recommendations on existing and urgent issues such as the increasing poverty burden and the gender dimensions of HIV and AIDS.
Consolidated NGO positions will be placed on the agenda of the intergovernmental ministerial agenda, which plans to adopt the official Africa report in October 2004.
The Africa report will feed into the global review report. The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will in turn place this global report on its agenda of the March 2005 annual review meeting to be held in New York.
The agenda for the NGO forum will include several plenary sessions and workshops to identify key areas and determine progress in the acceleration of the status of African women 10 years after the United Nations Beijing Conference on the status of women globally, as well as shape a future consolidated agenda. The plan is to also include a Young Women’s Forum to enable them to voice their opinions and shape their own agenda.
Space will be created for cultural activities, as well as trade opportunities for women. Issues to be addressed will include women and leadership, violence against women, women’s human rights, poverty, gender and HIV and AIDS, amongst others.
The UNECA ACGD Director, Josephine Ouedraogo, who hosted the July preparatory meeting, believes the success of the NGO forum is dependent on commitment, focus and effective coordination.
She says the forum should sharpen the focus on the role of the women’s movement in Africa, including governance and leadership, and what can be done differently to tackle new challenges and creatively address existing ones. She says the meeting should also identify strategies to exploit new opportunities to deal with the agenda to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa.
Also present during the July NGO preparatory meeting were other United Nations agencies including United Nations Population Fund and United Nations Habitat, as well as other key institutions such as the African Development Bank. (SARDC)
