DECISION ON THE REPORT OF THE 1st AU CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS
RESPONSIBLE FOR WOMEN’S AFFAIRS AND GENDER
Doc. EX.CL/230(VIII)
The Executive Council:
TAKES NOTE of the Report;
WELCOMES the convening, by the African Union, of the First African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Women and Gender hosted by the Government of Senegal from 12 to 15 October 2005;
ENDORSES the Implementation Framework of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SD) and the Guidelines for Monitoring and Reporting on the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa as documents that will facilitate the implementation of the SD and ALSO ENDORSED the recommendations of the Conference;
CALLS UPON Member States to implement all the commitments made in the SD and in particular the gender parity principle;
APPEALS to Member States which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify/ accede to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa;
ALSO ENDORSES the recommendation that the Conference of AU Ministers responsible for Women and Gender be held regularly and that the Institutionalization of the Conference be carried out in line with the process of establishing the Specialized Technical Committees (STCs);
REQUESTS the Commission to ensure that gender is mainstreamed into all the programmes and activities of the Union, including NEPAD, as well as those of the Regional Economic Communities and Member States and be provided with adequate resources;
ALSO WELCOMES the existing collaboration between the Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and URGES for a stronger collaboration for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Continent;
FURTHER WELCOMES the proposal of the Republic of Mauritius to host the Second Conference of AU Ministers Responsible for Women and Gender.