Pretoria — Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is to deliver a keynote address at a women's conference in Mali on issues of gender, peace and security in Africa.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the minister arrived in Mali on Sunday, leading a delegation attending the Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS) conference. The minister is to deliver a keynote address on the theme "Capitalising on Years of Women's Experience."

The conference ends on Wednesday.

FAS works mainly in African countries under conflict, where it has conducted missions to observe elections, organise training workshops and foster exchanges of experiences and information among women and their organisations.

FAS had an observer mission during the elections in Liberia where President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected last year. In the run up to the elections, FAS organised training sessions for women on conflict resolution, reconciliation and the electoral process.

The organisation said on its website that it had observer status with the African Commission for Human and People's Rights and consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. FAS is also represented in the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD). The AWCPD was created by the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa to bring women's voices into the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts on the continent.

FAS also publishes reports on women's participation in peace processes in countries including Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The department said the minister is expected to return to South Africa on 15 June ahead of the 30th anniversary celebration of the June 16th student uprisings.

Prior to her visit to Mali, Minister Dlamini Zuma was in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The minister led a South African delegation to the African Union Ministerial Meeting to discuss the unconstitutional changes of governments in Africa and a draft proposal on democracy, elections, and governance in Africa.