Binyam Tamene
31 August 2008
Addis Ababa — Deputy Executive-Secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) urged Ministers of Gender and Women's Affairs of Africa to move beyond rhetoric to concrete action for the benefit of women in the ground.
Despite some notable improvement in the Policy, legal and institutional frameworks, Dr. Lalla Ben Barka said, gender inequality still prevails in the continent.
"Statistics continue to show that access to resources is not equitable between women and men across the continent. Violence against women and girls in conflict and situation of insecurity is reaching an alarming stag," she said at a jointly organized meeting by the African Union and the UNECA.
According to the Deputy Executive-Secretary, the Conference, which discussed on the adoption of the AU Gender Policy, emphasizes the value of collective thinking and strategic planning of priority action.
"Your attendance to this conference marks your commitment to address the gender inequality challenges. Hence the theme of this conference - Addressing gender equality: a persistent challenge for Africa'," she said Over 25 Ministers and 3 Deputy Ministers attended the Conference, which was organized in collaboration between the Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD) of the AU Commission, and the African Centre for Gender and Social Development (ACGS) of UNECA.
During the conference, the African Center for Gender and Development and UNDP Regional Gender Program of Africa Bureau launched African Women's Human Rights Observatory (AWRO) for tracking progress on women's rights.
According to ECA, the AWRO is dedicated to monitor the status of African women's rights in African countries and create a forum for knowledge and experience sharing among countries, institutions, partners and individuals who are involved in advocating for the advancement of African women's status and promoting their rights.
The AWRO will also promote awareness on women's human rights, inform policy debates and help decision makers to make well informed decisions when developing polices and programs, said ECA.
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