Africa: Dakar Call To Action Of The African Union Heads Of State On Positive Masculinity On Leadership To End Violence Against Women And Girls In Africa

Union Africaine
Dakar Call To Action Of The African Union Heads Of State On Positive Masculinity On Leadership To End Violence Against Women And Girls In Africa
22 November 2022
African Union (Addis Ababa)

MEN’S CONFERENCE ON POSITIVE MASCULINITY

THEME:

“Advancing Actions and Promoting Positive Masculinity to End

Violence Against Women and Girls”

Dakar, 10 November 2022

PREAMBLE:

WE, the African Union Heads of State and Government gathered in Dakar, Senegal on the occasion of the 2nd African Union Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Leadership to End Violence Against Women and Girls:

RECALL the efforts and the leadership of His Excellency Mr Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in convening the first AU Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Leadership to end Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Africa, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on November 25, 2021.

APPRECIATE the presence and valuable contributions of the AU Chairperson  and President of the Republic of Senegal, His Excellency Macky Sall as well as the Heads of State and Government of Ghana, South Africa, DRC, Congo Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of the Republic of Liberia and Patron of the African Women Leaders Network, to the first edition of the Men’s Conference and their continuous effort in sustaining the need for more collaboration, engagement and advocacy around positive masculinity;

APPRECIATING THE COLLECTIVE efforts of these Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) that led to the emergence of the Kinshasa Declaration in which we committed ourselves to take actions including; the development of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (CEVAWG), continuous engagement of all stakeholders, including youth, religious and traditional leaders, civil society, and African women leaders and the private sector; provision of the necessary resources to address violence against women and girls, continuous support and  acceleration of the implementation of Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), active participation and leadership of women and girls in all political, social, cultural and economic spheres within the continent as well as annual evaluation of the implementation of our commitment on the elimination of  Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

CONGRATULATE the President of Democratic Republic of Congo, His Excellency Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, on his appointment as the first AU Champion on Positive Masculinity and the adoption of the Kinshasa Declaration during the 35th Summit and Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 3rd, 2022

RECOGNISING the steps already taken by the AU in the implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration which includes the institutionalisation of the Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security (OSE-WPS),  the deployment of the Maputo Protocol Scorecard and Index (MPSI) in collaboration with some key Stakeholders which culminated in the Capacity Building of ten Member States; Cameroun, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe as well continuous engagement with various Stakeholders such as the Civil Society Organisations, Women Leaders, Youth, Religious Leaders, Traditional Leaders and the Private as envisaged in the declaration;

NOTING THE IMPACT and reversal of gains on GEWE Agenda’s exacerbation of violence against women and girls caused by Covid-19 pandemic, continued existence of harmful socio-cultural norms and practices, despite the commitment of States to eradicate them as well as the negative impact of conflicts and climate change on women and girls;

RECOGNIZING the importance of the need to sustain the campaign on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls and its importance in the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals, as well as Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003) (Maputo Protocol), the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004), the AU Strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2018-2028) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1995), the Continental Results Framework on Women Peace and Security developed for effective implementation of the women, peace and security agenda in Africa;

GRATEFUL AND ACKNOWLEDGE the technical and financial support of the Government of Senegal and various United Nations Agencies towards this conference and innovative partnership with African Union Commission that led to the creation of African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) which serves as a continental platform to galvanize women’s leadership of Africa towards lasting peace and sustainable development in all sectors and at all levels

APPRECIATE the continued leadership of AU Chairperson  and President of the Republic of Senegal, His Excellency Macky Sall and H.E. Cyril Ramophosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat who spoke at the conference and the insightful contributions of Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Catherine Samba-Panza, Former President of Central African Republic and H.E. Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President of the Republic of Mauritius.

BELIEVING THAT DEPLOYMENT of effective leadership, political commitment and the need to take urgent action will accelerate the promotion of Positive Masculinity as a new norm required for urgent elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls;

WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO:

  1. Engage our peers and Heads of State and Government of the African Union to facilitate, negotiate and adopt, within one year, the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) as promised in the Kinshasa Declaration and in this regard, we mandate the Chairperson of the Africa Union Commission (AUC) to provide the necessary technical support and resources for drafting of the convention and consideration by AU policy organs.
  2. Introduce gender-transformative intervention such as of Domestic Violence Prevention Training Programmes (DVPT) for boys and men at the community level using the existing local governance structures and institutions and galvanise their participation in the Continental Men’s Coalition to end VAGW as a strategy for the promotion of positive masculinity as a new equitable gender norm in Africa;
  3. Increase investment in gender transformative social protection programmes and public social services in the rural areas and develop legal and policy framework that will reduce the impact of drivers of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) such as Unpaid Care and Domestic Work (UCDW), negative attitude towards Sexual and Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights (SRH&RR), Stereotypes and other forms of discrimination against women in Africa;
  4. Develop an intentional policy framework or guidelines to incentivise private sector and academic entities who demonstrate the meaningful representation and participation of women in their enterprises;
  5. Institutionalize a Structure for systematic and continuous engagement with traditional and religious leaders, including their strategic participation and interaction with heads of state and various AU champions and other mechanisms on campaigns and programmes on Elimination of Harmful Practices and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG);
  6. Continue to encourage Member States of the African Union to support the capacity enhancement of their various gender machineries to respond to and accelerate the implementation of the Maputo Protocol already initiated in the Kinshasa Declaration, facilitate effective participation and leadership of women in development, peace and security and provide more resources in support of the African Women’s Decade on Financial and Economic Inclusion of Women and youth through various empowerment programmes especially for informal sector

CONGRATULATE His Excellency Macky Sall, the AU Chairperson and the President of the Republic of Senegal for organizing the Second African Union Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity on Leadership to End Violence Against Women and Girls on November 10, 2022 in Dakar, Senegal with the theme “Advancing Actions and Promoting Positive Masculinity to End Violence Against Women and Girls” and call on him to follow-up these recommendations jointly with His Excellency Mr Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the AU Champion on Positive Masculinity, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat

Done in Dakar, 10th November 2022

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