35th Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC): Recognizing and Amplifying Women and Girls’ Agency to Silence the Guns in Africa

The African Union Commission Heads of States Assembly has marked the year 2020 with the theme “Silencing the Gun: creating conducive conditions for Africa’s development”. In line with this theme, Agenda 2063 stresses the imperative of ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence and violent conflicts and prevention of genocide in its ten-year implementation plan. Speaking to this endeavor, the 33rdAU Summit aims to take stock of achievements and challenges encountered in implementing the AU’s Flagship project ‘Silencing the Gun by 2020’ and devise a more robust action plan informed by the Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism of the road map for a peaceful and prosperous Africa.

Women’s International Peace Centre, as a member of the GIMAC steering committee, co-organised the 35th GIMAC meeting held from 3rd to 4th February 2020 in Addis Ababa, under the theme “Recognizing and Amplifying Women and Girls’ Agency to Silence the Guns in Africa”.  

“The role of young women in silencing the guns is to make decisions, raise awareness on the peace processes because we suffer longer from the impact of conflict”- Racheal Juan, Project Assistant, South Sudan.

The Peace Centre’s alumni and partners including a young woman from South Sudan’s informal Young Women Leading for Peace network and from DRC’s Karibu Jeunesse Nouvelle who as panellists made statements and concrete recommendations for the AUC Silencing the Guns roadmap. They called on Member States and the AU to ensure the meaningful inclusion of women, including young women, grassroots women and women war survivors, in nation-building, the design and implementation of peace agreements, responses to violent conflict, and post-conflict governance.

Far Right; Arek Malek and Juan Racheal pose for a photo with other Young Women at the 35th GIMAC.
Source; GIMAC, twitter

Their recommendations were included in the final 35 GIMAC outcome document as follows; “We urge the African Union Heads of State and Governments to: To adopt and adequately finance UNSCR 1325 national and regional action plans and endorse the Continental Result Framework developed by the AU Office of the Special Envoy on WPS towards effective implementation, monitoring, evaluation & reporting of the WPS Agenda as well as the involvement of women and youth in nurturing a culture of peace, tolerance and constructive resolution of disputes”.

“We need to push member states to prioritize the protection of women and end all acts of SGBV  against women”-  Arek Malek Young Women Leading for Peace network, South Sudan 

 

Women and Girls at the Heart of Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa

Through this 50th edition of Women’s World, we contribute to the body of feminist knowledge on the experiences and agency of women affected by forced displacement as a result of conflict, political turmoil or insecurity in Africa. This focus aligns with the African Union’s theme for the year 2019, as the Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa: Towards a Durable Solution to Forced Displacement. Read More “Women and Girls at the Heart of Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”

31st Gender Is My Agenda Campaign

Our year begun with a number of exciting events and meetings from the 10th African Union Gender Pre-Summit (AU-GPS) to African Young Women and Girls Advocacy Training at the 31st GIMAC – AU Pre-Summit Meetings, and the Gender Is My Agenda Campaign.

The 31st Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) Consultative Meeting on Mainstreaming Gender Equality in the African Union and Member States took place on the 20th-21st January, 2018 at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme: “Corruption and Governance: Impact and Way out for Women, Children and Youth”. The theme was aligned with the African Union (AU) dedication of the year 2018 as the year for anti-corruption under the theme: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

African Young Women and Girls Advocacy Training was held under the theme: A Corrupt Free African: Unleashing potentials and Protecting Rights of Africa’s Young People Especially Girls and Young Women. The training aimed to build the capacity of youth to actively engage African leaders in designing solutions to the issue of corruption as well as prepare them to be frontiers of Africa Development and about 35 youth were trained. Our Executive Director, Helen Kezie-Nwoha facilitated the session on advocacy and lobbying and shared practical experience of how Isis-WICCE conducts advocacy and lobbying at the African Union using the GIMAC platform.

The 31st GIMAC brought together over 150 delegates from over 30 countries, including representatives of Diplomatic Missions, African Union and United Nations officials, leading Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on Gender in Africa and other interested groups in advancing women’s rights in Africa. Drawing from the two-day discussions, participants outlined key recommendations. The meeting identified strategies and interventions that have continental implications in order to forestall the continued impact of corruption in governance, which hinder development, weaken the fabrics of sanity in the communities, promote violence and encourages avoidable negative consequences or marginalization and ethnocentrism.

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