Declaration: African Union Civil Society Organisations Consultation Meeting on Accelerating Actions Against the Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

We, the participants of the African Union- Civil Society Organisations Consultation convened virtually on 14 July 2020 on Accelerating Actions Against the Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE), acknowledge our diversity and common objectives of advancing gender equality and the human rights of African girls and women;

CONGRATULATE the African Union Commission Women, Gender and Development Directorate (AUC-WGDD), for convening the African Union Civil Society Organisations Consultation Meeting on Accelerating Actions Against the Impact of COVID-19 on GEWE, in partnership with the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), with the support of The Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC);

DEEPLY CONCERNED that the COVID-19 pandemic poses significant challenges to Africa's already strained health, political, social, and economic hardships. The pandemic's growing direct impact is affecting health, in terms of morbidity and mortality, quickly overburdening health care services with negative repercussions for non-COVID-19 related health problems;

ACKNOWLEDGE the sacrifices made by health care workers in Africa to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and imperative of adopting containment measures to curb the spread of the virus in the continent, which include social distancing and lockdowns, curfews, the closing of schools, the prohibition of public gatherings and the closure of non-essential businesses and economic activities;

OBSERVE that the pandemic has added to the existing structural injustices creating a far deeper social, economic and humanitarian threat, including the extraordinary risk women in conflict settings, refugee settlements, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, business, the informal sector, agriculture, health sector and those living with disabilities are facing;

GUIDED BY the objectives of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), particularly its Article 4(L), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003), the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004), the African Women’s Decade (2010-2020), the African Youth Charter (2006),  the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Agenda 2063  especially Aspiration 6  as well as the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000);

ACKNOWLEDGE the outcomes of different webinars organised with the Bureau of Specialized Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (STC on GEWE), AU Ministers in Charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs, AU Women Foreign Affairs Ministers and the African Women Leaders Network by the AUC-WGDD in collaboration with the Office of the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, UN Women and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and appreciate the space and acknowledgment given to Civil Society Organisations to contribute meaningfully to these efforts;

APPLAUDE the work of the AU Member States and AUC under the leadership of HE President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as the Chairperson of the AU and HE Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the AUC, for the support for Africa’s efforts to address the challenges African countries are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic among others:

•        i.         Establishment of the Africa Task Force for Coronavirus (AFTCOR) and Africa CDC’s Incident Management System;
•      ii.         Development of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak by Africa CDC;
•     iii.         Establishment of the African Youth Front on Coronavirus as an African Union Framework engaging youth spearheaded by the AU Youth Envoy;
•     iv.         Launching of Africa COVID-19 Response Fund;
•      v.         Creation of the African Union COVID-19 Response Fund Board of Trustees to mobilize and manage Africa COVID-19 Response Fund. (8 out of 10 members are male in terms of representation);
•     vi.         Appointment of five COVID-19 Special Envoys to follow up on pledges, mobilize further international support and campaign for international participation in the AU’s COVID-19 economic intervention (⅘ is male representation);
•    vii.         Launching of the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT): Trace, Test & Track (CDC-T3);
•   viii.         Setting-up of National Command structures to respond to the COVID -19 pandemic at the national level and;
•     ix.         Development of the Framework Document on the Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: African Union Guidelines on Gender Responsive Responses to COVID-19.

COMMIT to strengthening the technical capacity of the AUC- CDC structure by assigning a female Gender Expert Officer whose responsibility will be to mainstream a gendered lens to all COVID-19 response, recovery, and resilience.

RECOMMIT ourselves to the long-term partnership and collaboration with the AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), United Nations Agencies, Development Partners, Private Sector, Academia, Women and Youth’s Movement, Civil Society Organisations, Diaspora, Faith Organisations, Media and Community-Based Organizations to ensure that women and young people play a central role in all COVID-19 response and recovery.

DRIVEN by the fact that urgent steps need to be taken to invest and speed up the implementation of the African Union Guidelines on Gender Responsive Responses to COVID-19.

URGE the AU Heads of State and Governments to ensure that gender analysis informs government actions and responses, through the following measures:

• 1.     Establish measures and provide resources to protect women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence, especially for those living in rural areas and those living with disabilities, including regulating standard reporting procedures and financing women and girls’ shelters for domestic gender-based violence and child abuse at household levels, with the participation of grassroots women’s groups;
• 2.     Foster intergenerational co-leadership to ensure collaboration across generations and empowerment of young women and girls;
• 3.     Ensure continued implementation of gender commitments in COVID-19 responses;
• 4.     Prioritize women's livelihoods, especially to rebuild their economies, including digital economy, in the financing and revitalization of businesses and the economy in line with the AU's commitment on financial inclusion through disaster management budgets, as well as future economic stimulus measures in the continuing COVID-19 context, and future planning should consider a gendered approach;
• 5.     Strengthen effective coordination between the AU, Members States and CSOs to ensure institutions and government implement their commitments to gender equality;
• 6.     Recognise women's unpaid care work and prioritise the role of women as frontline health workers including midwives, nurses, community health workers, and facility support staff by putting in place measures to support their needs regarding their health, psychosocial wellbeing and work environment and;
• 7.     Continue to support the AUC-WGDD by providing necessary technical support to ensure Africa's efforts to address the challenges African countries face because of the COVID-19 are gender-sensitive.

                                                                                                            Addis Ababa, 14 July 2020