The AUC Chairperson met with the Ministers to brief them on the outcomes of the just ended 22nd Summit of Heads of State and Government. In her briefing, Dr. Dlamini Zuma highlighted 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security; Africa’s common position on the Post-2015 agenda, which will be finalized at the end of February in Ndjamena; and the Agenda 2063 framework, processes and next steps.
She encouraged the gender Ministers to actively participate in national consultations to be organized by member states, and aimed at garnering national inputs to inform and refine the Agenda 2063 framework document before June 2014, when it will be presented to Heads of State and Government for final adoption.
Regarding their quest to mainstreaming gender into the Africa position on the Post-2015 agenda, Dr. Dlamini Zuma promised to engage with the Chairperson of the High Level Committee to both consider mainstreaming gender as well as considering the stand-alone priority for women. Nevertheless, she tasked the Ministers to begin engaging their various Presidents to prepare and rally their support before final adoption of the agenda at the end of February in Ndjamena, Chad.
The AUC Chairperson also promised to organize, ahead of the June Summit, a meeting of Women and Gender Ministers to look at the annual theme of Food Security and Agriculture, and Agenda 2063. Such a meeting will enable the gender Ministers to prepare for both these issues, so that they are not left behind by the time the Summit considers the document.
The Ministers expressed their gratitude for the meeting, and pledged their support for her leadership in championingthe huge continental transformation agenda. Gender Ministers attending the meeting with the AUC Chairperson came from Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan, South Africa, Mali, Rwanda, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Djibouti, Uganda and Ethiopia.
