Gender and women’s empowerment organisations in southern Africa have called for the upgrading of the SADC Gender and Development Declaration to a Protocol in order to accelerate gender equality in the region.

The recommendation is on the agenda of the SADC Council of Ministers, which meets in Botswana on 14-15 August in advance of Summit to prepare policy recommendations for adoption.

Representatives of gender and women’s empowerment organisations in southern Africa met in mid July 2005, in South Africa to share findings on how the 1997 SADC Gender and Development Declaration and its 1998 Addendum on the prevention and eradication of violence against women and children have been implemented to date.

Audits on the performance of SADC countries in implementing the Gender Declaration and its Addendum reveal that while awareness of gender equality as a human right has increased and prompted exemplary action in some instances that have placed SADC at the forefront of global debates, a Protocol on gender is needed to accelerate gender equality in the region.

As a legally binding instrument, a Protocol would be more effective in aligning national legislation than a declaration, which is not binding.

The audits reveal that policies, legal provisions, and programmes to address specific provisions in the declaration have been put in place in most areas, but inequalities remain in existence because implementation has remained weak with many countries lacking mechanisms to help detect, control, and prevent discriminatory action that may occur in a society.

The provisions for gender equality and women’s advancement in the SADC Gender Declaration are interlinked to many others such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPFA), the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

To enhance effective monitoring of progress, the proposed SADC Gender Protocol will have specific targets and timeframes for achieving gender equality. (SARDC)

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