Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1242nd held on 31 October 2024, on the briefing on Women, Peace and Security interlinkage

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.868 (XXXVII)] adopted by the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on 17-18 February 2024, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stressing the imperative for the protection of women, youth, and children and vulnerable groups in situations of conflict and crisis;

Also recalling its previous decisions and pronouncements on Women, Peace and Security in Africa and related themes, particularly Communique [PSC/PR/COMM.1187 (2023)] adopted at its 1187th meeting held on 17 November 2023 and Communique [PSC/PR/COMM.1109 (2022)] adopted at its 1109th meeting held on 3 October 2022;

Affirming its commitment to the implementation of the Conclusions of the High-Level Seminar of the Peace and Security Council commemorating 20 years of the PSC by taking stock of women’s participation and leadership in peace processes in Africa (Swakopmund Process), adopted on 23 March 2024 in Swakopmund, Namibia;

Expressing concern over the persistence of conflict and crisis situations in the Continent;

Noting all the statements delivered during the open session, notably the remarks by H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Gad, Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the briefing by H.E. Mme. Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Women;

Taking note of the statement by Ambassador Javier Nino Perez, Permanent Representative of the European Union Delegation to the African Union, and the statement by H.E. Ms. Nefertiti Tshibanda, representing the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), as well as the statement by H.E. Ambassador Pietro Mona, Permanent Representative of the Swiss Federation to the AU; further taking note of statements by the representatives of AU Member States;

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:

1. Reaffirms the AU’s commitment to promoting women’s meaningful participation and leadership in peace processes, including in peace support operations (PSOs) in line with the commitments to gender equality enshrined in the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security;

2. Commends the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Women for her steadfast efforts towards advancing the women, peace and security agenda; also applauds FemWise Africa for supporting women in conflict situations;

3. Underscores the pivotal role of women in promoting peace and security and the need to effectively represent women in peace processes on national, regional and international levels; in this regard, urges Member States to ensure increased participation of women in peace support operations and to ensure effective implementation of UNSCR 1325 (2000);

4. Commends Member States for their efforts in implementing UNSCR 1325 (2000), including the enactment of National Action Plans (NAPs); encourages Member States, who are yet to adopt NAPs to do so, and for Member States to ensure more equal representation of women in all leadership roles within both military and civilian capacities;

5. Encourages Member States to redouble their efforts in upscaling gender reforms in national security institutions to provide women with equal opportunities for recruitment, training, promotion and deployment;

6. Calls for women’s involvement in all peace spectrums, including the design of the peace processes and their implementation;

7. Strongly condemns any form of violence perpetuated against women during situations of conflict and crisis, and other situations, in particular during women’s participation in peace support operations, and calls for zero tolerance for sexual and gender-based violence against women, and elimination of all forms of violence against women;

8. Calls all parties to a conflict to comply with the rules of international law, particularly those in relation to the protection of women;

9. Stresses the need to adopt a gender-based perspective in peace support operations; emphasises the need for capacity building and awareness training for members of peace support operations to ensure a safe operational environment for women; commends the AU Commission for the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy to sexual abuse and exploitation in peace support operations;

10. Applauds the AU Commission, particularly the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, for all the efforts to ensure women's meaningful participation in peace processes, particularly in election observer missions;

11. Welcomes the AU Commission's ongoing efforts in gender mainstreaming, particularly the steps being taken by the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security to develop an AU Policy on gender mainstreaming in Peace Support Operations;

12. Requests the AU Commission to undertake the following:

i. Take all necessary measures to improve peace support infrastructure to support women’s specific needs;

ii. Design and implement programs and projects aimed at strengthening women’s participation in peace processes, including through encouraging equal representation of women in peace and mediation missions;

iii. Establish rigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for UNSCR 1325 (2000) and AU instruments to monitor progress made in the implementation of policies and programs for gender equality in the security sector;

iv. Facilitate the development and implementation of Women, Peace and Security NAPs and support capacity building in promoting gender equality and women’s participation in peace support operations;

v. Facilitate the provision of medical, psychological and legal assistance to women victims of gender-based violence, especially those serving in peace support operations; and

vi. Explore possibilities of allocating dedicated funding to gender components of peace and security, including from the Peace Fund, to ensure material support to the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.

13. Looks forward to the holding of the second Swakopmund Process at a date and location to be agreed upon; and

14. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS