Gender Pre-Forum- “Women’s Political Participation as an Antidote for Unconstitutional Changes of Government”
Women make up to 50% of Africa’s population and take a central role in strengthening democratic governance which is key to a peaceful and prosperous Africa. Often, women are only identified as victims and caregivers during violent conflicts, political unrest, military takeovers and coups in the continent. During violent conflicts and periods of insecurity, women are targeted and stripped of their rights of participating in decision-making and political processes, which directly affects the progress of the African Continent.
Moreover, recognizing and bolstering women’s role in breaking this cycle of UCG is critical as it is the missing piece to the puzzle. Women are excellent leaders, mediators and have been found to be effective in ending and preventing violent conflict that have led to bloodshed. Although their contribution has often been less recognised, women played a significant role in liberation struggles and have fought wars against colonization and slavery. The women warriors of Dahomey Amazons from modern-day Republic of Benin are a stark illustration of women’s contribution to our Continent in the fight against colonialism.
Women continue to contribute in many ways to the progress of the African continent, but this contribution is usually not recognised. Women have been in the front lines and have occupied spaces that have challenged military rule and have protested against coups. Women were and are still working in the background to challenge the status quo and lead efforts to make peace across communities and countries. However, the stories of women have always been overlooked, hijacked or not provided due attention they deserve. Women are problem solvers, and having them contribute to the conversation on how to resolve issues of UCG in the continent is paramount. Women are not leading coups but they are suffering from the consequences—they have a vested interest in creating an Africa where UCG are a thing of the past.
Research and practice have provided a clear linkage between the need for women’s political participation and their positive impact on civil-military relations and reducing confrontations that lead to conflict. Strong empirical evidence has demonstrated that female leaders act less militaristically internationally and in interstate relations. Hence a strong linkage exists between promoting higher numbers of female representation in politics, in parliament and leadership positions and reducing the risk of coups.
Creating a platform for conversations that attend to the realities of African women and register their contributions as well as recommendations for reversing UCG is critical. Due to the re-emergence of UCG in the African Continent, interlinked with security issues like the proliferation of terrorism, the enhancement of women’s participation in politics and decision-making processes is not only an assurance of Africa’s commitment to progress but can be a mechanism of de-escalating possible security challenges and reversing UCG in the Continent.
It is in light of this rationale that the African Union Organs and Institutions that form the African Governance Platform through the AGA —APSA Secretariat are organizing the annual Gender Pre-Forum to the 11th High-Level Dialogue under the theme of “Women’s Political Participation as Antidote for Unconstitutional Changes of Government” from 20 to 21 November 2022 in Cotonou, Benin.
Continental Youth Consultation - “The Roles and Perspectives of Young People in Reversing Unconstitutional Changes of Government”
Africa’s population is the youngest in the world. As such, any progress that is sought to be made without considering the perspectives of young people would seem like taking one step forward and two steps back. The African Union has put the youth as its main stakeholder in its efforts to promote democracy and good governance within Member States. The core instruments of the African Union, namely its Constitutive Act, the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), OAU/AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the (Algiers and Lomé) Declarations on Unconstitutional Changes of Government, and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption have all made foundational principles against UCG. The African Union in recognition of the same has called for concerted efforts in addressing deficits and structural causes of UCG.
Norms and standards have been set for improved democratic principles and practices. These are also manifested by the active participation of and mainstreaming of youth and women not only in dialogues or discussions but in practical steps to improve and build governance systems and institutions, strengthen civil society, civil-military relations and address socio-economic exclusion, and management of diversity.
More particularly, a call has been made to Member States to engage youth, continue to design mechanisms and create a conducive environment for the effective participation of youth in peace and development processes at national, regional and continental levels. This will promote the important roles and contributions of women and youth in the promotion of democracy, good governance, sustainable peace, security and development in the Continent. Additionally, Member States have been encouraged to consider creating continental youth programs to enable the youth to engage and participate in democratic governance matters.
Taking the importance of engaging youth and the role young people play not only as beneficiaries but as partners and leaders, the African Union organs and institutions that form the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Secretariat on behalf of the Platform (AGP) have organized under the auspices of the African Governance Architecture a Youth Engagement Strategy (YES) youth programming that aims to increase the capacities of youth and engage them in a constructive dialogue. The Capacity building is hinged upon an African Union Continental Manual on Youth Engagement in Political and Democratic Processes in the Continent. This free manual can be downloaded on the AU website, and youth, Member States and organizations have access to it to provide targeted capacity for young people to engage meaningfully in democratic governance issues.
As part of an effort to give opportunities for young people to deliberate on issues of democratic governance, the African Governance Platform has institutionalized Continental/regional Youth Consultations before the High Level Dialogue. This year, youth will come together to deliberate about “The Roles and Perspectives of Young People in reversing Unconstitutional Changes of Government.” The Consultation was dedicated to this topic because of the particular value young people can bring into the conversations, to gain perspectives on issues affecting their lives and solicit ideas and solutions as well as highlight their role in reversing UCG on the Continent.
The Continental Youth Consultation is scheduled to take place from 18 - 19 November 2022 in Cotonou, Benin.
