Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA, spoke at the Eighth African Regional Conference on Women (Beijing+15), Mid-Decade Review of the implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action on Thursday in Banjul, The Gambia.
'The holistic vision for the achievement of gender equality and women's rights is also encapsulated in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which was adopted in Cairo in 1994,' Janneh said.
He remarked: 'It is critical to ask the right questions and articulate appropriate responses so as to not only capture achievements but more importantly, to think strategically on the way forward.'
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) report, he said, outlined the major trends, achievements, gaps and challenges in relation to the 12 critical areas of concern in the platform for action.
He said achievements had been made in the area of decision-making, citing the first female President on the continent, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, adding that there were women holding powerful decision-making positions such as vice presidents, prime ministers and speakers of parliament.
'This has set precedence and provided a role model on the continent,' he noted.
He listed countries that have high representation of women in parliament as Rwanda, Angola, Burundi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
Janneh admitted that there was a high increase in gender parity in primary education and that countries had reported an increase in women's participation in the formal economy at all levels, as they have implemented gender responsive employment policies.
He also pointed out that women had made progress in the ratification of regional and global treaties affecting them.
Banjul - 19/11/2009
Pana
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