1 Introduction
This chapter offers an overview of priority interventions made by the African Union (AU) in 2021 concerning women and youth as policy fields. It is worth noting that while women and youth are considered alongside each other in this chapter, they have evolved as separate political projects within the AU. This chapter is divided into three major sections. The first section offers an understanding of the institutional policy landscape that guides programmes and initiatives on youth and women (see Yearbook on the African Union 2000, 214–217). The second section examines the major policy developments in 2021, clustered around six major areas. The final section offers closing reflections on the 2022 outlook for the AU in the policy fields of women and youth.
2 Institutional Landscape
The institutional landscape in the policy field of women and youth is framed by the 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (also known as the Maputo Protocol; African Union 2003a), and the 2004 Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) (African Union 2004). The Maputo Protocol is an international human rights instrument that guarantees comprehensive rights to women. Coming into effect on 25 November 2005, it covers a wide range of concerns pertaining to women, gender power relations, and gender equality, encompassing the right to take part in political processes, social and political equality, and reproductive and bodily autonomy, as well as freedom from cultural, political, social, and economic discrimination (African Union 2003a). In addition to the Maputo Protocol, the 2000 Constitutive Act of the African Union notes the ‘promotion of gender equality’ as one of its guiding principles (OAU 2000, §4). The 2003 Protocol on Amendments of the Constitutive Act of the African Union also recognises the critical role women play in promoting inclusive development and calls for the AU ‘to ensure the effective participation of women in
An additional framework that is committed to women as a policy field is Agenda 2063, which is a continental strategic ‘master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future’ (African Union 2015). Developed in 2013 at the height of global discussions on the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Agenda 2063 is considered a framework that sets Africa’s development agenda on its own terms beyond international commitments to sustainable development. Agenda 2063 provides a road map for pan-African ‘inclusive growth and sustainable development’ (African Union 2015, §8). Importantly, Aspiration 6 of Agenda 2063 calls for ‘an Africa, whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children’ (ibid.). Agenda 2063 aims at establishing a more inclusive society in which all citizens can participate in political processes, regardless of gender, political affiliation, religion, ethnic affiliation, locality, age, or other factors.
Finally, the AU Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2018–2028) (GEWE) is an important strategic instrument in this field. Adopted at the 31st AU Ordinary Assembly (Nouakchott, Mauritania, 1–2 July 2018), this strategy acts as a road map for the implementation of gender-related commitments (African Union 2018a, 5). The strategy aims to achieve gender equality in all spheres of life. It is informed by the findings of a 2009 policy evaluation that focused on gender mainstreaming in all sectors including legislation and legal protection, economic empowerment and peace and security (ibid., 10). The strategy includes four main pillars: achieving economic autonomy for women, protecting their rights in times of peace and conflict, strengthening institutional capacities, and establishing women’s leadership in all its dimensions (ibid.).
Collectively, the above listed policy instruments have framed debates, activism, and policy positions in relation to women’s rights and gender equality (see Haastrup 2021).1 Coordinating these efforts is the Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD) within the AU Commission (AUC). It leads, guides, defends, and coordinates the AU’s efforts on gender equality and development, including ensuring that African countries comply with the Maputo Protocol.
In relation to youth, the 2006 African Youth Charter is the central framework guiding the AU’s engagement with youth as a policy field (African Union 2006).
3 Major Developments
3.1 Conflict and Forced Migration
In 2021, the AU published a report on the Status of Women’s Rights in Refugee and Internal Displacement Settings in Africa (AUC WGDD et al. 2021). It outlines the challenge of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), unmet health needs, livelihood insecurity, limited educational opportunities, physical insecurity, as well as the barriers to women’s participation in decision-making processes. A central part of the policy recommendations focuses on ensuring assessed contributions are paid towards the fund for refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons (IDP s) while requiring that at least 30 per cent of those funds directly benefit women and girls who are forcibly displaced. In addition, a policy brief titled Multidimensional Approaches Towards Migrant Health in the African Union highlights two trends that are exacerbating the need for quality healthcare across the continent (African Union [2021]). The first is the Covid-19 pandemic and second is the complex emergencies across the continent and responses to the related humanitarian needs, with particular focus on forced displacement. Concerning the last point, an interrelated development is the call on 3 June 2021 by the Centre for Human Rights (CHR) at the University of Pretoria in South Africa for the roll-out of the AU
3.2 Gender-Based Violence
The AU’s December 2020 policy report, Gender-based Violence in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic, focuses on intensified violence against women and girls due to lockdowns creating conditions for closer proximity to abusers, isolation from legal and other social services, and the increased burden of care for women and girls (AUC WGDD et al. 2020). This position was corroborated by Oxfam in its policy paper The Ignored Pandemic: The Dual Crises of Gender Based Violence and COVID-19 (Oxfam 2021). Comparing the prevalence and responses to intimate partner violence in 2018 to coordinated responses to Covid-19, Oxfam argues that governments have proved capable of intervening when it comes to a health crisis but not being able to do the same relating to gender-based violence (GBV). During this Covid-19 period, the AU focused on the need for institutional mechanisms in member states that are fully responsive to the rights and needs of women and girls while calling on member states and development partners to support the strengthening of data and evidence concerning incidents and responses to GBV and commitment to adequately funding strategies for ending GBV.
The WGDD, which is responsible for promoting the integration of the GEWE, developed guidelines to assist in the promotion of gender equality since the onset of the pandemic (African Union 2020a). The framework covers women and the economy, food security and agriculture, healthcare, access to education, physical and psychological integrity, participation in decision-making, peace and security, and legal protection and access to information. GBV is covered under physical and psychological integrity. The guidelines call for budgetary allocation from special funds to have resources directed and dedicated specifically for national rapid response, setting up free hotlines to report domestic violence and strengthening services for survivors, and disseminating information and developing awareness-raising campaigns during lockdowns. They also advocate establishing and strengthening GBV shelters, providing psychosocial support for survivors as well as online counselling services,
As part of initiatives that address harmful social norms that include GBV, the reorganised WDGG – now the AUC Women, Gender, Development and Youth Directorate (WGDY) – held a two-day meeting in June 2021 to focus on practical solutions for ending violence against women and girls and harmful practices in Africa.2 Including Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, the Annual Continental Coordination Platform focused on tracking progress made in National Spotlight Programmes, concentrating on eliminating all forms of violence against women and children. This regional programme aims to assist and support the overall responses for addressing SGBV, harmful practices, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. It also responds to the AU’s aim to end child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) across the continent.
3.3 Women, Youth, Peace and Security
Under these themes, a few conflicts contributed to a series of actions largely coordinated via the Office of the Special Envoy (OSE) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), Bineta Diop. In April 2021, regarding the ongoing conflict in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province (see Dawit Yohannes, this Yearbook, chapter 9), the AU special envoy, the African Women’s Leadership Network, and civil society organisations organised a virtual solidarity mission to respond to the human rights violations, SGBV, and escalating humanitarian crisis, which had a disproportionate impact on women (AU OSE WPS 2021). Plan International, drawing on analysis from four resettlement centres in Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces, notes that of the more than 714,000 civilians that have been internally displaced to escape the violence, 46 per cent are children and around 3,000 people have been killed due to the jihadist insurgency (Yengo and Langa 2022). The virtual solidarity mission resulted in a call to action that emphasised enhanced coordination of humanitarian action while concomitantly prioritising women and girls in responses to the crisis. The OSE WPS also convened the 2nd Africa Forum on Women, Peace and Security to discuss implementation challenges of the WPS agenda in the face of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic (virtual, 13–14 December 2021).3
The OSE WPS also developed the Continental Result Framework (CRF) to track the implementation of the WPS agenda by member states (African Union 2019a). A report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 was also launched in September 2021. The CRF provides 28 indicators, agreed upon by member states, for tracking and reporting on the implementation of the WPS agenda in Africa. The indicators are structured around the four pillars of UNSCR 1325 – prevention, participation, protection, and relief and recovery (see UNSC 2000) – with the incorporation of an additional theme on ‘WPS in the context of emerging security threats’. In addition, the framework provides 13 indicators to monitor the implementation of the WPS agenda within the AUC. The recommendations in the report on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 focus on women’s active participation in peacebuilding and peace management, addressing women’s economic empowerment and encouraging financial inclusion.
In relation to youth, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the work of the first cohort of African Youth Ambassadors of Peace, who were appointed in 2020. The youth ambassadors advocate and promote active and meaningful participation of young people at all levels of policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring in regard to peace and security decisions and agreements. The youth ambassadors also facilitate coordination between youth and relevant stakeholders to plan and evaluate interventions that promote peace and security.4 The second AUC chairperson’s special envoy on youth, Chido Mpemba (Zimbabwe), was appointed on 1 November 2021 (also to commemorate the African Youth Charter, which was adopted exactly 13 years earlier). She will be responsible for welcoming the second cohort of youth ambassadors from five of Africa’s geographical regions.5 The AU continued to demonstrate
3.4 Women and Political Participation
Overall, the second continental report on the implementation of Agenda 2063 by the AU Development Agency (AUDA–NEPAD) indicates that indeed over the period under review there had been an increase in women’s participation in parliaments, regional, and local bodies (AUC and AUDA–NEPAD 2022). The policy recommendations assert that member states ensure equal participation and effective representation and leadership of women and girls in decision-making processes; guarantee the meaningful engagement and active participation of refugees as well as displaced and returnee women in peace processes; ratify, domesticate, and implement the provisions of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa while removing reservations where they exist; provide support to the AU’s All for Maputo Protocol Programme; adhere to reporting obligations; engage civil society and women’s rights and child rights organisations in state reporting processes; repeal discriminatory laws and criminalise harmful practices that exclude and discriminate against women and girls; invest greater resources in addressing corruption, sexual exploitation, and abuse; create a conducive environment for whistle-blowers to expose corrupt practices to ensure funds reach intended populations, particularly those most in need; and pay particular attention to vulnerable populations within the broad umbrella of women and girls (AUC and AUDA–NEPAD 2022).
In relation to youth, the Guide to Youth Participation in Political and Electoral Processes, which followed the Youth Engagement Strategy (2016–2020), highlights the gaps in youth participation in political and electoral processes (AU Commission 2021a). The report calls for increased and meaningful contribution by young people on the continent in electoral and political life. Furthermore, the Roadmap for the Implementation of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (African Union 2019a) is a policy document that came out of the adoption of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP) by the 32nd AU Assembly (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10–11 February 2019). The road map declares that there will be a programme that focuses on training youth on transitional justice, as well as a youth fellowship on transitional justice across AU institutions and member states and higher education institutions.
The second major area of focus for the AU in this policy field was food security. Aspiration 6 of Agenda 2063 strives for an Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential offered by the African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children. The second continental progress report on Agenda 2063 illustrates that there has been an increase in the proportion of women in agricultural population who have ownership and land rights. The report highlights that ‘the figure rose from 16% in 2013 to 23% in 2021. However, the performance falls short of the 2021 target value of 39%’ (AUC and AUDA–NEPAD 2022, 43). While the performance fell short of overall aims, there are initiatives that are included within Agenda 2063 to support the promotion of women within agricultural space to grow (NEPAD 2022).
The 2021 Global Report on Food Crises Joint Analysis for Better Decisions – Regional Focus presents an overview of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda – countries where there is high number of people facing acute food insecurity and malnutrition (FSIN and GNAFC 2021). The Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) highlights that the rising food prices could ignite unrest across the continent.6 It suggests that clear policy certainty on issues such as land reform, the stimulation of investment in the broader food supply value chain, the moderation of tariff and non-tariff barriers to intra-African trade between net food exporters and importers, and innovation across food supply chains should be incentivised and rewarded.
Linked to this, the AUC published a report in February 2021, The Seed Sector in Africa Status Report and Ten-year Action Plan (2020–2030): A Summary, as part of its efforts to initiate and develop strategies to facilitate agricultural and rural transformation by improving productivity and growth (AU Commission 2021b). In the report, the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture emphasises that women and youth should be empowered to increase their participation in decision-making in agricultural projects as key value-chain actors. Women and youth should also have relationships and social capital that increase their capacity for action, together with the the appropriate enabling environment that allows women and youth to participate in a more meaningfully way in the seed value chain.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the AU also published a framework that speaks to some of the objectives outlined in the seed sector report. The Framework for Boosting Intra-Africa Trade in Agricultural Commodities
Finally, the AU Continental Declaration on Biofortification endorses the process of conventionally breeding staple food crops that are naturally enriched with micronutrients (AUC 2021c). The process is said to be particularly beneficial for smallholder farming families who rely on staple crops for the bulk of their diet and who have limited access to other important nutrition interventions. Micronutrient deficiency – also known as hidden hunger – affects almost 2 billion people across the world, with a huge proportion of that figure comprising women and children on the African continent with deficiencies in vitamin A, zinc, and iron at the highest (ibid., 1). The notion of biofortification also relates strongly to the global spread of hunger, which disproportionally affects African women and children, as well as food insecurity, which has been exacerbated by the global pandemic. The AU proposes guaranteed leadership, commitment, and strategic planning by elevating universal access to biofortified crops and other nutrient-rich foods on the political agenda as well as investment in effective delivery strategies for poor smallholder producers, both men and women, and in gender-sensitive extension guidance and public sector procurement (ibid., 4). Improving the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, primarily women and children in rural areas of the continent, is at the heart of this policy.
3.6 Labour, Digitisation and Employment
In 2019, the AUC chairperson launched the initiative 1 Million by 2021, which recognises young people as partners, leaders, and beneficiaries in building a democratic culture on the continent (African Union 2022). The initiative is centred around four pillars called the 4E’s – education, employment,
The 2021 launch of the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform in Kenya, in partnership with the East African Community (EAC), adds to the support for women empowerment initiatives by providing access to information on financial and non-financial services and business networks. Finally, the implementation of the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020–2030) (African Union 2020b), adopted by the 33rd AU Assembly (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 9–10 February 2020), has been initiated through ten AU Digital and Innovation Fellows. The fellows will harness digital technologies and innovation to transform African societies and economies by working in the AUC for a period of 12 months and contributing to national, regional, and global initiatives aimed at advancing the aspirations in Agenda 2063.8
4 Outlook
As the African Union looks ahead to 2022, the interconnected concerns around the long-term impact of Covid-19 on the socioeconomic and political landscapes remains key for the women and youth policy fields. Oxfam outlines the devastating impact the pandemic has had on different sectors, especially at the intersection of health and displacement, which makes conditions more difficult. Women and people with disabilities are particularly at risk due to the
In relation to economic growth, attention to gender and youthhood in the implementation of the AfCFTA remains fundamental for dealing with the precarity of work that shapes the lives of women and youth (see also Bruce Byiers, this Yearbok, chapter 10). Finally, the question of sustainable financing for the AU has been front and centre since 2016 (see Ulf Engel, this Yearbook, chapter 3). Most financial investments at the AU are funded by external actors. International cooperation is an important part of forging global alliances and advancing collective interests in all matters, especially on gender and youth equality. However, there is need for independent African resourcing for commitments to the policy fields of youth and women, which would allow the AU to drive the priorities in these policy fields with greater flexibility and focus on contextual demands than is currently the case.
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