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WELCOME REMARKS

BY


H.E. DR. AISHA L. ABDULLAHI
COMMISSIONER FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS


AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE GENDER PRE-FORUM TO THE 2014 HIGH
LEVEL DIALOGUE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE IN
AFRICA



KIGALI, RWANDA



6 OCTOBER, 2014





AFRICAN UNION

UNION AFRICAINE

UNIO AFRICANA
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA P. O. Box 3243 Telephone: +251 11 551 7700 Fax: +251 115182072

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Your Excellency, Mr Anastase Murekezi, Prime Minister of Rwanda,
Mr. Lamin Manneh, Regional Coordinator One UN Rwanda
Prof. Shyaka Anastase, CEO, Rwanda Governance Board
Gender Experts
Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure and honour to be with you during this first ever Gender
Forum held as part of the built-up to the Annual High Level Dialogue on Democracy,
Human Rights and Governance in Africa planned for Dakar, Senegal on 30-31 October
2014. About a month ago, we held the Youth Forum in Nairobi, Kenya as part of this
process.

I also bring you sincere and warm greetings from the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, whose leadership and commitment to
womens empowerment remain a guiding light for our work at the Union.

Allow me to begin my brief remarks by thanking the Government and people of Rwanda
for the warm hospitality accorded to us since our arrival in this beautiful and serene city
of Kigali, the land of a thousand hills as it is famously known. We remain proud of the
strides that Rwanda has made as a shining light capable of helping to achieve the
silencing of guns on our Continent by 2020. In this vein, let me thank very specifically
our partners, the Rwanda Governance Board, under the able leadership of Prof. Shyaka
Anastase and Amb. Fatuma Ndangiza for their commitment to ensuring the realization
of this important meeting.

Our gathering here today in Rwanda is not by accident. We have chosen this country as
an example of what investments in strengthening democratic governance institutions
can lead to in terms of democratization, peace-building and sustainable human
development. Rwanda provides a justification for the active participation, at all levels, of
women in peacebuilding, leadership and development spaces. Though we concede that
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gender is not only about women, we made the strategic choice for this inaugural Gender
Forum preceding the High Level Dialogue to focus on women and girls, given the
specific and particular vulnerabilities and issues faced by women in conflict situations,
democratic governance, peace building and development. It is also in recognition of the
fact that women suffer the most in times of conflict and yet remain relegated to the
periphery of initiatives aimed at building peace, democratic governance and achieving
development.

It is therefore inspiring to look around the room and see so many vibrant people ready
to tackle the challenges women and young girls face in order to contribute to silencing
the guns by 2020. In particular, I am delighted to see so many of you standing together
to address the issues faced by our sisters, mothers and daughters across the continent.
When African leaders adopted the 50
th
Anniversary Solemn Declaration in which they
committed to achieving a conflict-free Africa by silencing the guns by 2020, they
understood that this vision could not become a reality without the efforts and leadership
of a multitude of social groups including women and youth, among others. Your
participation in this Forum, therefore, is an important step towards achieving the AUs
commitment to peace-building and democratisation on our beloved continent in line with
the Africa Agenda 2063 and the Common African Position on Post-2015 Development
Agenda.

Distinguished Guests and Participants,

Why are we here today? The purpose of bringing you together for this preparatory
Forum to the Third High Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance
is to provide a platform through which the vulnerabilities and challenges facing women
in conflict situations can be addressed. We have provided this platform to aggregate the
views and perspectives of practitioners in government, civil society, academia and think
tanks in addressing the varied challenges inhibiting the active engagement of women
and young girls in peacebuilding, preventive diplomacy and post conflict reconstruction
and development efforts. We believe this forum will afford us an opportunity to air our
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views and perspectives on the opportunities and prospects of a conflict free continent by
the year 2020.

The theme of this forum is in direct response to the 50
th
Anniversary Solemn
Declaration adopted on 26 May 2013. The Declaration marked the beginning of the
year-long celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
and the African Union (AU), where African leaders committed to ending all wars in
Africa by 2020.

However, without democratic and participatory governance, the guns in Africa will not
be silenced. The twin-problem of development failure and governance deficits lies at the
heart of Africas violent conflicts. A lack of democratic governance on the continent has
hindered development and triggered violent conflicts, threatening the peace and well
being of millions. It is, therefore, imperative that a more sustainable and meaningful
response to violence is entrenched by strengthening governance systems, institutions
and embedding a culture of democracy all of which are conducive for inclusive
development.

It is our firm belief that the AUs commitment to promoting democratic governance, as
enumerated in the 50
th
Anniversary Solemn Declaration can only be achieved by the
collective efforts of all stakeholders. Through the Africa Governance Architecture, we
are committed to working with the various AU organs, institutions, RECs and non state
actors to strengthen platforms that allow women and young girls to play pivotal roles in
strengthening democratic governance. Silencing guns calls upon concerted effort in (i),
rejecting unconstitutional changes of government, (ii) promoting integrity by fighting
corruption in the management of public affairs, (iii) improving public service delivery, (iv)
managing diversity in a constructive manner; (v) encouraging leadership that is
committed to the interests of the people, and finally (vi), fostering the participation of
African peoples through democratic elections to ensure accountability and
transparency.

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The AU Assembly of Heads of State adopted the Africa Governance Architecture (AGA)
at the 16
th
ordinary session as the overall continental framework for promoting,
nurturing, strengthening and consolidating democracy and governance in Africa. The
High Level Dialogue (or DGTrends) is the flagship dialogue programme of the Africa
Governance Architecture. For the past three years, we have been organising these
dialogues in order to provide a unique platform for frank, open and inclusive
conversations among Member States, AU organs and institutions, Regional Economic
Communities (RECs), African citizens, think tanks, civil society, media, womens
organisations and other stakeholders in order to share lessons and experience as well
as tease out the best practices for improving governance, consolidating constitutional
democracy and fostering the effective realization of human and peoples rights on the
continent in order to avoid humanitarian crises. The recommendations from this forum
will be presented at the upcoming 2014 High Level Dialogue which will focus on the
theme: Silencing the Guns: Strengthening Governance to Prevent, Manage and
Resolve Conflicts in Africa.

Distinguished Guests and Participants,

We believe the AU vision is not a mission solely for the AU to pursue. Through the work
of AGA, we are increasingly focusing our work on young people, women and the larger
civil society as a collective framework for driving the agenda for the development of the
continent and strengthening democracy and durable peace in Africa. In particular, the
AGA framework identifies gender equality and participation of women in strengthening
democracy and peacebuilding as central to achieving sustainable peace and
development in Africa.

It is clear that women suffer disproportionately from the effects of armed conflicts in
Africa. Rape, forced pregnancies, abduction into sexual slavery and assault have
become deliberate instruments of war. The exclusion of women from peace negotiations
have limited their access to opportunities for recovery from the effects of violence, ability
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to get redress for human rights abuses, and participation in shaping reform laws and
public institutions

In addressing these challenges, the role of women and young girls cannot be
overstated. Women's full participation in national and local politics, in the economy, in
academia and the media is fundamental to democracy and essential to the achievement
of sustainable development and peace. If a political system neglects women's
participation and evades accountability for women's rights, it fails half its citizens.

At the Department of Political Affairs we are committed to the AU aspiration of silencing
the guns by 2020 and eager to support womens initiatives towards building a culture of
democracy and peace in Africa. Through the African Governance Architecture, we are
taking the deliberate decision to develop a strategy that will focus on empowering
women to solve the challenges they face, particularly in conflict zones. The strategy will
be to implement a bottom-up approach in order to link the creative work and ideas of
women at the grassroots level to policymaking at the continental level. We hope that
through the discussions at this Forum, we will be able to provide concrete
recommendations to implement this strategy for effective engagement of Africas
women on the Africa Governance Architecture and Platform.

Distinguished Guests and Participants,

As I end these remarks, let me take this opportunity to appreciate the tremendous effort
from the entire team at the African Governance Architecture Secretariat, and in
particular Lettie Longwe, for pulling together a vital agenda and bringing such a diverse
and talented group together for this dialogue. In spite of the challenges inherent in
organizing a conference of this magnitude, every member of our team handled the
difficulties with grace and determination, and I thank them for it. I would also like to
recognize and acknowledge our UNDP colleagues at the Regional Service Centre in
Addis Ababa especially Ms. Rose Mwebeza, for her leadership, commitment and
support to this forum.
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Next, we will be heading to Dakar, Senegal for the High Level Dialogue. It has been a
fruitful year of preparation, and I look forward to the ideas and recommendations that
will flow from this Forum and carry us into the High Level Dialogue. Again, I would like
to express my appreciation to our organizing team for your immeasurable efforts
towards the preparatory processes ahead of the High Level Dialogue.

We would be thrilled if you can follow us throughout the sessions on twitter and
Facebook. Our twitter handle is beamed on the wall @AUC_DPA and hashtag
#DGTrends

I thank you for your attention.