Stakeholders in the gender development space in Africa have expressed deep appreciation to the Pan-African Parliament for involving African citizens and organisations in the Regional Consultative Meeting on the Draft Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity in Africa, and have pledged to stay ready to engage with the subsequent steps of the process of finalisation, popularisation and domestication of the Model Law.
The Consultative Meeting brought together members of the Pan-African Parliament Committee on Gender Equality, Family, Youth and Persons with Disability; the Ghanian Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; members and officials from the Ghanian Parliament including from the Committee on Gender, Children and Social Welfare; representatives of the ECOWAS Parliament; representatives of the African Continental Free Trade Area; human rights and gender practitioners from international, regional and local civil society organisations; as well as gender and legal experts from the Academia and Civil Society, in Ghana and the rest of the West African region and the Continent.
Acknowledging the appreciation, Hon. Mariam Dao-Gabala, the Chairperson of the PAP Committee on Gender Equality, Family, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, commended all participating institutions and experts for their active participation and invaluable contributions. She further acknowledged the technical support provided by the Centre for Human Rights, Equality Now and the German International Cooperation, which made the Consultative Meeting possible, and expressed hope for continued and constructive engagement of all stakeholders in subsequent stages of the finalisation of the Model Law and beyond.
The Regional Consultative Meeting was to solicit contributions from various stakeholders on the Draft Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity in Africa, including regional and national parliamentarians, civil society organizations of the African continent, and other relevant stakeholders; review the draft Model Law based on the inputs emanating from the consultations and coherence with other continental policy priority areas on development; explore and share experiences on national and sub-regional legal and policy initiatives and developments that advance gender equality and equity; and to build and strengthen a coalition of stakeholders to support/advance advocacy for the promotion of the Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity at the national and regional levels.
Following extensive reflections on the draft Model Law, participants received and discussed contributions on all provisions of the draft Model Law from all participating stakeholders, including national parliamentarians, civil society, regional economic communities, the AU and other relevant stakeholders; integrated inputs, which improved the structure, content and provisions of the draft Model Law to ensure that it is clear and practical applicability in advancement of gender equality and equity; and refined the draft Model Law based on insights and developments in international, regional and national contexts.
Participants further provided technical insights and recommendations which will facilitate a smooth integration in the Model Law to ensure that the law is comprehensive, adaptable and usable across African contexts; shared and effected in the draft Model Law best experiences on national, regional and continental law and policy initiatives in the promotion and protection of gender equality and equity; and explored and examined the potential barriers to the effective domestication and implementation of the Model Law at the national level, including challenges related to political will, resource allocation and implementation and provided a platform to discuss possible strategies for fast tracking domestication and implementation of the Model Law once adopted.
