A delegation of African women led by H.E. Madame Gisèle Ndaya, Minister of Gender, Family and Children of the DRC and Madame Julienne Lusenge, a gender expert, have shared the proposed Kinshasa Declaration. The proposal was presented on the sidelines of the Generation Equality Forum held in Paris, France.
The proposed Kinshasa Declaration, made during the Conference on Gender Equality held in Kinshasa on June 10, is the result of a mobilization initiative of pan-African groups. These include youth, civil society, researchers, government officials, activists and international organizations. One of the main objectives of the conference was to show the collective capacity of the participants and organizers to foster a world where gender equality is no longer a struggle but a reality for future generations.
The proposed Kinshasa Declaration builds on existing texts on gender equality in Africa and a series of new recommendations. Its goal is to encourage the member states of the African Union to expand their actions in favor of gender equality and to put in place strong systems to evaluate progress.
Julienne Lusenge, member of the Panel of Experts in charge of accompanying the DRC during its chairmanship of the African Union for the year 2021/2022 said, “This proposed declaration makes a crucial contribution to the AU Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment by proposing concrete actions and tools for measuring success towards gender equality in Africa by 2030.”
According to the delegation, the proposed Kinshasa Declaration will be shared with African Union stakeholders, member states, civil society, international organizations and African governments. The objective is to the adoption of this Declaration at the next meeting of the African Union in 2022.