Outcome ESA_D_1.2

Regional women’s movements, networks and organizations use their voice, leadership and agency to hold duty-bearers accountable for their commitments to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls

Across East and Southern Africa, regional women’s movements networks and organizations demonstrated their increased voice, leadership and agency to advance government accountability, as evidenced by their engagement in high-level regional processes related to UNSCR 1325 and African Union Women, Peace and Security frameworks, the Beijing+30 processes and the African Human and People’s Rights Commission’s use of a shadow report on Zimbabwe submitted by a coalition of women’s rights organizations. Women’s networks and organizations, including organizations representing young women and women with disabilities, exchanged with regional economic communities on their gender equality commitments, and presented their experiences and recommendations to government representatives, donors, UN agencies and private sector related on issues of financing regional commitments to ending violence against women and girls and ensuring gender-responsive humanitarian action, disaster-risk reduction and climate change. These contributions were facilitated through structured capacity development with women’s rights organizations (WROs) and networks around institutional strengthening and organizational resilience, feminist leadership, advocacy and digital literacy, among other areas. Additionally, financial support to organizations and networks, creation of platforms and convening processes to strengthen coalitions, facilitate knowledge exchange and strategize for joint advocacy enabled organizations and networks to achieve these results. UN Women contributed to these changes by providing financial and technical assistance to regional women’s movements, networks and organizations, with 432 CSOs and WROs working to end VAWG, and implementing humanitarian DRR interventions across East, Southern, and Great Lakes, benefitting from this support. Through UN Women’s convening role, WROs and advocates accessed and contributed to high-level regional and continental WPS platforms and were able to meaningfully and safely participate in six multi-stakeholder dialogues, platforms, and coalitions to advance gender-responsive peace processes and review progress against gender equality commitments in the region. Additionally, six regional women’s rights organizations working to end VAWG accessed financial resources from UN Women which enabled institutional strengthening; the co-creation of a Zimbabwe Maputo Protocol Shadow Report; and an EVAW East and Southern Africa Media Action Group of journalists from 14 countries to advocate on the issue. Organizations were further supported to close evidence gaps through investments in research on what works to address violence against women in university settings and gender-based violence experienced by LGBTIQ+ persons. These initiatives contributed significantly to positioning the expertise of women’s movements, organizations and networks in spaces of influence with regional and national actors, and enhanced their organizational capacities to connect and sustain their work overtime.

Regional women’s movements, networks and organizations use their voice, leadership and agency to hold duty-bearers accountable for their commitments to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls

UN Women ESARO made strong progress on the outcome in 2023. UN Women's initiatives in region have focused on empowering regional women's movements, networks, and organizations to actively engage in holding duty-bearers accountable for their commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. UN Women played a pivotal role in promoting women's economic empowerment through various activities. This included providing technical support at the GIMAC Youth Advocacy Training and partnering with iamtheCODE Foundation for a coding camp in South Africa. These initiatives equipped young women with digital literacy skills and fostered innovation for gender equality. In addition, UN Women ESARO engaged in capacity-building workshops, national-level meetings, and developed advocacy briefs related to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Collaborative efforts with organizations like Organization of Women in Trade (OWIT) focused on building capacity of private sector entities, women’s organizations, and businesses to drive gender equality in trade. In response to the conflict in Sudan, UN Women facilitated advocacy platforms, and technical support groups to Sudanese women. The Kampala Feminist Declaration emerged as a key outcome, consolidating Sudanese women's priorities for peace. These efforts extended to regional and international platforms, including the AU Peace and Security Council and a side event in New York at the margins of the Open Debates. The platforms focused attention to women’s participation in the peace processes identified ongoing challenges and provided practical actions and recommendations for the AU, IGAD and other key actors to enhance women’s participation and leadership within Africa, with experiences and contributions of women from Sudan. UN Women actively contributed to regional coordination efforts, exemplified by its involvement in the Africa pre-CSW68 consultations. These consultations aimed at accelerating gender equality and women's empowerment by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions. The resulting Common Position Document prioritized social and political measures, gender-sensitive financial processes, and investments in women's rights institutions. Recommendations emphasized the need for unified leadership, and strategic participation in events to amplify Africa's voice at the global level. Through strategic collaboration with the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), UN Women has significantly enhanced its role as a thought leader in ending violence against women (EVAW). This was achieved through the development of the Africa Shared Research Agenda for ending gender-based violence (ASRA). Leveraging the influential positions of both UN Women and SVRI as key actors in Africa regarding EVAW, the ASRA capitalized on SVRI’s leadership in EVAW-related research priority-setting and UN Women’s convening and coordination roles across the region.

Regional women’s movements, networks and organizations use their voice, leadership and agency to hold duty-bearers accountable for their commitments to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls

In 2024, regional women’s movements, networks and organizations in East and Southern Africa enhanced their voice, leadership and agency to hold duty-bearers accountable for their commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls by monitoring implementation of Beijing and regional normative frameworks and forming networks for joint advocacy and exchange. This was illustrated through the engagement of diverse organizations in key dialogues, platforms, and coalition-building spaces related to ending violence against women and girls, humanitarian action and disaster-risk reduction, as well as peace processes, Specifically, women’s rights organizations strategized for holding duty-bearers accountable for their commitments via 1) a regional dialogue on feminist funding for EVAWG; 2) a Virtual Roundtable Dialogue on EVAWG Frameworks and Accountability Mechanisms with gender experts from regional bodies, RECs, and CSOs; 3) the Beijing +30 Africa CSO consultations; and 4) a Regional Women’s Forum with WPS experts in the region on their critical role in peacebuilding and via analysis of conflict dynamics in the DRC and Great Lakes Region, proposing gender-responsive strategies to address peace and security challenge. Additionally, two thematic networks were formed to advance joint advocacy and south-south learning: a Civil Society Regional Network (CSRN) to advance advocacy for EVAWG and a network of 24 WLO and Youth Organizations to enhance the leadership and influence of women and youth-led organizations in humanitarian and DRR processes. UN Women supported these developments through capacity development, mentorship, peer to peer learning and knowledge exchange forum, as well as facilitating safe spaces to enhance the meaningful and safe participation of women to engage in regional and intergovernmental decision-making processes.