Ethiopian Review

Addis Ababa, (WIC) – Members of the African Union Women’s Committee (AUWC) met the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Jean Ping, on 29 April in his office at the AU Head Quarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Committee, led by the Director of Gender at the Commission, Litha Musyimi Ogana, held wide ranging discussions on issues of popularizing the Committee among Member States, getting Member States to ratify the Protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; achieving gender parity within the Commission, among others. They also discussed how the Committee could assist the Commission in moving forward the gender agenda in Member States; as well as progress being made in transforming the Commission into an Authority. Ping informed the Committee that the recent Executive Council meeting in Tripoli discussed the role, composition, functions, financial implications and other important elements of the Authority. He however added that the process is ongoing as it needs to be considered and passed according to the requirements of the AU. The AUWC has been in office since 2006 and its mandate is coming to an end. Members of the Committee congratulated Mr Ping on his election as AUC Chairperson and pledged their full support to the Commission as advisers on gender.
Members of the Committee are drawn from parliaments, cabinets, and civil society.