8 July 2004

In a coup for women's and children's rights on the continent, the African Union (AU) has agreed to launch a campaign to ban the recruitment of child soldiers and war crimes against women within 12 months.

Heads of state and government meeting at the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week also vowed to champion the cause against trafficking women and girls for prostitution, to speak out against gender-based violence, and to establish an African trust fund for rural women empowerment initiatives.

"We hereby also agree to reinforce legal mechanisms that will protect women at national level and end impunity on crimes committed against women in a manner that will change ... the attitude and behaviour of African society", the leaders said in a statement.

The leaders also committed themselves to "actively promote the implementation of legislation to strengthen women's land, property and inheritance rights".

African women will also be afforded a prominent role in conflict resolution by being appointed as AU special envoys and representatives to trouble spots on the continent.

This is victory for the women of Africa, who met on the sidelines of the summit last week to voice their impatience with the ongoing conflicts on the continent.

The women pointed out that in most conflicts, they faced much more hardship from being used as sex slaves, resulting in trauma, depression, displacement and loss of their families.

They argued that their involvement in peaceful conflict resolutions would save Africa millions of dollars in refugee maintenance and medical treatment for women, children and soldiers injured during wars, and also demanded a role in post-conflict rehabilitation and compensation of war victims.

According to Bineta Diop, who facilitated the women's meeting, women are powerful in that they traditionally link different families and communities, an "effective" approach that could build bridges and diffuse tensions among diverse communities.

Source: BuaNews

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