Implementation

In that respect, the African Union has demonstrated relentless commitment and support for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security, and resolution 1612 (2005), on children and armed conflict. Although those two critical agendas have galvanized important momentum, we must acknowledge the fact that women and children continue to account for the majority of casualties in conflict situations. The public numbers of victims of sexual violence during armed conflict remain horrendous. The African Union has demonstrated the inflexibility of its position on the recruitment and abuse of women and children and sexual violence perpetrated against them by parties to armed conflict. We have a zero-tolerance position when it comes to sexual violence in conflict.

At the national level, several AU States members have demonstrated their commitment to preventing and deterring sexual violence in conflict — by adopting codes of conduct prohibiting sexual violence, through judicial investigations to hold perpetrators accountable and by training police services to better address sexual violence. While the number of women among the uniformed personnel of military and police forces remains limited, the AU leadership still holds the position that proactive steps should be taken by peacekeeping missions to increase the number of civilian positions held by women.

The African Union Commission remains at the forefront of the women and peace and security agenda. The Chairperson early on recognized the valuable advances that we can achieve by including women in the practical and operational responses to peace and security threats. The AU has made the protection of women’s and children’s rights a continental priority, notably by designating, in 2014, Ms. Bineta Diop as the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, and by including the women and peace and security and children and armed conflict agendas in the African Peace and Security Architecture Roadmap 2016-2020.