Relevant Literature on Human Rights in Africa

African Platform for Action adopted by the Fifth Regional Conference on Women

held at Dakar from 16 to 23 November 1994

VI. FOLLOW-UP MECHANISM FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING OF THE AFRICAN PLATFORM FOR ACTION

135. A flexible assessment and monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the African Platform for Action should be put in place. The emphasis should be on strengthening and capacity-building of the existing national mechanisms preferably the National Preparatory Committees that could monitor and implement the Platform for Action. The different mechanisms should establish linkages at the community, national, regional and international levels in order to assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Platform. At the regional level, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the African Platform for Action should be entrusted to ARCC in close collaboration and consultation with existing IGOs such as PTA, SADC, ECOWAS, etc., as well as the Joint OAU/ADB/ECA secretariat, IPU, UPA and relevant United Nations agencies especially UNIFEM, as stipulated in the existing institutional frameworks. The body should meet annually and should present a progress report to the ECA Conference of Ministers, the OAU Council of Ministers and the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government every two years. There should also be a review of the effectiveness of the delivery of donor programmes related to gender and development.

136. To foster the dissemination of information relating to the process and progress of implementation of the Platform for Action, the Secretariat should publish a regional report on African women. To ensure a better monitoring of the African Platform for Action and other actions for the advancement of women, it would be important to institute a prize-award scheme for the countries on the basis of their performance for the advancement of African women.