On 14 March, the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) convened its 1144th session, at ministerial level, to reflect on integrating the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The session was opened by Ambassador Innocent E. Shiyo, Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the AU and AUPSC Chairperson for March 2023. The session also received statements by Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security; Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Women, Peace and Security; Bethlemen Asmamaw representing the AfCFTA Secretariat; Julienne Lusenge, Representative of Women from Democratic Republic of Congo; Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff, Representative of Women from the Republic of Sierra Leone; the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) to the AU and Head of UNOAU; and Awa Ndiaye Seck, UN Women Special Representative to the AU.

Opening the session, Ambassador Innocent E. Shiyo emphasized the importance of integrating the WPS agenda in the implementation of the AfCFTA as well as ensuring the broader participation of women in all decision-making and peace processes on the continent. He highlighted the important role of women in trade and called for the speedy adoption and implementation of the AfCFTA Protocol on ‘women and youth in trade’ which seeks to ensure the socio-economic development of the continent. Commissioner Bankole called on AU Member States to implement policies for the economic inclusion of women and to further combat gender-based sexual violence. He recommended that (i) the AU Commission and its Member States accelerate the ratification and implementation of the Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation as well as its Protocol on Free Movement, (ii) all AU Member States implement the AU’s border management strategy, and that(iii) the AU strengthens its cooperation with the UN on cross-border trade strategies and projects.

Bineta Diop made four recommendations to the PSC, calling for (i) a reduction of violence at borders by implementing specific programs to protect civilians and their livelihoods. She further noted the need to (ii) implement the AfCFTA while applying a WPS approach and taking women’s perspectives into account; and underscored the importance of (iii) strengthening technical and financial support to civil society actors working with women cross-border traders. She also noted the urgency to (iv) sensitize and train military and police personnel at borders on the prevention of gender-based and sexual violence.

In his statement, the SRSG to the AU and Head of UNOAU Head congratulated the AU, its leadership and AU Member States for the progress achieved so far in the implementation of the AfCFTA, and called for an assessment of how trade policies affect women and men in different ways. He observed that one of the objectives of the AfCFTA is to ‘promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality […] of the State Parties’ requiring the establishment of clear benchmarks, which should include: gender-disaggregated indicators on participation in decision-making; and targeted measures for protecting women in cross-border trade from gender-based discrimination or violence.