Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS)
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Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS)
Headquarters
Geneva
Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS)
Regional Office for Africa
Stele Mermoz Immeuble Rose Appt. No 31C
P.O. Box 45077 Fann
Dakar, Senegal
Tel: (00 221) 860 2048
Fax: (00 221) 860 2047
Email: fas-ong@sentoo.sn
Website: http://www.fasngo.org
Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS)
New York Office
Description
Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) was established in 1996 by a group of women lawyers, judges, academics and entrepreneurs, along with representatives from other NGOs and international organizations. Its goal is to promote and strengthen the role of African women in preventing, managing and resolving conflicts. In order to attain its objectives, FAS has focused on war-torn African countries and other national and regional conflict areas. Further, its activities are promoted and strengthened by a dynamic communications strategy that includes a biannual newsletter that reports on and analyses the role of women in peace initiatives. Additional information dissemination is undertaken by published reports and a website. More specifically, it focuses on the following programmatic areas: Front-line action, Advocacy, Capacity-building, Justice for women and justice for all, Democracy-building, Experience-sharing and networking.
The organization is composed of Members and Associate Members who are drawn from NGOs in 27 African countries and contribute voluntarily to the implementation of the program in the field by conducting training seminars and participating in advocacy activities. From a base in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Secretariat coordinates programs in Africa and serves as a contact point for international organizations, NGOs and donor agencies. The Secretariat was established in Geneva purposefully in order to facilitate its efforts in resource mobilization and to maximize the visibility of African women’s initiatives at the international level. Given its mandate, it has regional offices in Dakar, Senegal and New York, USA. The Senegalese office is strategically hosted by the Government of Senegal.
Track Record
In slightly over a decade since FAS was created in Geneva, it has impacted the African peace arena. Arguably, most of its achievements have come in partnership with others. These include:
Networking: In recognition of the value of networking at the sub-regional, regional and international levels, it has built strong networks with NGOs and managed to support women’s peace activities by strengthening local organizations and advocating greater awareness of women’s efforts to democratize decision-making procedures. It has additionally championed engendering the peace process which is vital for establishing an environment conducive to equality, justice and the lasting absence of conflict.
Peace Network: One of its key contributions at the sub-regional level in collaboration with sub-regional organizations is what is commonly referred to as the Mano River program that culminated in the creation of the Mano River Women’s Peace Network (MARWOPNET) in May 2000. With refugee flows into Guinea from Sierra Leone and Liberia reaching unprecedented levels, MARWOPNET played a critical role in preventing the outbreak of hostilities between the three countries by bringing their leaders back to the negotiating table. Following this major breakthrough, in December 2003, the UN General Assembly awarded MARWOPNET the prestigious United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.
At the regional level, together with the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD), they organized the Consultation on Gender Mainstreaming and the Effective Participation of Women within the African Union in June 2002 in Durban, South Africa, prior to the opening of the first AU Summit. The results of the consultations were included in AU policies, programs and structures, including NEPAD, and the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA). The recommendations led to the adoption by the Assembly of Heads of State of a gender parity proposal for 50 percent participation of women in all AU organs. Africa is now the only continent in the world to have made such a commitment to gender mainstreaming within its continent-wide body.
At the international level, FAS has partnered with others and successfully lobbied for and embraced the adoption of Resolution 1325 by the UN Security Council in October 2000. In particular, they contributed their experiences of the effects of war on women in the Mano River and Great Lakes regions to the Security Council debate on Women, Peace and Security that led to the adoption of the resolution which acknowledges that war affects women differently from men, and that their protection is neglected and their contributions to peace building marginalized.
Given its exceptional achievements, it has been recognized internationally by having its executive director, Bineta Diop, chair the Committee on the Status of Women’s (CSW) Working Group for Peace, a part of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations (CONGO). Through this it assists in the monitoring of Resolution 1325.
Moreover, it has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and observer status with the African Commission for Human and People's Rights (ACHPR). It is also represented in the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD), created by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to bring women's voices into the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa.
It has also championed the Gender is my Agenda Campaign, as a response to implement the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) adopted in 2004 in Addis Ababa by African Union heads of states and government summit. These networks were the force behind the gender parity principle enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union adopted earlier in Durban in 2002 and applied in 2003 in Maputo during the elections of the Commissioners of the African Union.
Noting the importance emphasizing gender in advanced training and research on peace building and development issues, the organization established the Pan African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development as one of the centers of excellence in Africa. The program targets key peace building practitioners and social development. It seeks to strengthen the capacity of Africans to address Africa's pressing problems. The Centre rolled out its first programs in 2006 in partnership with the University of Peace (UPEACE).
In addition to the above, it rolled out the African Gender Forum, which is a bi-annual forum that offers a unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas and experiences between women in Africa and other regions of the world. The forum also has auxiliary functions of hosting the bi-annual African Gender Award given to an African leader who demonstrates outstanding achievement in encouraging peace and development through the implementation of gender-sensitive measures. The recipients of the first Award were President Wade of Senegal for leading the decision on the gender parity policy in the AU Commission in 2002 and President Mbeki of South Africa who, as AU Chairman in 2003, implemented this decision and adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in 2003.
In an effort to replicate its experiences, FAS began identifying and documenting best practices celebrated during its various missions to illustrate women’s capacity to confront issues collectively, to mobilize communities to challenge violent conflict, and to establish best practices in promoting a culture of peace and tolerance. This grew out of a recognition that most institutional and policy frameworks for conflict resolution view women as vulnerable victims of violence and fail to appreciate their potential as agents of change. Some of these best practices are:
- In Niger, during the coup d’état, women prepared to sacrifice their own lives to protect the men of their families, women lay down in the entrances of their homes and told the soldiers that they would have to go over their bodies first before entering their homes to kill their men.
- In Chad, Women joined forces on the issue of peace and sent a document called the Franceville Appeal to all parties to the conflict that influenced successful discussions in the Franceville negotiations.
As part of the peace process in Liberia and Mali, women embarked upon disarmament campaigns and helped to collect weapons from ex-combatants, while in Tunisia, they created a Caravan for Peace in order to reach out to isolated communities to provide services and goods for their basic needs. The African Women’s Peace Movement, formed the Peace Torch that was transported by the Caravan for Peace. The Caravan traveled from Dakar throughout Africa and on to its final destination in the Global Peace Tent at the Beijing Women’s Conference. This initiative is now recognized worldwide as a symbol of peace and tolerance.
This track record makes it clear that the work of FAS could not have been possible without the involvement of other organizations. To sustain the programs, it drew support from various quarters including UN agencies ; financial institutions , governments , African institutions , foundations , cooperation agencies and NGOs. It also collaborated with like-minded regional and subregional organizations such as UPEACE, ECA, ACHPR and MARWOPNET.
Challenges
In the face of the immense successes so far attained by FAS, its major challenge remains how to develop sufficient capacity to sustain the momentum it has created in partnership with others in front-playing women initiatives in the peace processes. So far FAS’s focus has mainly been on war torn countries. The potential of ethnic conflicts over sharing of natural resources and marginalization is constant. The organization is challenged to influence other women organizations to participate in the continent’s peace processes.
While it is on record that at its leadership it successfully lobbied the adoption by AU of a gender parity of 50 percent, its biggest hurdle is how this critical aspect will be operationalized given that women are still underprivileged in many areas; worst of all, in education and training. Gender parity will not be attained just by affirmative action! Participation at the sub-regional, regional and national levels is a prerequisite for involvement at top AU organs.
In regard to peace, it is apparent that government leaders especially Heads of State play a significant role towards peace and development. While it is admirable that awards are received by such leaders, if the strings of awards go to such leaders, the African Gender Award might risk portraying peace and development as only achievable by Heads of State. This scenario may jeopardize the involvement of many other leaders (in their own right) who actually are important vessels in the peace process especially, prevention of conflicts. The imminent challenge is how to gain the most from the award by spreading its impact to many in the communities without losing sight of the likely perpetrators of conflicts.
Since Africa has had its large share of conflicts many of which have been armed, the importance of the Centre for Gender, Peace and Development cannot be overemphasized. At the moment the challenge is how to replicate the centers of excellence and spread the benefits they generate.
Opportunities
The accomplishments of FAS show how a women’s organization can evolve by impacting whole communities and in some instances nations by helping them attain peace. It is obvious that this emanated from established strong operational linkages with its members across most of Africa and Western allies. While this is laudable, it is evident that its peace and development mandate and drive far much surpasses its human and institutional capacity. Building sufficient capacity to consistently sustain the momentum is an important opportunity for cooperation partners.
Further opportunities for African governments are generated by the implementation of the gender parity proposal for 50 percent women involvement in all AU organs. Governments and the private sector could consider fast tracking women participation in development at the sub regional, regional and national levels as a preparation for participation in top AU organs.
Donors, and in particular private foundations, could make significant contribution in strengthening FAS peace and development initiatives by:
- Providing financial support for the construction of the Centre for Gender, Peace and Development and institutional strengthening.
- Funding to enhance the secretariat’s capacity to champion peace processes; and,
- Project-based funding to support the peace process across the continent.
