Joint Statement on the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

• Date: 31 December 2020

To mark the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, OSAA and the APRM, are advocating for the full implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Africa, with women's full, equal and meaningful participation in sustainable development goals (SDGs) planning and domestication at the local, national and regional levels through the effective monitoring and evaluation of SDG 16 within the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs (2020-2030).

The heads of the two entities, Ms. Cristina Duarte from OSAA and Prof. Eddy Maloka from the APRM, acknowledged progress made towards women's inclusion to date, but emphasized that more still needs to be done. UNSCR 1325 was adopted in October 2000 and exclusively recognizes women's right to have a leading role in achieving international peace and security.

Among the milestones achieved by African countries in the last 20 years, women's representation in national parliaments has increased, especially with the African Union (AU) 50:50 parity campaign and the AU gender policy in 2010. Rwanda has exceeded this target, with 64% of parliamentary seats occupied by women, followed by the Seychelles, Senegal, South Africa and Namibia[1] (from 40-44%). However, the share of parliamentary seats at the regional average remains low at only 22.4% for women and 77.6% for men, with a slightly lower average for ministerial positions occupied by women.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, governance, gender, peace and development have become more interlinked than ever before. The pandemic has scaled back...