The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Social Development Policy Division, is convening the second session of the Committee on Gender and Social Development, to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 11 and 12 October 2017.

The Committee is a statutory body of experts andpolicymakers which provides guidance to and advises ECA on gender and social development issues. In light of its mandate, it will provide a strategic vision and direction to the Division by reviewing activities implemented during the period 2016-2017 and discussing those planned for the biennium 2018-2019. The deliberations of the Committee will result in recommendations to strengthen the ECA subprogrammes on gender and social development to better serve Africa’s member States and its regional and subregional organizations.

The theme for the second session of the Committee, “Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: from planning to implementation of gender and social developmentgoals for inclusive and sustainable development”, provides a framework for the policy discussion. This follows on a discussion begun at the first session of the Committee, held on 17 December 2015, and the second session will offer member States an opportunity to deliberate further on what is required to address gender and social development goals in national planning and implementation processes. The outcome of the second session will contribute to framing Africa’s priorities on gender and social development issues and to aligning planning processes for the effective implementation of programmes. The choice of this theme is informed by the recommendations arising out of the first session of the Committee, in which it specifically recommended the contextualization of global commitments and frameworks, taking into account national development priorities, in particular implementation arrangements for gender and social development goals in Africa. ECA was also urged to support member States to incorporate both the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 into national development frameworks for the effective implementation and monitoring of commitments related to gender and social development goals.

The second session will provide member States with a platform to reflect on structural and emerging gender and social development issues within the overall regional and global development context. In addition, the effective strategies to address gender and social development issues and how the Division could support member States in this endeavour will be discussed.

Recalling one of the recommendations from the first session of the Committee, in which member States requested ECA to provide capacity for the implementation of transformative gender equality, women’s empowerment and social policies, the second session will concern the following specific objectives:

a)       Obtain information from member States on what they are doing in terms of planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and how they are addressing gender and social development issues;

b)       Present the work of the Division on gender and social development goals and receive feedback from member States;

c)       Offer support to member States on the implementation and monitoring of the gender and social development goals and of Agenda 2063.

The work of the second session will be held in plenary sessions in accordance with the attached draft agenda. Thematic presentations will be made by the secretariat followed by plenary discussions in which the Committee will make observations/comments, draw conclusions and make recommendations.

The Committee is comprised of experts from ECA member States drawn from ministries responsible for gender, social development and urbanization. In attendance as observers will be representatives of the African regional economic communities, the African Union Commission and the United Nations system, civil society organizations and academia. The Division serves as convener and secretariat of the Committee.

The second session will be conducted in English and French, with simultaneous interpretation.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Selahattin Selsah Pasali

Associate Economic Affairs Officer\

African Center for Gender

pasali@un.org

+251-115-443-964

Mr. Berhanu Tesfaye

Research Assistant

African Center for Gender

tesfayeb@un.org

+251-115-443-760