Session 4: AU policy coherence and policy platforms “Winning the fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa” Session 4: AU policy coherence and policy platforms

Statement of Problem Magnitude of problem of corruption; Complex problem; Pervasive – all sectors implicated; Multiplicity of actors (public, private, NGO, community, family etc; Historical, Political, Strategic, Development, Moral, Human Rights, Justice - imperative; Urgency to address problem of corruption on the continent; Collective problem – institutions and individuals; Leadership challenge and opportunity to lead by example; Policy coherence – BCP – privilege and responsibility.

Issue for determination Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD); 3 (three) institutional mechanisms ( STC on Gender and Women Empowerment); AU Gender Pre-Summit; High Level panel on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (HLP on GEWE); Purposes of engaging and consulting relevant stakeholders on gender and empowerment issues; Joint aim – to influence decisions of AU Policy Organs. Range of issues, options generated; Feed into the decision-making of AU Policy Organs (PRC, Ex. Council, Assembly).

Issue for determination contd. ACHPR – Rapporteur on women; gender, human rights, corruption. Concluding Observations; AfCHPR – gender, corruption and justice; amicus curiae; AUABC – corruption; mainstreaming gender with justice; ACERWC – African child, gender; youth, corruption – General Comments. PAP – strengthening national parliaments to address gender and corruption – Model laws. APRM – governance index; data-gathering for fight against corruption.

Issue for determination contd. Need for the creation of cohesion of various efforts Are there gaps/overlaps between the efforts of these platforms? How can these overlaps be synchronized? How can these gaps be filled? How can the various platforms work more efficiently and synergistically?

Session Objectives 1. Policy Coherence can be applied as tool to help the gender movement to pull its efforts together; 2. Work of AUC - institutional reform project; 3. Case Study on Policy Review of AUC / Organs; 4. Using policy coherence to coalesce efforts of gender platforms.

Background Heads of State and Government – Institutional Reform of the African Union (AU); Retreat of Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Finance – Kigali, Rwanda – 16 July 2016; Task of preparing study was assigned to H.E. Paul Kagame, Rwanda; Report gave rise to number of findings and recommendations; Built on an earlier study of Adedeji Report (2007); Outcomes of Mekelle Retreat (2016); Assembly/AU/Dec. 635 (XXVIII); Driving the institutional reforms at the Commission.

Justification for Institutional Reform at the AUC Numerous normative commitments, weak implementation; Fragmentation of institutions, agencies and platforms; Multitude of focus areas; Overlapping mandates; Silo implementation of programmes; Weak management capacity; Unclear division of labour between organs, agencies, departments structures of the AU; Inefficient working methods; Weak co-ordination mechanism. Weak monitoring of results; Disjointed reporting of outcomes.

Re-configuration of the Bureau of the Chairperson AUC Chairperson – assumes office March, 2017; Re-arranging of portfolios within advisory team of the AUC Chairperson; Establishment of an Institutional Reform Unit in the office of the Chairperson reporting directly to the Chairperson Establishment of a new portfolio – Policy Coherence; Technical portfolio – support to the reform process; Identify the scope of the challenge, identify issues and propose options for reform; Time-line for implementation of different aspects of incoherence.

Concept of Policy Coherence Both a goal and an approach; Goal – meant to get policies to speak to each other; also, institutions to speak to each other; efforts to coalesce. Approach or a process – it provides a logical method that can be used to review and analyze policies and institutions to identify areas of incoherence; Seeks to achieve synergies and complementarities; Aims to fill gaps between different policy areas and to string together efforts of different actors into one cohesive and comprehensive outcome.

Policy Coherence Review between the AUC and other AU Organs Case study 1 (JUNE 2017 – MARCH 2018)

Scope of the Issue Statutes of the African Union establish a multiplicity of organs: Policy Organs - Permanent Representative Committee (PRC), Executive Council and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, Peace and Security Council (PSC); Executing Organ – NEPAD (developmental agency of the Union; Legislative Organ – PAP (Pan-African Parliament); Judicial Organ – African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR); Quasi-Judicial Organs – African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR); Advocacy Organ – African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC); Advisory Organ – Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC); Monitoring Organ – African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM); Knowledge Generating Organ – AU Commission on International Law (AUCIL)

Statement of the Problem Multiplicity of Organs; Similar Mandates; Opportunity for complementarity; Are the organs speaking to each other? Are the policies positions, outputs and outcomes speaking to each other? Are there platforms or mechanisms available for coalescence of efforts? Are these platforms being utilized? Is value being derived from these platforms? How are the results of collaboration, complementarity or synergy being reported?

Approach and Methodology Step 1 : Literature review of indicators of institutional coherence; Step 2 : Develop a policy coherence framework: Step 3 : Desk-top review of the statutory mandates of each of the organs; Step 4 : Analysis of points of overlap in mandate; Step 5 : Developed a Mapping of overlapping mandates; Step 6 : Constitute a Technical Working Group comprising focal persons; Step 7 : Conduct one-on-one interviews with focal persons; Step 8 : Report on issues and options.

Policy Coherence Mapping Framework Functional Areas AUC PAP ACHPR AfCHPR ACERWC AUABC APRM ECOSOCC Agenda-setting X Policy formulation Programme formulation Programme Implementation Programme M & E Programme Reporting Budget and financial reporting Knowledge generation Information dissemination Partnership Development

Output Two key outputs: Issues Paper – different mandates, interlinked, necessary; programme and budget planning disjointed; monitoring weak; reporting disjointed; co-ordination (AGA). Options Paper – (a) Strengthen AGA Platform; (b) Knowledge Management; (c) Joint Reporting.

Personal Recommendations Campaign against corruption that starts at the top – leading by example; African Union Commission (AUC) – at the helm of the continent; Network of Women in the AUC that are concerned about corruption; Put commitment where our mouth is, and initiate an institution-wide compact against corruption in the public sector – beginning with ourselves; Sign anti-corruption pledges; Use digital platforms available to give momentum to the campaign and elevate it to crusade levels. Hashtag#It begins with me. Mentorship programme – each woman in leadership position in the African Union will take an agreed number of women under their wing – build leadership capacity to build stronger institutions.