AUC Gender Directorate, 2016-2018 - AUC Gender Directorate Program Support AUC Gender Directorate, 2016-2019 Support to the AUC Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD). The Swedish financial contribution would go to supporting a Joint Programming and Financing Arrangement together with Canada, USAID, Australia and the UK. This means that Swedish funds will be used to support the priorities of the AUC's gender work according to their strategic plan and annual workplan and budget. 

According to the WGDD, the AU expects to be one of the most progressive organisations in the world in terms of gender, in terms of having enacted pioneering laws and pushing Member States to comply with their commitments. WGDD activities for 2016 and 2017 are pragmatic and focus on putting a set of very specific building blocks in place. For example, a new strategy is going to be defined, which will be in line with Agenda 2063; the fund for African Women will be strenthened as a planning vehicle; the rate of ratification and domestication of the Maputo Protocol will be increased (via a Gender Observatory and the Gender Scorecard): and stronger partnerships and clearer information strategy will be put in place. In addition, the internal capacity of gender isusses within the Commission will also be strengthened. Stöd till AUC:s Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD). Det svenska stödet skulle gå till finansiering av en gemensam programmering / finansieringsarrangemang  (JPA / JFA) tillsammans med bl annat Kanada, USAID, Australien, UK för åren 2016-2018. Detta innebär att svenska medel kommer att användas för att stödja prioriteringarna i AUC:s genderarbetet enligt deras strategiska plan och årliga arbetsplan och budget. 

AU planerar att bli en av de mest progressiva organisationerna i världen vad gäller gender, enligt WGDD. WGDD aktiviteter för 2016 och 2017 är pragmatiska och fokuserar på att sätta specifika byggstenar på plats. Till exempel en klar strategisk inriktning kommer att definieras (dvs ny/uppdaterad jämställdhetsstrategi och policy i linje med Agenda 2063); fonden för Afrikanska kvinnor blir en starkare programmeringsmekanism; takten i ratificeringen och domesticering  av Maputoprotokollet blir snabbare  (via en Gender Observatory och Gender Scorecard); och starkare partnerskap och en tydligare kommunikationsstrategi läggs upp. I linje med detta, kommer Kommissionens förståelse och kapacitet för jämställdhetsfrågor också att stärkas. 

Budgetförslag för 2018 förväntas under första halvåret 2017. The Women, Gender and Development Directorate of the AUC has two projects within the AUC Strategic Plan and Program 2014-2017. This includes: 1. The African Women Economic Empowerment and Gender Parity Project, and 2. The Gender Mainstreaming to achieve Equality and Women's Empowerment Project. The former focuses on gender mainstreaming within the AU, including capacity building of Member States, and the implmentation of the Fund for African Women. The Fund for African Women was set up in 2011 to operationalise the African Women's Decade. It is funded through a 1% assessed contribution from Member States and is one of the designated resource mobilisation vehicles for Agenda 2063 and its Flagship projects.Project 2 focuses on the operationalisation of the AU's governance (AGA) and peace and security architecture (APSA), in addition to following up on the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Right on the Rights of Women in Africa (i.e. the Maputo Protocol).
Thus, this contribution is destined towards supporting activities within the frame work of these two projects.