Back to Index

SADC CSO Strategy Paper
SADC Civil Society Organisations
August 17, 2005

SADC CSOs Strategies on Gender:

1. Report backs and awareness raising on the decisions concerning gender taken at the Gaborone summit
2. Work with SADC Gender unit and SADC Parliamentary Forum in conducting consultative workshops at national level on the content of the Protocol
3. Advocacy and lobbying to ensure that the Protocol is ratified at the 2006 summit
4. Ongoing research monitoring and evaluation to ensure effective implementation

SADC CSO strategies to ensure sustained Food Security

1. Early warning and preparedness –
   • That regional CSO’s set up a food security and natural resources management task force that will support SADC CNGOs interphase with the SADC organs.
   • Country level food security CSO actors conduct action oriented research to feed into the SADC CNGO early warning processes.
     
     
2. Mitigation
   • That the SADC CNGO set up a learning and resource centre that not only documents best practice, innovations, and trends related to FS interventions but also facilitates action research on particular regional questions to enhance policy and practice initiatives.
   • Regional and country level CSO actors ensure the documentation and sharing of key lessons, best practice, innovations and emerging trends for sharing and dissemination. This documentation should capture thematic and sectoral perspectives and considerations
     
     
3. Advocacy and Policy Influencing
   • The regional and country CSOs must gather intelligence on existing and proposed SADC processes and instruments that have implications on the regional Food Security situation. SADC CNGO would be the principle vehicle for the implementation of the Civil Society Organizations SADC food security advocacy strategy.
   • Key advocacy messages and specific regional targets should be propelled by the regional and country level CSOs to ensure relevance and appropriateness.

1. State parties should engage civil society stakeholders in consultative processes for the formulation and adoption of legislation and policies on access to information.

2. Civil society should engage state parties in the promotion of a diverse and independent media in their respective countries.

3. Civil society should be engaged in advocacy and lobbying for the promotion and implementation of the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport.

4. Civil society must lobby and advocate for all state broadcasters to be transformed into public broadcasters that serve the interests of the public as opposed to the state.

5. Civil Society should lobby for the establishment of community radio stations in countries where they do not exist in line with the principles outlined in the African Charter on Broadcasting.

SADC CSOs Strategies on Good Governance and Democracy:

1. That SADC NGOs Forum carries out its own study or audit of state of signature, ratification and domestication by each member stat all SADC, AU and International protocols, treaties and instruments that ensure observance of human rights, good governance and democracy and submit same to SADC’s next Heads of State SUMMIT.
2. That SADC NGOs Forum carries out immediate review of the extent of compliance by all member states with principles of SADC and of International law in respect of human rights, democracy and good governance.

SADC CSOs Strategies on Zimbabwe and Swaziland:

• To hold an annual CSOs sub-regional day of reflection and solidarity on Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and in respect of any other country in need of solidarity;
• to focus on the state of separation of powers by holding an annual symposium on the state of administration of justice in the region;
• to hold an annual human rights defenders conference to among other things look at the operating space of civil society organisations, human rights defenders including media practitioners, lawyers and labour movements.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP