Civil society strengthens partnership with new advisory group in Eastern and Southern Africa
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The UN Women Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) has announced the formation of its Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) comprised of eminent civil society representatives from across the region– the first regional group of its kind in Africa.
Welcoming the 12 members drawn from various regional and country-level organizations, UN Women ESARO’s Regional Director, Christine Musisi, underscored the critical role played by civil society in advocating for gender equality and women’s empowerment: “The CSAG will provide a forum to enable mutual beneficial consultations between UN Women and civil society and draw upon the rich and diverse expertise, experience, outreach and networks, perspective and knowledge that civil society offers.”
After their first meeting that took place in early August, the CSAG members agreed on a number of key joint initiatives including participation of civil society in the regional Beijing+20 review process as well advocating for the implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern in the Beijing Platform for Action.
Since the creation of the first CSAG -the Global Group in 2012- UN Women has established 37 Civil Society Advisory Groups at the global, regional and country levels. These fora are established by UN Women to promote sustainable partnerships with civil society to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. The CSAGs will be key partners for UN Women in ensuring a successful review process for the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action contributing to the political, social and media mobilization, as well as to the regional review processes.
