AWOMI - African Women Millenium Initiative

We African women, from eighteen African countries, gathered at the LIMURU Conference Centre from May 9-10,2005 concerned with,

  • The increasing levels of impoverishment, lack of access to essential services;
  • Lack of women's enjoyment of all human rights- economic, political, civil, cultural and social rights;
  • The Continued plundering of the continent's resources- human, natural, mineral, cultural, financial, agricultural and intellectual;
  • The Continued disregard of human rights instruments, legislations and progressive development frameworks advancing national and international justice;
  • The continued culture of impunity and prevalence of instigated conflict and corruption where women and children are the first victims;
  • The immoral and odious debt, which depletes and derails our development agenda and denies hardworking Africans an honest wage for their labour;
  • The continued rise in the prevalence TB, HIV/AIDS and STIs, malaria and other diseases;
  • Concerned with the effect of the continued legacy of colonialism in governance, nationalism and pan africanism;
  • Continued marginalization of popular grassroots communities, the poor- women and men with disabilities from all decision making processes, advancement opportunities and resource allocation;
  • The possibility that Africa will not have a generation to carry and advance Africa due to war, bad governance and sheer lack of guidance from guardians; and
  • The continued use of African women's lives to inform neo-liberal token agendas.

African women are tired of rhetoric. We want action.

Therefore we demand,

  • African governments stop paying the immoral debt - bilateral and multilateral,
  • The our leaders consult with the population, women in particular before contracting any new debts
  • Trade negotiations must be informed by African realities.
  • Equal participation in governance structures at all levels, especially at the highest levels;
  • Transparent and proper utilization of funds saved from the non-payment of debt;
  • The end to the unnecessary conflicts and wars;
  • Immediate implementation of regional and international rights-based obligations;
  • The different regional economic groupings are harmonized arresting the imposition of external prescriptions and formulas;
  • Gender sensitive budgeting taking into account the need of poor women;
  • That all governments ratify immediately the Optional Protocol on the Rights of Women; and
  • Governments to support the participation of Awomi in the next G 8 meeting at the UN General Assembly.

We demand the dissolution of the WTO, IMF and WB and any other anti people anti development institution or agenda.

Enough is enough!

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