Final Communique

The Ministries of Women Affairs from the 15 Ecowas Member states, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, met in Banjul from the 12th to 13th May 2008 at the invitation of the Ecowas Gender Development Centre (EGDC) in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of The Gambia.

Concerned about the widespread gender disparities and inequalities existing in the Ecowas region, in spite of the efforts that have been made in our countries;

Conscious that the major challenge facing the Ecowas region has to do with increasing the participation of women in the development process;

Convinced that the attainment of gender equity and equity is an imperative for the sustainable development of the Ecowas region;

Taking into consideration the Ecowas Strategic Vision, which seeks to convert West Africa into a borderless region where the citizens can create and avail themselves of opportunities for sustainable production by harnessing the enormous resources of the region;

Satisfied with the high quality of the Gender Centre's work in Ecowas Member states and the leadership role it is playing in the promotion of gender equity and equality in the Ecowas region;

Considering the need to breath a new lease of life into the efforts to attain gender equity and equality in the Ecowas region by providing the Ecowas Gender Development Centre with the necessary support to effectively execute its mandate;

Recognizing the need to make the Ecowas Gender Development Centre a centre of Excellence capable of providing first-hand information and technical expertise on areas that are relevant to gender, regional integration and development in the Ecowas region;

Recognising the importance of the Gambia High Level forum (GHLF) and aware of the need to influence the process,

Do hereby make a commitment to:

.  Adopt the Ecowas Gender Development Centre's Strategic Plan 2009 - 2013, as the main tool for the promotion of gender equity and equality in the Ecowas region;

.  Support the Ecowas Gender Development Centre to take all the necessary measures for the effective implementation of the strategic plan;

.  Strengthen the mechanisms of cooperation between our Ministries and the Gender Centre with the view to enchanting the promotion of gender equality in the Ecowas region;

.  Call on the Ecowas Council of Ministries to adopt the EGDCwh Strategic Plan 2009 - 2013;

. Call on the Ecowas Commission to provide the Gender Centre with the human, financial and material resources necessary for its smooth functioning and the effective execution of its mandate;

.  Call on the Ecowas Commission to proceed, as a matter of urgency, with the recruitment of the requisite staff of the Gender Centre in order to facilitate the effective implementation of the strategic plan;

.  Call on the Ecowas Council of Ministries to recognise the Consultative Committee as an advisory body of the Gender Centre;

. Call on the Ecowas Commission and the Council Ministries to create space for the Minister responsible for Women's Affairs of the country chairing Ecowas to be allowed to inform the Heads of States on the general situation in the Ecowas sub-region at each Summit of Heads of State and Government;

.  Call on the Heads of State to include the Ministers responsible for Women's Affairs in the ministerial delegation to the Ghana High Level Forum scheduled for September 2008, and to involve institutions responsible for gender matters in Ecowas members states in the consultation process before, during and after the Ghana Forum;

.  To support Ecowas Heads of State and Government in the creation of an enabling environment for the attainment of gender equity and quality in the Ecowas region.