Happy New Year!

Welcome to the 14th edition of Roadmap to Equality: keeping you updated on regional news and developments. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a healthy, joyous and prosperous 2011.

As we begin 2011, we are encouraged by news that nine SADC countries have ratified with the SADC Secretariat. This means just one more country needs to ratify and the SADC Protocol will come into force. With this step SADC governments will be bound by the Protocol and accountable to its provisions. It will also mean we haven’t taken our eyes off the goal, despite the long hard walk to gender equality. For those countries that have yet to ratify, the Alliance is coming up with a how-to kit to assist in making sure that all countries make the SADC Gender Protocol a legal reality.

In partnership with the SADC Gender Unit and UN Women the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance is organising an expert group meeting from 13-14 February on costing the Protocol. This will be followed by in-country workshops around the region to identify key gaps against the provisions of the Protocol, prioritise and cost key actions. Coordinators of the Alliance in-country and of the key clusters will be invited to serve as judges in the Gender Justice and Local Government Summit to be followed by an Alliance caucus meeting where plans for the costing exercise will be taken forward.

This is one of the most important concrete ways in which we can work towards ensuring that the 2015 targets are met. In the meanwhile, we continue to gather evidence of the Protocol@work. This evidence is vital! In order to remain fresh and relevant to the issues in your country and our region WE NEED YOUR INPUT! To make contributions and comments or to get information, please write to allianceofficer@genderlinks.org.za.

We request that all contributions be submitted by the 20rth of each month in order for us to include your input. Please note that that the e-newsletter goes out on the 1st of every month.