Transcript Nairobi EU and Workshop on Social Protection

EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
HARMONISATIN OF SOCIAL PROTECTION
POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES IN THE EAST
AFRICAN COMMUNITY
by
Mrs. Perpetue Miganda
Principal Gender and Community Development Officer
Nairobi, 10th March, 2011
EAC Secretariat
Po Box 1096
Arusha-Tanzania
Introduction
• The East African Community is an Intergovernmental Organisation composed of the
Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, the
United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda.
• The Treaty for the Establishment of the East
African Community was signed in November
1999 by the Heads of State of Kenya, Tanzania
and Uganda. Burundi and Rwanda joined the
Community in July 2007.
Key Pillars of regional integration
1.
2.
3.
4.
Customs Union - Joint administration of a Common
External Tariff (CET) and elimination of all non-tariff
barriers to cross-border trade (commenced on 1st
January 2005 and currently fully fledged).
Common Market - Free movement of goods and
services and all factors of production. The Common
Market Protocol was signed by EAC Heads of State in
November 2009).
Monetary Union - Establishment of a single currency
area : the Task Force in charge of Monetary Union
negotiations has started its meetings.
Political Federation - This is the last stage of the
regional integration process.
Legal Framework for Social
Protection in EAC
• Art. 7 of the EAC Treaty spells out principles that
shall govern the practical achievement of the
objectives of the Community which include
people-centered
and
market-driven
cooperation.
• The Partner States undertake to abide by the
principles of good governance, including
adherence to the principles of democracy, the
rule of law, social justice and the maintenance of
universally accepted standards of human rights
• Article 120 related to Social Welfare
provides for the development and adoption
of a common approach towards the
disadvantaged and marginalized groups,
including children, the youth, the elderly
and persons with disabilities through
education and training.
• The Common Market Protocol signed in
November 2009, in its Article 39, outlines
the harmonization of Social Policies where
the Partner States undertake to coordinate
and harmonise their social policies to
promote and protect decent work and
improve the living conditions of the citizens
of the Partner States for the development
of the Common Market.
• The Partner States shall coordinate and
harmonise their social policies relating to:
• good governance, the rule of law and
social justice;
• promotion and protection of human and
peoples’ rights;
• promotion of equal opportunities and
gender equality;
• promotion and protection of the rights of
marginalised and vulnerable groups;
• promotion of African moral values, social
values and ethics; and
• promotion of unity and cohesion among
the people in the Community.
Social Protection in the Context of
the Common Market
The Common Market allows :
• Free movement of goods;
• Free movement of persons;
• Free movement of labour;
• Right of establishment;
• Right of residence; and
• Free movement of services
The right of establishment and the right of
residence for nationals of the Partner
States therefore require measures to avoid
any disadvantages in relation to social
security which might otherwise arise from
moving from one Partner State to another
• In this regard, there is an annex on Social
Security which is still being negotiated in
order to harmonise the social security
systems in Partner States and fully realize
the free movement of persons and
workers.
• The following branches of social security
are considered:
– medical care;
– sickness benefits;
– maternity benefits;
– invalidity benefits;
– old-age benefits;
– survivors’ benefits;
– benefits in respect of occupational injuries
and diseases; or
– any other benefits.
EAC Gender and Community
Development Framework
The EAC Gender and Community Development was
adopted by EAC in November 2006. It lays on the BPFA,
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination (CEDAW) which was adopted in 1979 by
the UN General Assembly, often described as an
international bill of rights for Women, commits member
states to undertake a series of measures to end
discrimination against women in all forms.
- In the area of community development, the international
guiding instrument is the Copenhagen Declaration on
Social Development which recognizes the significance of
social development and human well-being for all. This
Declaration commits Governments and States to
undertake interventions that focus on poverty
eradication, employment creation and social integration.
Forum of Ministers responsible for
Social Development
• The Council of Ministers established in 2007 a
Forum of Ministers responsible for Social
Development in order to “provide a platform for
East African Ministers of Social Development
to share experience and to harmonize
policies and approaches in management of
cross-cutting social concerns, such as
poverty eradication and overall management
of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”.
• The concept of Social Protection was first
Clearly defined during the Forum of
Ministers during its meeting held in Kigali
in September 2008 and became one of the
key priority areas of cooperation in Social
Development, alongside Gender, youth,
children and community development, the
other priority areas being Health and
Social Services, Education, Science and
Technology, Culture and Sports and,
Environment and Natural Resources.
• .
• The Ministers agreed, among others, on
the promotion of social protection
interventions targeting the poor and
vulnerable groups; development of
appropriate structures, policies and laws to
improve youth participation; increased
opportunities for vocational education and
training; establishment of vulnerability
indices; and capacity building for
communities.
•
•
The Forum of Ministers recommended to Council,
through the relevant Sectoral Councils, to :
“ approve the establishment of a Sectoral Council on
Gender, Youth, Children, Social Protection and
Community Development, considering that under the
existing arrangement these important areas are not
individually being adequately addressed;
require that social protection be fully harmonised and
mainstreamed in all social development programmes
of the EAC and Partner States;
require that social protection for the older persons and
people with disabilities be included as part of the
social development programmes of the EAC and
Partner States”.
PROPOSED EAC SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
During their second meeting held in
Bujumbura from 2th to 7th October 2009,
the Ministers responsible for Social
Development agreed on key priority areas
to compose the EAC Social Development
Framework.
A Draft was developed in August 2010
which will be presented to the 3rd Meeting
of the FMSD.
Current achievements
- Establishment of a Sectoral Council on
Gender, Youth, Children, Social protection
and Community Development;
- Comprehensive Policy and Plan of Action
on Food Security ;
- Comprehensive Climate Change Policy;
(the two policies are under the auspices of Heads of
States);
- Comprehensive Regional Strategic Plan
on HIV and Aids
• Comprehensive Draft Strategic Plan on
Social Protection with the following
targets:
An appropriate Social protection Policy
and legal framework by 2012;
Socio- Economic transformation by 2015;
Social Protection mainstreamed into
Macro sector policies and programmes by
2012
Data and Information available by 2012
Challenges
- Tendency to limit Social Protection in
the context of the Common Market
Protocol;
- Sustainability of the EAC Forum for
Ministers responsible for Social
Development;
- Many policies waiting for approval:
e.g. Draft EAC Social Development
Framework;
• Draft Youth Policy;
• Draft Policy on Persons with Disability;
and
• Draft Strategic Plan with 5 Components:
- Gender
- Youth;
- Children;
- Social Protection ;
- and Community Development
Thank you