The Division of Gender and Social Affairs in the COMESA Secretariat, exists to provide leadership, direction and oversight of the implementation of the COMESA Gender Policy in the member States and at the Secretariat. The Division sets out to achieve this purpose through mainstreaming of gender within the Secretariat and the COMESA programmes and overseeing the implementation of the Social and Cultural Affairs activities.

In line with Articles 154 and 155 of the COMESA Treaty, and in recognition of the fact that sustainable economic and social development of the region requires the effective participation of women, men and youth, the 7th COMESA Summit of the Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May 2002 adopted the COMESA Gender Policy and the Addis Ababa Declaration on Gender. The COMESA Gender Policy advocates equal and full participation of women in all aspects of COMESA activities and other operations taking place in the region. The Gender Policy emphasizes the principle of Affirmative Action across all spheres of COMESA policies, systems, structures, programmes and activities in order to redress existing gender imbalances.

Affirmative action will be employed to ensure that barriers that prevent women’s participation in core COMESA activities such as trade, the private sector, infrastructure development and science and technology are addressed and removed.

Affirmative action will also be applied to ensure that policies, programmes, projects, administrative procedures and practices of COMESA Secretariat, COMESA institutions, COMESA structures and their budgets are gender sensitive.

The COMESA Gender Policy will also facilitate the engendering of legislation in member States in order to promote women’s access to and control over productive resources such as land, credit, technology and information.

COMESA, policy, will, through multifaceted campaigns, promote awareness of the need to change harmful and negative cultural practices that hinder women’s effective participation in regional programmes and activities. In line with Article 143 of the COMESA Treaty, it will also endeavour to mainstream cross-cutting issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, governance, environment, information, communication and technology, drug abuse and others into all its policies, programmes, structures and operations.