Management Response

: African Union Liaison Office - Ethiopia
: 2023 - 2025 , African Union Liaison Office - Ethiopia (CO)
: Evaluation of the Partnership Between UN Women and the African Union Commission
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African Union Liaison Office - Ethiopia

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The evaluation has identified 10 recommendations for enhanced partnership between UN Women and the African Union Commissions. The recommendations were validated by the Evaluation Reference Group. In addition, during the evaluation report validation workshop, it was suggested that: - The MoU should be explicitly aligned with key AU gender strategies, ensuring that both organizations are working towards a common vision that complements regional policies. - WGYD could serve as the entry point for coordination, while consulting other departments of the AU to gather insights and ensure alignment with their respective goals and needs. - Implementation plan: a key focus should be the development of corporate tools for accountability, such as performance frameworks, progress tracking, and regular reporting. An accountability mechanism should also be included (quarterly reviews, annual reports, and specific KPIs) - It was agreed that coordination between AUC and UN Women should be enhanced by developing and implementing a Partnership Coordination Agreement. - Participants recommended that UN Women take on the central role of coordinating all UN agencies' activities with the AU, ensuring that all agencies work cohesively rather than independently. This would streamline operations and create a more efficient approach to collaboration between the UN system and AUC. - The Gender Scorecard should be used annually to assess the progress of gender mainstreaming across the AU. A dedicated Resource Mobilization (RM) Strategy should be developed to ensure the sustainability of gender-focused programs
: Approved
Recommendation: Develop and renew the MOU for longer period through a participatory process, incorporating evidence-based analysis and evaluation recommendations to enhance partnership effectiveness and focus on key priorities.
Management Response: The AUC and UN Women have established a strong, trust-based partnership over many years, achieving significant gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) outcomes for Africa and its Member States. Their aligned goals and complementary capacities have contributed to this success. However, their collaboration could be enhanced through a well-defined, well-resourced, and long-term framework that better structures joint initiatives. Long-term goals, such as changing norms and reforming policies, require extended interventions, highlighting the need to renew the MOU on a long-term basis. Some stakeholders had low ownership of the MOU, as they were not involved in its development or strategy.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and planning (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Renew the MOU between the AUC and UN women for 3 years incorporating recommendations from this evaluation for improved partnership effectiveness AUC and UN Women 2025/09 Initiated
Develop the new MOU through a participatory and inclusive process, informed by an evidence-based situation analysis which will help in identifying key priority areas of focus. AUC and UN Women 2025/09 Initiated
Recommendation: Anchor the MOU priority areas in the AUC decisions, declarations, and resolutions for increased alignment with the AUC GEWE agenda
Management Response: The MOU priority areas need to be strongly aligned to the live priorities of the AUC as reflected in decisions, declarations and resolutions for increased relevance of the MOU and Joint Strategy to the prevailing context.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Governance and planning (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Oversight/governance
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Include SRHR, unpaid care work, and gender equality in humanitarian and conflict situations in the Joint Strategy, as they are prioritized in the MOU and SDGs. AUC and UN Women 2025/09 Initiated
Recommendation: Strategic Alignment: A chapter or section within the MoU should be dedicated to describing the joint strategy between AUC and UN Women, outlining how the AU's Regional Economic Communities (RECs), member states, and other stakeholders will be involved in the collaboration.
Management Response:
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Description:
Management Response Category: Partially Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Include a section on AUC-UN Women Join Strategy AUC and UN Women 2025/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Institutionalising the planning and operationalisation of the MOU & Joint Strategy
Management Response: The MOU and the Joint Strategy were not operationalised because of the absence of an Implementation Plan; Results Framework; M&E Framework; and a supporting budget. As a result engagement between the two partners was ad-hoc and activity-based instead of being guided by a work plan and a results framework.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Develop and validate corporate tools for implementing the MOU and Joint Strategy through an inclusive, participatory process. This includes creating an Implementation Plan, Results Framework, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, Resource Mobilization Framework, and Implementation Budget. Ensure active participation from key departments and programs in AUC, UN Women, RECs, and stakeholders to promote ownership and accountability. AUC and UN Women 2026/06 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Strengthen the coordination mechanism of the partnership by developing, validating, and implementing a Partnership Coordination Agreement (PCA) (with a mechanism for accountability) through an inclusive, consultative, and participatory process where all key stakeholders and relevant departments within the UN system and the AUC (e.g WGYD; Office of the Special Envoy on WPS; and PAPs) involved. The coordinating entry points for AUC (i.e. WGYD) and the UN System (UN Women) should be well defined and protocols for engagement established and implemented.
Management Response: Coordination in the partnership framework was noted by stakeholders to be poor leading to bilateral engagements between UN agencies and AUC departments and in the process bypassing UN Women Liaison Office and the WGYD. As a result, some departments or units were not aware what the others were doing even though they were implementing programmes with similar outcomes. This has the potential to cause inefficiencies in programming including duplication of activities.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Partially Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: UN Coordination
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Evaluate the PCA annually and address any gaps identified and take course corrective action WGYD and UN Women 2026/09 Not Initiated
Provide a budget for partnership coordination WGYD and UN Women 2026/06 Not Initiated
Organize an event to promote the signing of the MoU, inviting all AUC directorates with ongoing initiatives or future potential collaborations with UN Women. UN Women 2025/09 Not Initiated
Promote awareness of the MOU within the AU GPG and UNLT groups, ensuring they are informed about the existence of this partnership and can leverage it to engage with the African Union on initiatives related to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE). UN Women 2025/12 Not Initiated
Promote awareness of the MOU within the AU GPG and UNLT groups, ensuring they are informed about the existence of this partnership and can leverage it to engage with the African Union on initiatives related to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE). UN Women 2025/12 Not Initiated
Disseminate information about ongoing initiatives related to GEWE to the AU GPG and UNLT groups, ensuring effective circulation of this information within the UN system. UN Women 2025/06 Completed
Recommendation: Undertake Gender Mainstreaming for all the AUC departments
Management Response: Capacity to mainstream gender within the AUC is limited particularly for those units/departments that have not had formal training on gender. Stakeholders noted that although the concept of Gender Focal Points has been introduced in the AUC, it has lost traction over the years and generally GFPs have limited capacity to mainstream gender.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Capacity development
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Conduct Gender Score Card Assessment within all the AUC departments to assess gender mainstreaming capacity levels and gender mainstreaming training needs of these departments. The results of the audit will inform the development of a gender mainstreaming capacity-building strategy. WGYD & UN Women 2025/12 Not Initiated
Develop a concrete long-term gender mainstreaming capacity-building programme, solidly anchored within the institution, owned by its leaders and supported by internal technical capacities of the AUC and UN Women. WGYD 2025/12 Not Initiated
Revitalise the concept of Gender Focal Points within the AUC and capacitate the GFPs through gender mainstreaming training WGYD 2025/12 Not Initiated
Develop an on-line module on Gender Mainstreaming and make it mandatory for all AUC staff (old and new) to go through the course. WGYD and UN Women 2025/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Disability Inclusion in next MoU and its strategy
Management Response: The MOU and its Strategy makes no reference to disability inclusion
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Mainstream disability inclusion in the next MOU, strategy and implementation in line with the Leave No One Behind Principle. WGYD 2025/09 Initiated
Recommendation: Allocate a dedicated budget to support the implementation of the Joint Strategy. Additionally, increase the staffing levels of GWYD and UN Women to align with their extensive mandates. Address the challenges of human resource shortages and high staff turnover, as these hinder the effective implementation of the Joint Strategy.
Management Response: There was no supporting budget for the implementation of the Joint Strategy. Moreover the GWYD and UN Women staff compliment is not commensurate with the huge mandates of the two institutions. Human resources shortage and high staff turnover were noted to be some of the drawbacks to effective implementation of the Joint Strategy.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Develop a joint resource mobilisation strategy, guided by the priority areas in the MOU and Joint Strategy, to support implementation of the MOU Action Plan. WGYD and UN Women 2026/06 Not Initiated
Increase the number of technical support staff for both AUC and UN Women while also exploring a more sustainable way to provide capacity building WGYD and UN Women 2026/06 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Establish a formal framework for seconding technical staff to the AUC to ensure clarity and accountability.
Management Response: There were concerns that some of the seconded staff were overwhelmed by competing and at times conflicting priorities from the multiple institutions that they serve, leading to burnout.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Develop a formalised framework for seconding technical staff to the AUC, with expectations, roles and responsibilities spelt out WGYD 2026/06 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Develop a communication and visibility and knowledge management Strategy owned by both the AUC and UN Women to: 1) ensure continued analysis of the partnership implementation advancement and 2) ensure visibility for the impact of the partnership
Management Response: During the evaluation report validation workshop, the group noted that it is important to have guidance on how to communicate and provide visibility to the partnership to potential stakeholders and development partners – also in view of a resource mobilization strategy
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Jointly develop a Communication, Visibility and Knowledge Management Strategy WGYD and UN Women 2026/06 Not Initiated