Highlights

Participation of the Center of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting at the 61st Session of the Commission on the Women’s Status from March 13th to 24th 2017, New York, USA

13/03/2017
Participation of the Center of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting at the 61st Session of the Commission on the Women’s Status from March 13th to 24th  2017, New York, USA

The Center of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting, under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, organized, March 13th 2017 at the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York, a round table with the support of the UN-Women On the theme of equality financing within the framework of the sustainable development agenda 2030. This event was held on the sidelines of the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61).

This meeting is a continuation of the Addiss-Ababa Action Plan, the outcome of the Third Conference on Development Financing (July 2015), which identified the development finance policy avenues to ensure financing for sustainable development. It was attended by panellists from Austria, Mexico, Kenya, Tunisia, UN-Women. Morocco was represented by Mrs. Nadia BENALI, National Director of the Center of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting.

Morocco’s adoption of the new sustainable development agenda for 2030 was, according to the participants, a major step in favor of accelerating the achievement of gender equality. The objectives of this 17-day agenda are to reduce all forms of discrimination against women in terms of access to basic social services, the enjoyment of the results of economic growth, And in terms of the empowerment of women and girls.

Currently, Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is becoming a strategic approach in Morocco that explicitly aims to restore inequality and discrimination in the planning and budgeting process.

In her presentation, Mrs. Nadia BENALI stated that the success of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in Morocco was largely associated to the institutionalization of gender mainstreaming by integrating it into the Organic Finance Act (LOF). Mrs. BENALI pointed out that Article 39 of the (LOF) provided for the production of gender-sensitive projects and indicators.

The National Director of the Center of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting explained on this occasion that the (GRB), introduced in Morocco in the 2000’s, is a mechanism for monitoring budget allocations for equality financing. She pointed out that it is a statistical and budgetary tool that can be used to determine the credits allocated to women, children, reduction of spatial inequalities, solve problems related to environmental concerns and so on. He added that article 30 of the (LOF) also establishes an obligation for the government departments to present their budgets by regions in order to detect the overall budgetary effort of the State in terms of reducing territorial disparities.

Mrs. BENALI believes that for (GRB's) sustained effectiveness, it is necessary to adopt an indicator of budgetary allocations for equality and equity financing, which should reach 30% of the total of the budget allocations assigned to all government departments by 2030.

The National Director of the Center of Excellence for Gender Responsive Budgeting clarified that this rate is currently at 10%, and stressed the need to establish a system to favour Ministries that have integrated gender sensitivity into their strategic processes and planning.

Mrs. BENALI, thus, asserted that ten Moroccan ministerial departments have been technically + gendered +, that is to say that they are provided with indicators and draft programs related to gender. For some of these departments, including health and social development, almost one third of the budget is allocated to gender projects.

It should be stressed that, following the round table organized by the Center of Excellence with the support of UN-Women, a number of conclusions and recommendations were put forward: • the (GRB) is to be based on the notion of performance as a key tool in the public management but also in defining the strategies of the government departments;

  • The success of the (GRB) must be linked to its institutionalization in Morocco. It is Article 39 of the (LOF) that encourages the production of gender-sensitive projects and indicators;
  • The approach is progressive and pragmatic because the preparatory process of gender is multi-year and is favorable for making adjustments;
  • The need to adopt an indicator of budget allocations for equality and equity financing, which should reach 30% of the total budget appropriations assigned to all government departments;
  •  An inventive system need to be set up to favour departments that have incorporated gender sensitivity into their strategic and planning processes;
  • A mechanism for the traceability of budgetary appropriations for the financing of equality and their final destination;
  • The mobilization of international financing with the inclusion of gender-sensitive indicators as conditions for granting and releasing funds;
  • The introduction in the (GRB) of a gender-based process of spending linked to public subsidies, public investment and equipment, direct public aid granted by the State, public procurement and the impact of taxation on the achievement of equality.