PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES’ COMMITTEE TWENTY-FIVE … Rpt (XXV) _E.pdf · PRC/Rpt(XXV) Page 1 REPORT OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES’ COMMITTEE

AFRICAN UNION

UNION AFRICAINE

UNIÃO AFRICANA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia P. O. Box 3243 Telephone: 5517 700 Fax: 5517844 Website: www. Africa-union.org

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES’ COMMITTEE TWENTY-FIVE ORDINARY SESSION 21 - 22 JANUARY 2013 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

PRC/Rpt(XXV) Original : English/French

REPORT

PRC/Rpt(XXV)

TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1

SECTION II: CONSIDERATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSION FOR 2012 – EX.CL/755(XXII) ................................................................................ 7

SECTION III: CONSIDERATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRC ON THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS DECISIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AND THE ASSEMBLY – EX.CL/756(XXII) ................................................................... 14

SECTION IV: CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF PRC SUB-COMMITTEES ........ 17

SECTION V: CONSIDERATION OF THE PROGRESS REPORT ON THE DRAFT STRATEGIC PLAN 2014-2017 FOR THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION - EX.CL/753(XXII) .......................................................................................... 42

SECTION VI: CONSIDERATION OF THE ISSUE OF REVISION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE RELATING TO THE PROCESS OF ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION - EX.CL/754(XXII) ............................... 42

SECTION VII: CONSIDERATION OF THE STATUTES OF THE PAN-AFRICAN UNIVERSITY (PAU) – EX.CL/757(XXII)....................................................... 45

SECTION VIII: OTHER REPORTS ...................................................................................... 47

SECTION IX: CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEES OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ....................................................................... 77

SECTION X: ELECTIONS ................................................................................................ 77

SECTION XI: CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF OTHER AU ORGANS .............. 78

SECTION XII: ITEMS PROPOSED BY MEMBER STATES ................................................ 82

SECTION XIII: ANY OTHER BUSINESS ............................................................................. 95

SECTION XIV: DATE AND VENUE OF THE 23rd ORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ............................................................................... 95

SECTION XV: ADOPTION OF THE DECISIONS OF THE 22ND ORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ....................................................................... 95

SECTION XVI: CONSIDERATION OF THE DRAFT DECISIONS AND DECLARATIONS OF THE 20TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY ............................... 95

SECTION XVII: CONSIDERATION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA OF THE 20TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY ................................................................... 95

SECTION XVIII: ADOPTION OF THE REPORT ................................................................... 95

SECTION XIX: CLOSING CEREMONY ............................................................................... 96

PRC/Rpt(XXV) Page 1

REPORT OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES’ COMMITTEE (PRC)

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION

1. The Twenty-Five Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee

(PRC) was held from 21 to 22 January 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the

chairpersonship of H.E. Ferdinand Montcho, Ambassador of the Republic of Benin in the

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chairperson of the Permanent

Representatives’ Committee (PRC).

2. However, as is the practice, the PRC had earlier held preparatory meetings from

09th to 18th January 2013 under the Chairpersonship of H.E. Ferdinand Montcho,

Ambassador of the Republic of Benin and H.E. Mull S. Katende, Ambassador of the

Republic of Uganda, 1st Vice-Chairperson of PRC and H.E. Mokhtar Chaouachi,

Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia and 2nd Vice-Chairperson of the PRC, during

which it:

i) Reviewed and adopted the Work Programme for the preparatory meetings of

the PRC; ii) Reviewed and updated the draft agendas of the PRC, the 22nd Ordinary

Session of the Executive Council and the 20th Ordinary Session of the

Assembly as well as the draft Programme of Events;

iii) Considered several working documents on the items proposed for

consideration by the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the

20th Ordinary Session of the Assembly alongside the corresponding Draft

Decisions, in accordance with Rule 4:1 (c) of the Rules of Procedure of the

PRC.

3. In the course of the preparatory meetings, the PRC welcomed two new members namely H.E. N. Ntshinga, Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa and Permanent Representative to the AU and H.E. Manuel Jose Gonçalves, Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique and Permanent Representative to the AU. 4. During its preparatory meeting of Friday 11th January 2013, the PRC also had the opportunity to be briefed by Officials of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (the Director General of State Protocol and the Chief of National Security) on the logistic, protocol and security arrangements for the 20th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union. several delegations took the floor and raised the following concern:

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i) Denial of access to members of PRC accompanying their Heads of State into the VIP Holding Room at the AU Conference venue;

ii) The current format of 1 plus 4 at the close session was very restrictive and there was need to increase this number;

iii) Movement of members of the PRC should be facilitated to enable them to

be on time at their destinations during the Summit;

iv) Diplomatic missions should be informed by the Host Country on the status of road access during the Summit, in view of the on-going road construction in the city;

v) There is a problem of inadequate signage for the different meeting rooms,

making it difficult for delegations to easily identify the different meeting venues;

vi) Personal security of the Heads of State delegations is allowed a maximum

of 5 side-arms. Whether there is any restriction on the number of rounds of ammunition allowed, in order for missions to advise their capitals accordingly?

vii) Hike in Hotel rates and payment of mandatory number of days should be

avoided;

viii) Delegations should be allowed to check the suitability of rooms reserved for their Heads of State and government;

ix) Welcomed the proposal for advance parties to be linked to the National

Committee Secretariat for prior briefing on Summit arrangements.

5. In response to the questions raised and observations made, the representatives of the Host Country and the Secretary General of the Commission provided clarification as follows:

i) Access to the VIP Holding Room in the Conference Centre by members of PRC would be facilitated with the understanding that the PRC members would not stay in the room due to limited space;

ii) Delegates with no access to the Plenary Hall can follow proceedings on the screens in other rooms. It should be noted that at times badges for closed sessions are no guarantee for access to the Plenary, e.g. during election of the Commission when strict restrictions are imposed;

iii) Further reflection needs to be undertaken to determine the revised number

of delegates to be accredited per delegation;

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iv) The National Organizing Committee would take up with the hotels proprietors, the issue of mandatory number of days paid for hotel accommodation and price hike during Summits;

v) Challenges of mobility on the roads was acknowledged, and security

authorities urged missions to send flight information of the Heads of State and delegations to facilitate planning;

vi) In case of bilateral meetings that over-run time schedules, arrangements

can be made. Delays in scheduled movement of Heads of State should be avoided, for security reasons. Diplomatic missions are urged to advise their delegations on the necessity to adhere to the schedule prepared by security officials;

vii) Concerned security operatives are well aware of the requirements of

ammunition, so there would be no need for specific briefings to Member States’ capitals on this.

6. In conclusion, members of the PRC were given assurances that the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia would spare no efforts to ensure smooth and appropriate arrangements for the Summit and to address the various issues that were raised in order to improve on the overall organization of the event. An information booklet on the logistic arrangements was subsequently distributed to Member States as promised by the Ethiopian officials during the briefing.

a) OPENING CEREMONY

i) Statement by H.E. Ferdinand Montcho, Ambassador of the Republic of Benin in Ethiopia and Chairperson of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC)

7. In his opening statement, the Chairperson of the PRC extended a warm welcome

to all participants and guests and wished them the best for the New Year 2013. He

commended the Committee for the work accomplished as well as the commitment and

cooperation demonstrated during the preparatory work of the 25th Ordinary Session.

8. He explained the double context in which the forthcoming 20th Ordinary Session

of the Assembly was taking place; namely the Political-economic context as well as the

Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU, with respect to the political-

economic context, the cited the conflicts on the continent with particular references to

the occupation of North Mali by terrorists, the coup d’Etat in Guinea Bissau, the conflict

between the Sudan and South Sudan, the crisis in North Kinu in the DRC as well as the

recent developments in Central African Republic. He regretted that these conflicts under

mind the significant strides made in the continent in the area of Peace and Security. On

the economic front, he observed that although the 2012 UN report indicates an overall

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growth in the economies of African Countries, this growth has not been translated into

an improvement of the wellbeing of the African people. He underscored the importance

of intera-African Trade as a means of transforming the economy of the continent.

9. The second context within which the January 2013 Summit was taking place was

the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU, which would offer an opportunity

to pay homage to the founding fathers of the organization as well as a Platform for

reflection on how to move the continent’s agenda forward in the next 50 years. In this

regard, the Chairperson of the PRC, acknowledged the work done, so far by the

Commission, in collaboration with the PRC and Ethiopia, the Host Country.

10. He highlighted the main issues that would be the focus of the forthcoming Summit

such as the draft AUC and AU wide strategic plan, AU Strategic Partnerships, the review

of modalities for election of members of the Commission, the question of refugees; on

which the PRC would be making appropriate recommendations to the Executive Council

and the Assembly and on this note, wished all participants fruitful deliberations.

ii) Opening Remark by Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the

African Union Commission 11. In her statement on the occasion of the Opening Session of the 25th Ordinary

Session of the PRC, the Chairperson expressed appreciation for the warm welcome

accorded her by the PRC on assuming duty in October 2012, and looked forward to

working closely with the PRC, and looked forward to the envisaged PRC/Commission

Retreat which would provide the opportunity for brainstorming on issues.

12. Dr. Zuma noted that the meeting was taking place in the context an African

continent increasingly seen as the continent of the future, and applauded the prominent

role that women are playing in running the affairs and shaping the destiny of the

continent.

13. With regard to the challenges facing the continent, the Chairperson noted that in

addition to a resurgence of conflicts and unconstitutional changes of government, there

are backlogs in infrastructure, education, health and other basic services. These

challenges are compounded by the collapse in negotiations on global trade issues and

climate with serious consequences for Africa.

14. In terms of taking forward the continental agenda, the Chairperson outlined a

number of critical priority areas in which Member States and the RECs need to speed up

implementation. These priority areas form the pillars of the continental vision, and shall

also form the basis of the AU Commission’s Third Strategic Plan of 2014-2017, which

will be developed through a consultative process.

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15. The Chairperson, called for enhancement of the operational efficiency of the

operating under enabling working conditions that would allow staff to be proud

representatives of the continental agenda.

16. On the acceleration of the integration and developmental agenda, the

Chairperson stressed the key role that Regional Economic Communities play as building

blocks of the Union. In this regard, she indicated that the Commission will examine

modalities of working with the RECs more effectively, as well as continue to work very

closely with Member States and all key stakeholders, focusing on promotion of a culture

of results, the use of tools that ensure transparency, effectiveness and accountability in

managing the organisation’s modest resources.

17. In the area of Peace and Security, the Chairperson highlighted the resurgence of

conflict in the eastern DRC, Guinea Bissau and Central African Republic, and noted that

Mali and the Sahel are now facing new, multi-faceted challenges. However, although

there are a number of countries still mired in conflict, she noted the steady progress

made towards the operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture

(APSA) which has contributed in ensuring progress to be registered in Somalia,

Sudan/South Sudan, and Madagascar.

18. Dr. Zuma expressed the fervent hope that the continent maintains a proper and

healthy balance between achieving peace and advancing development. This balance

can most effectively be achieved through an active African citizenry participating in

governance and development, and through active mobilization of all sectors of civil

society and the Diaspora.

19. This year of 2013 marking the celebrating of 50 years of the Organisation of

African Unity is a watershed year for Africa and also marks the jubilee of the Pan African

Women’s Organisation (PAWO) as well as 10 years since the launch of the African

Union. These anniversaries, observed and organized under the theme Pan Africanism

and African Renaissance, provide an opportunity to take stock of key milestones of the

past 50 years and outlook projection into the future.

20. The Chairperson made a call for a speedy move towards integration, prosperity

and peace, and indicated that the Commission was in the process of developing a

Concept Paper which would lay the basis for the Africa-wide Agenda 2063. The

Commission intends to consult widely with Member States, RECs, stakeholders and

sectors on the continent and in the Diaspora, with a view to having a Framework

Document for debate during the Anniversary Summit in May 2013.

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21. In conclusion, the Chairperson reaffirmed the availability of the Commission in

facilitating and contributing to the work of the PRC and on this note wished the PRC

fruitful deliberations.

b) ATTENDANCE

22. In attendance were the following Member States: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, SADR, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

c) ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

23. The PRC adopted the following agenda:

(i) Opening;

(ii) Consideration of the Report of the PRC Sub-Committees:

A. Report of the Advisory Sub-Committee on Administrative, Budgetary and Financial Matters;

B. Report of the Sub-Committee on Programmes and Conference; C. Report on the Sub-Committee on Structures; D. Report of the Sub-Committee on the activities on Multilateral

Cooperation; E. Report of the Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally

Displaced Persons in Africa; F. Report of the Sub-Committee on Contributions; G. Report of the Sub-Committee on Economic and Trade Matters; H. Report of the Sub-Committee on NEPAD; I. Report of the Sub-Committee on the Special Emergency Assistance

Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa (SEAF); J. Report of the Sub-Committee on Headquarters and Host Agreements; K. Establishment of a Sub-Committee on Audit Matters and Consideration

of its Terms of Reference.

(iii) Consideration of the Progress Report on the Draft Strategic Plan 2014-2017

for the African Union Commission;

(iv) Consideration of the Issue of Revision of the Rules of Procedure relating to

the process of election of Members of the Commission;

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(v) Consideration of the working documents and draft decisions in preparation

for the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia, 24-25 January 2012;

(vi) Any Other Business. d) ORGANIZATION OF WORK

24. The PRC adopted the following working hours:

Morning : 10:00 Hours – 13:00 Hours Afternoon : 15:00 Hours – 18:00 Hours

SECTION II: CONSIDERATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE

COMMISSION FOR 2012 – EX.CL/755(XXII)

25. The report was presented by the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission. He underscored the report’s structural relationship with the Commission’s Strategic Plan for the 2009-2012 period, such that the organization of the former reflects the parts of the latter. He specified that 2012 marked the end of the Plan. With regard to organization, the report has two complementary parts composed of a synoptic presentation of the Strategic Plan and a detailed description of the activities undertaken by the Commission during the period under review, to which has been added a forward-looking analysis. 26. For the purpose of brevity and consistency with the Strategic Plan, the Deputy Chairperson limited his presentation to a synoptic view of the Commission's activities according to the four pillars of the Strategic Plan 2009-2012, namely 1) Peace and security, 2) Regional integration, development and cooperation, 3) Shared values, and 4) Institutional strengthening. For each of these areas, the Deputy Chairperson presented the status of the various domains of activity of the Commission. 27. In that regard, he reviewed some of the achievements, namely:

i) operationalization of continental and regional mechanisms for security in

Africa;

ii) human capital development through focus on flagship projects such as the

Pan African University;

iii) infant mortality reduction through CARMA project and establishment of a

plant in Africa for pharmaceutical products;

iv) ratification of the Youth Charter by many Member States;

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v) progress made by PIDA as a result of the joint efforts of NEPAD and all

other stakeholders;

vi) progress towards an integrated continent in terms of digitalization, thanks to

the Dot.com Programme;

vii) CAADP implementation and negotiations on the climate change problem;

viii) progress towards finalizing the legal aspects related to the establishment of

African financial institutions;

ix) work in progress on the identification of alternative sources of funding for

organs of the African Union;

x) elaboration of the "Africa Mining Vision" in collaboration with the ECA;

xi) outcomes of 2012 Summits which provided for the establishment of free

trade zones in Africa;

xii) holding of a summit with the Diaspora;

xiii) various strategic partnerships;

xiv) strengthening of the interface between the peace and security architecture

and that of governance by means of electoral observation;

xv) continued enhancement of gender mainstreaming;

xvi) capacity building and institutional development geared towards results-

based management;

xvii) change in budget cycle, whose main effect will be to lift constraints on

launching in time of Commission programmes;

xviii) linkage between budget priorities and programmes implementation in a bid

to maximise the monitoring and evaluation process;

xix) advanced level of preparation for the starting of Specialized Technical

Committees (STCs) in January 2014;

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xx) activities conducted in collaboration with the United Nations;

xxi) development of a communication policy geared towards better informing

African citizens.

28. The Deputy Chairperson also presented the situation of regional offices with emphasis on achievements. 29. Before concluding his presentation, the Deputy Chairperson did not fail to emphasize the secondary role played by the Commission in the implementation of decisions. It is primarily the task of the Member States and the PRC to see to it that the Strategic Plan of the African Union is translated into concrete action on the ground. Due to the importance of the issue of the implementation of decisions, the Deputy Chairperson proposed that it should be thoroughly examined during a retreat to be planned later with the PRC. 30. In conclusion, the Deputy Chairperson expressed his appreciation to Member States, the PRC and all partners whose constant efforts contribute to the functioning of the Commission. 31. Following this presentation, comments mainly dwelt on the high quality of the report, as well as its rich and comprehensive content, which cover the various sectors of activity for which the Commission is in charge. However, there was regret that the time between the release of the report and its consideration in plenary session was short. 32. Additional comments to improve the report were made as follows:

i) There is a lack of uniformity in the presentation of items, some of which

have a list of challenges. Does it mean that those without lists of such

challenges are effectively without them?

ii) The terms of the integration of NEPAD into the Commission should be

refined to achieve more convergence;

iii) Partnerships should be evaluated and should operate seamlessly for the

purpose of promoting the development of the continent;

iv) In order to effectively address the many demands from partners, it is

necessary to consider organizing a summit restricted to member countries,

without foreign participation;

v) What procedure will ensure an effective implementation of the Banjul

formula governing Member States’ participation at conferences convened

under partnership arrangements by some partner States?

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vi) The implementation of the projects under partnership arrangements

increasingly takes place at the bilateral level. How can the multilateral

dimension be ensured through monitoring by the AU Commission?

vii) What is required to ensure more effective observation of electoral processes

in Africa? Observation teams are often deployed late and in inadequate

numbers which makes it difficult to fully cover elections;

viii) Major strides have been made in the field of peace and security. However,

the lingering question is how to define the means for consolidating

achievements in a country like Somalia. What mechanisms can express

African solidarity with Somalia in its reconstruction efforts?

ix) What should be done to stem the new threats that arise in drug and human

trafficking, as is the case in Guinea Bissau?

x) The report lacks information on the humanitarian situation in Africa although

it was announced that it would be included in the report of the Commission;

xi) Regarding the issue of alternative sources of funding, the report failed to

mention the deliberations of the extraordinary session of the meeting of

finance ministers held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, which enshrined the choice

by States between funding from their budget and selecting an alternative

source;

xii) The report does not mention the Memorandum of Understanding signed

between FESPACO and Burkina Faso for the promotion of peace on the

continent. It also did not mention the AU resolution on prohibition of female

genital mutilation, which represents significant progress in defence of the

cause of African women;

xiii) Certain activities of vital importance for the development of Africa have been

omitted in the report, namely:

a) Post-2015 Development Agenda in Africa set up by the United Nations;

b) South-South and triangular cooperation, indispensable to meet the

financing needs for developing the continent;

c) The development of innovative financing.


xiv) The status of implementation of decisions should henceforth be included in

the report;

xv) What criteria were used to support the decision to establish the Lilongwe

Office in Malawi? This question is based on the present state of that office;

xvi) How can the directives of Member States be harmonized with partner

requirements in the implementation of the AU Border Programme, given that

this Programme is funded by them?

33. Some delegations of Member States provided additional or corrective information in relation to sections of the report which concern their respective countries. This is the case of Tunisia on the date of elections; of South Sudan on activities conducted since the agreements of September 2012, and the CAR on the latest developments related to the management of the crisis in this country by ECAC States through the Libreville Consensus.

34. The Deputy Chairperson gave the following answers to some questions raised:

i) It should be stated that the dynamic nature of the report fails to translate and

capture the pace of change which marks a sphere such as peace and

security. However, comments on updating the information will be included in

the final report;

ii) The report’s methodological inconsistency in the presentation of the

Commission's activities (some activities have a list of challenges and others

do not) is explained by the very nature of the report which is the result of the

joint effort of all departments of the Commission. Guidelines may well have

been given, but the human factor always translates into the differences in

approach observed;

iii) There is no ambiguity in the collaboration between the Commission and

NEPAD;

iv) The relationship of interdependence between Africa and the rest of the world

compels it to optimally manage its partnership arrangements;

v) Strict compliance with the Banjul Formula is more the responsibility of

Member States. They should not honour invitations from partners which are

inconsistent with the said Formula;


vi) With the creation of the Division in charge of Partnerships within the

Commission, there was a marked improvement in the monitoring of

partnerships;

vii) It is necessary to conduct a thorough study of South-South relations in a bid

to identify ways of mobilizing the financial resources for implementing

Africa’s development programmes;

viii) The process of electoral observation is very expensive and the AU, for this

activity, relies on the generosity of donors. Due to the importance of this

activity whose essence is to prevent post-election conflict, to ensure social

peace and political stability of the States concerned, Member States should

prepare substantial budgets to cover electoral processes;

ix) Mechanisms for regional coordination between the Commission and the

United nations have the post 2015 MDGs as an objective.

35. The Commissioner for Peace and Security provided clarifications on the activities of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) and clearly indicated that the report on the state of peace on the continent sent to Heads of State and Government of the AU, which was completed on 20 January 2013, takes into account the most recent developments that occurred in the field. With regard to post-conflict reconstruction, particularly in the case of Somalia, he stressed the need for the AU to strengthen its presence in this area. As for the new or renewed threats, he announced a summit to be held in Yaoundé in Cameroon devoted to consideration of this question. Concluding his statement, he highlighted the efforts made by the High Level Panel responsible for managing relations between Sudan and South Sudan.

36. The Secretary to the Commission, in turn, explained the absence in the report of the humanitarian situation on the continent. It is an omission which will be corrected by inserting an addendum to the report.

37. The Chairperson of the Commission explained some issues to the PRC through the following remarks:

i) The report under review is the first of its kind, as an annual report. Its

preparation thus entailed a lot of challenges, which explains the delay in

distribution. The Chairperson apologized to members of the PRC and

announced that new approaches were being considered to address these

shortcomings in the future;

ii) The issue of the implementation of decisions should be formulated in terms

of the following alternative: either continue to produce an impressive number


of decisions at each of our Summits and run the risk of not being able to

implement them or to reduce their number to a level consistent with the

requirements for their implementation at both the Commission and State

levels;

iii) The management of partnerships is a problem in terms of their numbers:

should we continue to forge new partnerships or should we limit ourselves to

the current ones while improving on their management?

iv) Partnership offers to Africa from individual countries seek to promote

specific agendas. It is therefore necessary to assess partnerships on the

basis of consideration for our own interests;

v) The idea of a summit behind closed doors and restricted to AU Member

States is central, because we are increasingly inundated with requests for

participation in our Summits from third party States. However, the initiative

to organize such a summit should be taken by Member States;

vi) The Commission has undertaken a study on conflicts in Africa. The purpose

is to identify the root causes of conflict without being limited to their outward

manifestations;

vii) The funding of programmes of the AU concerns the Member States.

President Obasanjo can better enlighten us on the status of the issue

through the conclusions which may have been reached by the relevant

group of Heads of State, who are better placed than the ministers of finance

with regard to defining the modalities for a sustainable and effective funding

of the AU;

viii) Due to the high cost involved in the observation of electoral processes in

Africa, consideration may be given to a funding formula that combines

existing sources from partners and funds generated by willing Member

States.

38. Speaking after the Chairperson, the Commissioner in charge of Political Affairs revisited the issue of elections as a major cause of conflict in Africa. She therefore stressed the urgent need to strengthen the processes for electoral observation in a bid to prevent potential conflicts.

39. In conclusion, the PRC recommended to the Executive Council to:

i) Take note of the report;


ii) Congratulate the Chairperson of the Commission and her team for the

excellent report which reflects the significant efforts made throughout the

year 2012 in all areas;

iii) Recognise the need to provide the Commission with the necessary means,

human and financial resources to enable it fulfil its mandate while also

emphasizing the importance of greater coordination, as well as

harmonization and definition of priority actions to be taken within the limits of

available resources;

iv) Also underscore the need to implement decisions on the overall assessment

of partnership arrangements as well as compliance with the Banjul Formula

so as to maximize the expected benefits from such partnerships, in order to

promote the complementarity of these efforts by avoiding duplication and

waste of energy;

v) Streamline the Agenda of the Summit and create an enabling environment

for the Union to shape and drive the African Agenda through, among others,

holding one of the two Summits as a closed session;

vi) Explore ways to better streamline participation in the two annual summits,

including the possibility of limiting such participation in a bid to maximize

discussion by Heads of State and Government on critical issues facing the

continent.

SECTION III: CONSIDERATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRC

ON THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS DECISIONS OF THE

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AND THE ASSEMBLY – EX.CL/756(XXII)

40. The Report of the Commission on the Implementation of Previous Decisions of the Executive Council and the Assembly - EX.CL/756(XXII) was presented by a representative of the Commission complemented by the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture who made a presentation on the modalities and process of selection of Recipients of the Wangari Maathai Award for Outstanding African Achievements in Environment and Biodiversity Conservation. 41. Following the presentations, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:


On the Implementation of Previous Decisions of the Executive Council and the

Assembly - EX.CL/756(XXII):

i) All discussions relating to the implementation of Decisions should be

deferred to the upcoming PRC/AUC Retreat schedule to be held in February

2013;

ii) The proliferation of Decisions is partly attributed to the establishment of

institutions without proper interrogation and scrutiny;

iii) There is need to consider a framework on which the monitoring of the

implementation of Decisions would be anchored;

iv) What becomes of the many Decisions that have not been implemented?

v) There is no difference between the present report and the previous with

respect to the low of implementation;

vi) Why is the report on the Humanitarian situation not included in the Summit

documents?

vii) What is the purpose for having so many Decisions without implementation?

viii) The United Republic of Tanzania has concluded the signing of the host

agreement relating to hosting of the Advisory Board on Corruption in

Arusha;

ix) A fruitful discussion has been held on the hosting of the Institute of

International Law in Arusha, The United Republic of Tanzania;

x) There is need for clarification on the outcome of meetings of AMCEN;

xi) On the Universal Jurisdiction, it remains work in progress as the document

has been sent to Chairperson of the Commission for consideration.


On the modalities and process of selection of Recipients of the Wangari Maathai

Award for Outstanding African Achievements in Environment and Biodiversity

Conservation:

i) The appropriate Decision (406) relating to the Wangari Maathai Award for

Outstanding African Achievements in Environment and Biodiversity

Conservation should be reflected;

ii) The fact that it has financial implications requires that a study be conducted

for the attention of the PRC;

42. In response, the representatives of the Commission made clarification as follows:

i) All issues relating to the document on the implementation of the previous

decisions would be discussed at the upcoming Retreat of the PRC/AUC in

February. Such issues include: The proliferation of establishment of

Institutions and Issues relating to the Committee of 10 on the UN Reform;

ii) It was agreed that the report on the Humanitarian situation will be subsumed

in the report of the Chairperson;

iii) The Commission congratulates the United Republic of Tanzania on the

hosting of the Advisory Board on Corruption and the African Institute for

International law;

iv) The outputs on AMCEN were submitted but the outputs on Food Security

and Development meeting which was held at a technical level will be

included in the relevant Decisions;

43. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Note the Report and its recommendations;

ii) Recall the previous decisions on this matter and to stress the need to observe scrupulously the guidelines regarding the preparation and adoption of AU Decisions to ensure and facilitate their effective implementation by all concerned parties: the Commission, the Member States and other Stakeholders;

iii) Adopt in principle the Modalities for process of selection of Recipients of the Wangari Maathai Award for Outstanding African Achievements in Environment and Biodiversity Conservation and to request the Commission submit the relevant PRC Sub-Committee to consider the related financial


and technical implications for consideration and appropriate recommendation;

iv) Recommend that there be a Retreat in February 2013 between the Commission and the PRC to consider all pertinent issues including the Draft Strategic Plan and Africa-Wide Strategic Agenda, the Theme of the year, Implementation of Decisions and the proliferation of institutions and centers of the Union and come up with appropriate recommendations and way forward, including on the proposal of review of Modality;

v) Agree on the need to follow up on the results of Rio+20 and to prepare an African common position for the follow-up of the UN Meeting on the issue scheduled in New York on 20 May 2013; to consider in this regard the draft Decision tabled on the issue.

SECTION IV: CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF PRC SUB-COMMITTEES

A. Report of the Advisory Sub-Committee on Administrative, Budgetary

and Financial Matters - EX.CL/751(XXII)i 44. The Report of the Advisory Sub-Committee on Administrative, Budgetary and Financial matters was presented by H.E Dr. Andrew Hama Mtetwa, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee and Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe. 45. Following the presentation of the report, members of the PRC made comments and observations and requested clarification as follows:

i) On the question of adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), members recognized the importance of the AUC to adopt international accounting standards, as such a system would provide for effective stewardship of African Union resources;

ii) What is the specific time frame allocated to the AUC for the implementation of IPSAS?

iii) On salary increment for AUC staff, members supported a 5% increment on basic salary, while expressing a need to also look at performance of both the organization and the individual staff. There is a need for a comprehensive policy on salary increment to be elaborated by a competent external company;

iv) On the audit of ECOSSOC, the AUC should respond to issues raised by the External Auditors and requested the Office of the Legal Counsel to take steps in dealing with the legal matters arising from the audit report;


v) There is need for an anti-corruption policy as well as the establishment of an Audit Sub-committee to support the oversight responsibility of the PRC.


i) Take note of the report and endorse the recommendations of the Advisory Sub-Committee and Administrative, Budgetary and Financial Matters;

ii) Abolish the preferential regime for AU Geneva and Brussels Offices;

iii) Request the AU Commission to engage consultants to elaborate a policy on salaries by September 2013;

iv) Support the recommendation on the adoption of international public sector

accounting standard (IPSAS) by the AU Organs; v) Request a timeframe for concluding the issue of ECOSSOC and to support

the recommendation of the Sub-Committee for the issue to be dealt with in details.

47. In the run-up to the 25th Ordinary Session of the PRC, the Committee had met on different dates to consider reports from the Advisory Sub-Committee on Administrative, Budgetary and Financial Matters with respect to issues on the renovation of the AU Office Washington DC on the request for Supplementary Budget. Proceedings of these sessions are hereunder summarized as follows:

a) Consideration of Budget for the Renovation Project of the AU/ Washington DC Office Construction

48. During its meeting of the 19th December 2012, the PRC considered the request for a budget for the construction/renovation project at the AU office in Washington DC. A presentation was made by a representative of the Commission, complemented by the Deputy Chairperson, highlighting the following:

i) The Sub-Committee of the PRC on Administrative and Budgetary matters had earlier met and deliberated on the need for extra budget to complete the project in Washington DC;

ii) However, the Sub-Committee found the case slightly beyond its competence and had recommended the decision to be taken at the level of the PRC;

iii) In January 2008, the Executive Council approved the purchase of a property

for the AU office in Washington DC with a budget of USD 10 million;

iv) The building was intended to accommodate staff members of the Commission at the African Union Representational office in the United


States of America and to host meetings of the African Union Member States representatives in Washington DC;

v) The Commission had taken the necessary measures and followed all the

appropriate procedures to acquire the property;

vi) The delegation that selected the building comprised two PRC Members and other representatives from the Commission as indicated in the mission reports;

vii) Before committing the African Union, the Commission had contracted an

external law firm, and a design firm that conducted a property condition assessment on which the AUC had based its acquisition process;

viii) The main causes of budget overrun were: the built-up area of all shortlisted

buildings proposed by the real estate company was higher than the optimum space requirement; unforeseen occurrences of lead and asbestos that was discovered only after demolition; bidding of construction works based on schematic designs; and requirements for compliance with local ordinances and building regulations;

ix) The sale price of the shortlisted buildings presented by the real estate

company were ranged between USD 7 million and 25 million and the evaluation team selected the property with the least bid and a negotiated amount of USD 6.5 million;

x) The current revised total project amount of USD 13,499,368.94 million is still

found to be on the lower side of the sale price of the originally shortlisted buildings by the real estate company;

xi) The Commission established a Committee to consider the problem and it

made a finding and sounded the alarm that the project would most likely exceed the originally allocated budget of USD 10 million;

xii) The project is now in a dilemic situation whereby it cannot be stopped as

this could attract extra costs and legal consequences to the Commission on the one hand and on the other hand if the project continued at the current pace it would exceed the approved budget. The question is whether to approve the budget to finish the project and use the property or shall we stop it at the current status and sell the property at loss and bear all risks and legal consequences;

xiii) The Commission is requesting for approval of an additional budget

amounting to USD 3,499,368.94; required to complete the Building.

49. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations as follows:


i) Those who failed to fulfil their responsibilities and contributed to this problem should be held accountable that this case serves as a lesson to the Commission not to repeat such a situation in future;

ii) There is need for evidence as to whether there was indeed negligence or not, before making conclusions;

iii) There is little choice left than to complete the building because of the following:

a) Since the property is located in a prime area of Washington DC, may

have the potential to return its investment since the American property market may rise again;

b) The project is already at an advanced stage and as a result the Commission has already incurred much;

c) The decision of the Executive Council to purchase a building in

Washington DC needs to be fully implemented;

d) There is need to avoid any further costs due to the suspension of the on-going construction works, the risks of adverse weather, storage expenses and increase in building materials costs, etc.

iv) When the building was bought on “as is, where is” condition it implied that

something was wrong and defective at the beginning and that was not a right deal at the beginning;

v) The Lawyers didn’t help anything while concluding such purchase agreement and may not be able to protect the Commission anymore.

50. In addition to the comments and observations, the PRC raised the following specific questions to which the Commission provided responses as follows:

i) Why a building a hundred years old was bought because it was said to be in an excellent condition as stated in the first evaluation report only to turn out to require substantial renovation;

ii) Why the external consultants who were hired failed to discover the presence of asbestos, which is a dangerous and prohibited element, before the purchase of the building;

iii) Why the Commission needed a conference hall in AU/ Washington Office

since its mandate is not similar to that of the AU/ New York Office and is not required to regularly host Member States;


iv) What would be the percentage of fees to the respective external professionals as compared to the overall project budget;

v) What would be the value of the property upon its completion;

vi) How would it be guaranteed that the project will not again exceed the budget

if this supplementary budget is approved?

51. In response to the above questions, the Commission provided answers as follows: 52. On why the Commission purchased a hundred year old building that was said to be in an excellent moving-in condition but now seems to require major renovation works; it was explained that:

i) As part of the conditions for buying the building, the owners who had not occupied the building in many years insisted on the clause in the contract that the building will be sold on a "as is, where is" condition. This implies that when buying a property under such conditions, the seller does not provide any warranty on the condition of the building. This is a normal practice anywhere in the world when the owner does not want the liability of selling a 'warranted' property having never lived or occupied it. In fact, this attests to the reason why the property was offered at very low rate compared to similar properties – in size and location. Georgetown is a prime location in Washington and it is almost impossible to have found a building with similar size at the price offered;

ii) The agreement for the purchase of the building was thoroughly vetted and

cleared by the AU Legal Counsel and on the advice of the legal firm that had been retained for that purpose;

iii) Even though it was said to be in an excellent moving condition, the building’s function was not originally meant for the functional requirement of the AUC that the later required major modification to convert the space to suit to its function that entails, for instance, provision of Conference Hall which brought about a major construction cost.

53. On why the external consultants hired by the Commission failed to discover the presence of asbestos in the building, it was clarified that:

i) It is mandatory by the USA as well as the Washington DC Government that before the acquisition of any property there is a need to engage a property assessment company to provide a professional assessment of price and condition of the property before any purchase of property is made;

ii) The external consultant that carried out the property assessment utilized the

degree of skill and care ordinarily exercised by any prudent architect or engineer


in the same community under similar circumstances. The Property Condition Report was intended to provide an earlier assessment and to reduce the uncertainty regarding the potential for component or system failure and to reduce the potential that such component or system failure may not be initially observed, the inherent subjective nature of such issues as workmanship, quality of original installation, and estimating the remaining useful life of any given component or system;

iii) Additionally, the only method of checking the asbestos level in a building is to

chisel through the walls. As the AU did not have physical possession of the building and the property assessment does not include chiselling of a building that does not belong to AU, there was no possibility of foreseeing the amount of asbestos that were eventually discovered after demolishing the walls;

iv) It was possible to determine the amount of asbestos in the building only after the

AU had taken physical possession of the building and started demolition to adjust the functional requirement of space.

54. On why the AU/ Washington Office required a conference hall, it was explained that:

i) the mandate of the AU Mission in the USA was given based on the Maputo’s Decision to coordinate with African Group of Ambassadors and to provide a coordinated African positions and promote African policies to the USA Administration and other constituencies and stakeholders. Accordingly, a space requirement was formulated to accommodate such functions, offices and to host meetings;

ii) As a standard of space allocation, most regional offices such as the in New

York, Brussels and Geneva have similar facilities of accommodating conference hall with the same seats capacity that would be adequate to hold meetings of Member states representatives;

iii) In addition to the above Washington DC, office is peculiar in that, there are a

number of international organizations such as World Bank, IMF, etc. that frequently hold bilateral and multilateral meetings in the same way as AU’s offices located in New York and Europe as well.

55. On what would be the percentage of fees to be paid to the respective external professional services providers in relation to the overall cost of the project, it was clarified that the percentage of fees paid to all professional services providers such as for Legal, Architects and Project Managers is 4.5% of the total project budget which is below the benchmark that ranges from 5.7% - 6.8% even only for Architectural and Engineering Services of similar projects in USA.

56. On what would be the value of the property upon its completion, it was explained that after consultation with realtors in the Washington DC area, we have been advised


that upon completion of the project and depending on real-estate market trends at the time, the building may be worth between $15M and $17M. However, If the building were to be sold in its current state it would be put on the market for about $2M in spite of an investment of over $8M thus far.

57. On the guarantee that the project budget would not rise again, it was clarified that:

i) A Project Management firm was employed to provide an independent cost analysis of the works carried out and the remaining works to be undertaken. The firm which was selected through a competitive bidding process indicated that the project will not exceed the project budget again if not saving;

ii) The Commission will also establish a proper Task Force at the

Headquarters level to monitor the progress and control the day-to-day activities of the project so as to ensure that the project would be completed within the revised budget and time.


i) Emphasize that lessons be learned from the purchase of the Washington DC office so as to avoid a reoccurrence un future;

ii) Request the Commission to undertake an Audit of the purchase of the building of AU Washington office by April 2013 and report to the May 2013 Summit with a view to establishing responsibilities and holding accountable those who failed to fulfil their obligations;

iii) Approve a supplementary budget amounting to USD 3,499,368.94 that is

required to complete the project;

iv) Approve the continuation of the construction works with remaining balance of the budget in addition to the supplementary budget.

b) Consideration of request for Supplementary Budget and Virement

59. During its meeting of 28th November 2012, the PRC considered among other issues the request for Supplementary budget and Virement as presented by the Chairperson of the Advisory Sub-Committee, .H.E. Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana in which he highlighted the justification provided for the request.

60. Subsequent to the presentation, comments and observations were made and clarification sought as follows:


i) There is need to ensure that the provisions of the Financial Regulations and

Rules governing supplementary budget and the use of arrears are strictly

adhered to;

ii) Why a request for supplementary budget for at the close of the financial

year? Is the Commission simply seeking to regularize expenditure already

incurred?

iii) Why does the Commission seek supplementary budget year in year out?

iv) The PRC has no mandate to approve Supplementary budget and thus

should refer such requests to the competent body;

v) Some Organs have registered zero per cent execution rate on their

programs and therefore ought not to be considered for supplementary

budget. The low level of budget execution observed generally, is cause for

concern and should be seriously tackled;

vi) Supplementary budget should not be automatic each year;

vii) There is a disequilibrium between the execution of the operational budget

and the programme budget;

viii) The method of elaboration of the budget with a 5% ceiling is unrealistic and

should be reviewed and is be partly responsible for the request for

supplementary budget;

ix) The PRC has delegated authority to approve the Supplementary budget.

61. In response to the various questions raised and comments made, the Director of PBFA and the Ag. Director AHRM complemented by the Deputy Chairperson clarified as follows:

i) On supplementary budget, a practical recommendation should be made to

the Executive Council on the approval procedure as a means of resolving

the issue once and for all. The question which calls for collective reflection is

how to budget so as to avoid repetitive requests for Supplementary budget?

ii) On the low rate of budgetary execution, this would improve ultimately in view

of the range of corrective measures being implemented including the use of


Departmental and individual work plans and the imminent introduction of

performance contracting.

62. In concluding the discussion, the PRC adopted the report and recommended to the Executive Council to:

i) Approve a Supplementary Budget amounting to US$11,498,829.49 of which US$3,886,373.89 is for Operating expenses and US$7,612,455.60 for programme budget;

ii) Call upon the Commission to strictly observe the Financial Rules and

Regulations in respect of supplementary budget;

iii) Approve that the Supplementary budget be financed as follows:

a) US$3,947,619.64 from collection of arrears comprising

US$3,913,699.64 for AUC, including US$690,000 for Pan-African

University, and US$33,920.00 for AUCIL;

b) US$7,551,209.85 from International Partners for AUC.

B. Report of the Sub-Committee on Programmes and Conferences - EX.CL/751(XXII)ii

63. The item was introduced by the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Programmes and Conferences. Since the Sub-Committee has oversight on the development of the Strategic plan, a representative of the Commission was invited to present the Progress Report on the Development of the Strategic Plan 2014-2017 of the African Union Commission. 64. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarifications as follows:

i) The PRC should take note of the Report and present it to the Executive

Council for adoption;

ii) The Report is a work in progress and the elements of the Strategic Plan are

yet to emerge;

iii) As the Commission embarks on the successor strategic cycle, there is need

to exhaust the principles and objectives of the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan

through a review of how much has been done from the previous one;


iv) The Commission should not to rush to adopt a brand new plan if there is a

possibility of retaining elements of the 2009-2012 Plan.


i) Take note of the presentation by the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on

the interim report of the Commission on the draft Strategic Plan of the

Commission 2014-2017 as well as the global Strategic Plan of the Union;

ii) Request the Commission, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to

actively pursue the elaboration of these two drafts for submission to the

Sub-Committee and the PRC subsequently in March 2013 for appropriate

recommendations.

C. Report of the Sub-Committee on Structures - EX.CL/751(XXII)iii

66. When it came to consideration of this item, the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Structures informed the PRC that the Sub-Committee was scheduled to meet from 14 to 18 January 2013 could not meet due to lack of quorum. He indicated that the Sub-Committee would meet after the January 2013 Summit and would present its report to the May 2013 Summit.

67. The PRC took note of the information.

D. Report on the Sub-Committee on the activities on Multilateral Cooperation - EX.CL/751(XXII)iv

68. The report of the Sub-committee on Multilateral Issues was presented by the Ambassador of Benin.

69. Following the presentation of the report, members of the PRC raised issues, made observations and requested clarification as follows:

i) There is need to extend the term of office of the Co-Chairs of the Africa-Europe Partnership up to the next Africa-Europe Summit in the interest of continuity;

ii) With respect to Africa-Turkey Partnership, it is important to ensure that the

principle of rotation is applied;

iii) There is concern over the Africa-South America summit scheduled to take place in February 2013, in Malabo and the state of preparedness. The Cultural Exhibition that was supposed to be held at the summit may not take place since except for a few countries, no much interest has been expressed by the rest;


iv) There is need for quality Partnership and a review of some Partnerships like

that of Africa - South America which seems not to be making any progress;

v) There should be an evaluation of adequate implementation levels for all partnership, as a basis for holding any partnership Summit. This therefore means that no invitation letters should be circulated before such evaluations are conducted.

70. The PRC decides as follows :

i) Adopts the report; ii) Recommends to the Executive Council as follows:

A. Africa-Arab Cooperation:

a) Takes note of the Report of the First Meeting of the Coordination

Committee of the Africa-Arab Partnership, which was held at the Headquarters of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa on 5 November 2012, following the recommendation of the Tripartite Brainstorming Session held in Cairo, Egypt, on 4 October 2012;

b) Urges the Commission and the League Arab States to actively start

implementation of the Action Plan 2011-2016 adopted by the 2nd Africa-Arab Summit, held in Sirte, Libya, in October 2010;

c) Requests the PRC, through its Sub-Committee on Multilateral Cooperation

and in close collaboration with the Commission, to actively prepare for the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit, planned to take place in Kuwait in November 2013.

B. Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) V:

a) Takes note of the recommendations of the Senior Officials meeting held in

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 15 to17 November 2012 to set up a Joint Drafting Committee to finalize the Yokohama Declaration and TICAD-V Plan of Action;

b) Recalls the role of the Commission, as one of the TICAD Co-organizers,

and Requests the PRC, through its Sub-Committee on Multilateral Cooperation and in close collaboration with the Commission, to actively prepare for the TICAD V Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in Addis Ababa on 16-17 March 2013 and for the TICAD V Summit to be held in Yokohama, Japan, on 1-3 June 2012;

c) Calls upon all Member States to actively participate in the TICAD-V

Ministerial meeting and Summit.


C. Africa-South America :

a) Calls for the immediate convening of the Working Group on the Financing

of Africa-South America (ASA) Activities, in compliance with the decision of the ASA Ministerial Meeting held in November 2011 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and the agreement reached during the meeting of the ASA Coordination Mechanism held at Ministerial Level in New York on 27 September 2012 at the margins of the UN General Assembly;

b) Urges the South American side to provide a common and coordinated response to the African proposed priority projects;

c) Requests the PRC, through its Sub-Committee on Multilateral

Cooperation and in close collaboration with the Commission, to finalize preparations for the ASA Summit scheduled for February 2013;

d) Calls upon all Member States to actively participate in the ASA Summit.

D. Africa-EU:

a) Requests the AU Member States to review, after the next Summit, the composition of all the current African Co-Chairs of the Joint Expert Groups (JEGs), so as to make the African representation more geographically spread amongst the five regions;

b) Requests that the coordination of the Africa-EU Partnership be undertaken by the Africa’s Strategic Partnerships Division, established to deal with all partnerships, for practical reasons;

E. Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC):

a) Requests the Commission to elaborate modalities and inform Member

States on how to access the US $ 20 billion line of credit presented during the 5th FOCAC Ministerial Conference held in Beijing, 19-20 July 2012;

b) Calls upon the PRC, through its Sub-Committee on Multilateral Cooperation and in close collaboration with the Commission, to follow-up on all the concrete outcomes of the 5th FOCAC Ministerial Conference held in Beijing from 19 to 20 July 2012, with the aim of ensuring that the African Union is a key stakeholder in the FOCAC process.

F. Africa-Korea:

a) Requests the Commission to work in close collaboration with the

Government of the Republic of Korea to craft the Africa-Korea Implementation Matrix;


b) Welcomes the agreement reached during the 3rd Africa-Korea Forum held

in Seoul, Korea, from 16 to 18 October 2012, to convene the Africa-Korea Forum on rotation basis, alternately in Africa and Korea;

c) Endorses the proposal to hold the Africa-Korea Forum every two years.

G. Africa-Turkey:

a) Requests the Commission to urgently provide the necessary information requested by the Government of Turkey for implementation of the six already-approved priority projects to begin as soon as possible;

b) Expresses the need for clear Financial Road Map, to be crafted between the Commission and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, on how the six already-approved priority projects are to be funded;

c) Recalls the agreement reached between Africa and Turkey to convene the 2nd Africa-Turkey Summit in Africa in accordance with the principle of rotation. Further recalls the offer made by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to host the Summit during the first Ministerial Review Conference of Africa-Turkey Partnership held in December 2011 in Istanbul (Turkey). Encourages the two Member States to finalize consultations and communicate the outcome to the 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly in May 2013. Calls upon the African Union Commission to take all the necessary measures to ensure the successful planning of the Summit.

H. Africa-India:

a) Requests the Commission to work in collaboration with the Government of

India, specifically regarding the unpacking of the key AU-endorsed continental programmes for effective implementation of the 2nd Africa-India Action Plan (2010-2014);

b) Calls on the Eastern African region to identify the country to host the India-Africa Integrated Textile Institute as soon as possible.

E. Report of the Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa - EX.CL/751(XXII)v

71. The report was presented by H.E. Lazare Makayat Safouesse, the Ambassador of Congo, in his capacity as 3rd Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. 72. Discussions which followed the presentation revolved around four areas:


i) The Sub-Committee’s operational modalities; ii) The statistical data contained in the report in relation to the number of

refugees present in some Member States;

iii) The host Member States, beneficiaries of donations; and

iv) The Kampala Convention on Displaced Persons in Africa. The observations made by the PRC on each of these discussion areas are repeated hereafter:

a) Regarding the Sub-Committee’s operational modalities

i) The extent of transparency in the Sub-Committee’s operation is insufficient

inasmuch as the criteria on the choice of Members who should undertake

field missions are not made public;

ii) The Sub-Committee only operates within its bureau, since its Members are

not associated with missions to be undertaken on the field;

iii) The Sub-Committee’s report of activities cannot be limited only to reports of

missions undertaken on the field. It should include other activities carried out

by the Sub-Committee;

iv) The Sub-Committee should revise its working methods, promote reflection

and adopt an approach consisting in the elaboration of a specific working

plan;

v) The problem of refugees is mostly resolved in the host States and regions.

In this respect, it is not relevant to organize meetings at the AU Commission;

vi) The recommendations approving the mission reports remain vague;

vii) The mandate of the Sub-Committee deserves to be revised for a greater

adequacy between the assigned mandate and the actions taken by the Sub-

Committee and the definition of an African policy for the protection of

refugees;

viii) Since Africa is a clear generator of refugees, the importance of the problem

of refugees must be reflected in the volume of credit devoted to the

management of this problem. These credits always seem inadequate;


ix) It is worthwhile to evaluate the implementation of aIl the decisions taken by

the Executive Council and consequently redefine the Sub-Committee’s

approach;

x) Regarding the inadequacies noticed in the Sub-Committee’s report, it is

worth noting that it is generally informative. Moreover, undertaking missions

in refugee camps entails risks, the realization of which calls for

congratulations to be extended to the Sub-Committee Members who

undertook such missions.

b) Regarding statistical data on refugees present in some Member States

i) The information contained in the report according to which three thousand

refugees of Algerian origin were supposed to be residing in Niger was

neither confirmed by the competent Algerian authorities nor by the HCR. It

therefore remains without any basis;

ii) The number of refugees present on Mauritanian territory is 110, 000 and not

104, 000;

iii) The report indicates 94,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of

Congo(DRC) whereas the competent authorities of the country are not

aware of this situation;

iv) In order to publish reliable information, the collection of information should

be cross-checked through the involvement of the Embassies concerned.

c) Regarding the host Member States and beneficiaries of donations

i) The Sub-Committee’s mission to Niger enabled it to hold discussions with

the country’s authorities and with the flood victims;

ii) Niger received a donation of five hundred thousand dollars and expressed

its gratitude for the Commission’s gesture. However, the flood problem in

Niger remains the same and requires a more consistent response through

more substantial aid;

iii) Generally, the amounts allocated as aid to Member States remain symbolic

due to the immensity of needs;


iv) A monitoring and supervision mechanism of the management of donations

given should be established;

v) The recommendations on the Sub-Committee’s mission to Zambia were

endorsed by the competent authorities of the country;

vi) Burkina Faso has not received the 450 000 dollars indicated in the report

and the mention of Burkina Faso as beneficiary deserves to be clarified

once and for all;

vii) Zambia has launched a huge local refugee integration project through the

attribution of the appropriate legal documents;

viii) Concerning the issue of the local integration of refugees, Tanzania could

well be an example because of the Tanzanian nationality granted to a

considerable number of refugees;

ix) South Sudan hosts thousands of refugees from Sudan in addition to

returnees. In this respect, it expresses the wish that the Sub-Committee

would undertake a mission to the country.

d) Regarding the Kampala Convention on Displaced Persons

i) The Kampala Convention on Displaced Persons in Africa entered into force

on 6 December 2012;

ii) Member States which have not yet done so are encouraged to proceed with

the ratification of the Kampala Convention;

iii) It is important for Member States to implement the Convention’s provisions

and to submit a report on the mechanisms thereon.

73. The Sub-Committee’s Chair provided the following responses to the issues raised:

i) Due to the importance and place that the AU attaches to the refugee

problem, it adopted the Kampala Convention which constitutes a major

stride in the resolution of the issue on refugees and displaced persons;

ii) The noted inadequacies notwithstanding, it is worth recognizing the

importance of field missions;


iii) Corrections relating to the statistical data on the presence of refugees in

some Member States would be made;

iv) Zambia provides the example of a successful local integration and while

expressing congratulations to Zambia, it is worth examining the conditions

for the possibility of reproducing the Zambian model in other Member

States;

v) The 100 000 dollars allocated to the Zambian Government were handed

over to the HCR with the initial objective of constructing bridges and

schools. However, the field visit enabled new requirements to be identified

and the endowment redirected towards the commissioning of a turbine for

the generation of electrical energy, vital for the refugees as well as the local

populations;

vi) The Sub-Committee’s report is not only informative. It is designed to draw

attention to a number of recommendations.

74. The Commission’s representative provided the following supplementary information:

i) The mechanism for granting funds and assistance to Member States is

effected through the HCR. Funds allocated were used to buy food through

the World Food Programme(WFP);

ii) The Sub-Committee does not hand over the money in cash to Member

States. It entrusts it to the competent bodies of the United Nations;

iii) Errors related to countries and number of refugees will be corrected;

iv) The Sub-Committee has undertaken to negotiate with Tanzania in order to

extend the refugee status granted to a large number of refugees.

75. In conclusion, the PRC:

i) Adopted the Sub-Committee’s report as well as the conclusions on the visits

to Niger, Mauritania and Zambia and the recommendations thereon. In that

regard, the PRC congratulates the Sub-Committee Members who undertook

those missions;


ii) Congratulated the Sub-Committee for the efforts made in the countries

affected by the phenomenon of refugees, returnees and displaced persons;

iii) Encouraged the Sub-Committee to deepen the reflection on the ways and

means of better focusing the African Union’s action in favour of refugees,

returnees and displaced persons, in close collaboration with all the

stakeholders and players on the field;

iv) Underscored the need to evaluate the Sub-Committee’s mandate and work,

in order to enable it to improve its effectiveness;

v) Requested that statistical data and all the information on refugees recorded

in the report should be revised and corrected while obtaining contributions

from relevant partners (HCR, Member States, etc.);

vi) Underscored the need to closely monitor the allocation of resources from

funds on refugees;

vii) Recommends to the Executive Council to:

a) Congratulate Member States which have hosted and continue to

generously host refugees and for any assistance provided to them as

well as the Member States which have integrated refugees in their host

countries;

b) Urge Member States which have not yet done so to sign, ratify and

implement the Kampala Convention on the Protection of Displaced

Persons in Africa which has already entered into force.

F. Report of the Sub-Committee on Contributions - EX.CL/751(XXII)vi

76. The Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Contributions, the Ambassador of Rwanda, H.E. Joseph Nsengimana, presented the Report of the Sub-Committee on Member States’ contributions to the 2012 budget of the African Union. After the presentation, the PRC made the following observations:

i) Morocco should not feature among Member States that have not paid their

contributions but its situation could be registered as a footnote;

ii) Some of the data on the statement of contributions are not up-to-date, so an

updated statement should be presented to Council;


iii) There is a need to pay attention to Seychelles’ plea to review the sanction

bestowed upon it until the May Summit;

iv) It would be wise to consider waiving the sanctions towards the May Summit

so that the whole AU family could be together during the celebrations;

v) Following Council decision on the special case of Sudan, the Commission

has reduced Sudan’s contribution by 0,25 % and the Evaluation Committee

is requested to review the case speedily and effectively;

vi) The Commission should inform the PRC on each Member State’s assessed

contribution for 2013 so that they can contribute accordingly;

vii) DRC’s name should be added to the list of participants in the Sub-

Committee meeting;

viii) Exploring the possibility of considering a minimum threshold for payment of

contributions does not appear in the draft decision, which could give the

PRC a mandate for further work on the issue.

77. In his response the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee clarified the following :

i) Seychelles and the Commission signed an agreement for the temporary

exemption of Seychelles from sanctions but this was not honoured by

Seychelles; in this regard, the Rules state that if a Member State is in

arrears of two years contribution it falls under sanction and if it signs an

agreement with the Commission and does not honour it, sanctions must be

applied;

ii) The Commission has been instructed repeatedly to separate Morocco from

AU Member States but the mistake keeps coming up; the Commission

should ensure that this situation does not appear in the report to the May

Summit;

iii) With regard to the case of Sudan, in line with Council decision, a study will

be prepared in 2013 for a general review on the scale of assessment and a

general decision will be taken accordingly for all Member States for 2014-

2017 including Sudan;

iv) The Commission should indeed inform all Member States of their assessed

contribution for 2013;


v) The issue of minimum threshold could be further explored by the PRC.

78. On his part, the Deputy Chairperson agreed that Morocco should not be put on the same list as Member States but then highlighted a more fundamental issue to be pursued which is that of how to treat a bad debt and a policy for it. He requested that the Commission be given a guidance on how to treat bad debts in the books of the Commission. He seized the opportunity to thank Member States for meeting their obligations, particularly the special efforts of DRC, Seychelles and others and supported the appeal to give temporary dispensation to those countries, in the hope that by the May 2013 Summit they would deliver on their obligations.


i) Adopts the report and recommendations therein;

ii) Recommends to the Executive Council to:

a) Commend Member States that are up-to-date in the payment of their

contributions to the regular budget, and to encourage other Member

States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time;

b) Urge Member States who are in arrears of contributions to pay up their

arrears;

c) Decide that the temporary lifting of Democratic Republic of Congo and

Seychelles from sanctions be maintained so long as it honours its

commitments and request it to continue its commitments to the agreed

payment schedule;

d) Also decide that the temporary exemption from sanction of Somalia

be maintained;

e) Decide that sanctions be imposed on the following Member States:

Guinea Bissau

Madagascar

f) Request the Commission to ensure that the name of Morocco be

deleted among countries with arrears of contribution and be placed

under a separate category since Morocco is not a Member State of the

AU;


g) Request the Sub-Committee to regularly update the status of arrears

of contributions so as to reflect payments made after the production of

this report.

G. Report of the Sub-Committee on Economic and Trade Matters -

EX.CL/751(XXII)vii 80. Report of the Sub Committee on Economic and Trade matters was presented by the Chairperson of the Sub Committee and Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia, H.E. Mokhtar Chaouachi, after which the PRC made comments, observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The Republic of Niger should be included in the list of attendance;

ii) All the reports available with respect to Economic and Trade matters should be circulated;

iii) There need to ensure that the issue of integration and development of

infrastructure are closely linked to Economic and Trade matters;

iv) On the 2015 post MDGs, there is need to ensure collaboration with the African Group in New York;

v) Nothing stops Africa from consulting with the Group of 77 and getting

necessary opinions. 81. In response, the Commissioner for Trade and Industry made clarification as follows:

i) The omission of the Republic of Niger in the list will be amended;

ii) The progress report is available and would be circulated;

iii) Agreed that issues of integration and development of infrastructure are part of the Economic and Trade matters and should be incorporated;

iv) Also agreed on the need to ensure collaboration with the African Group in

New York and seek opinions as necessary. 82. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Adopt the report of the Sub-Committee;

ii) Commend the Sub-Committee for its valuable contribution to the

preparation, in conjunction with the Commission, of many economic and trade activities of the Union, particularly with regard to following up


outcomes of the Joint African Union Conference of Ministers of Agriculture and Trade, the African Minerals Development Centre, the Private Sector Forum held in Abidjan in December 2012, as well as to reflections on the Post–2015 Millennium Development Goals;

iii) Underscore the need, for a deep reflection on a common African position to

be adopted at the Summit in May 2013 on the issue of post - 2015 MDGs during the continental consultation.

H. Report of the Sub-Committee on NEPAD - EX.CL/751(XXII)viii

83. Report of the Sub Committee on NEPAD was presented by the Chairperson of the Sub Committee and Ambassador of the Republic of Algeria, H.E. Abd-El-Naceur Belaid, after which the PRC made comments, observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The efforts of the Chief Executive of NEPAD in the coordination of the work of NEPAD is commendable. The coordination should be replicated at the national level;

ii) There is need to encourage Member States to make voluntary contributions towards the work of NEPAD Agency;

iii) There is further Need to integrate the budget of the NEPAD Agency into the

AU Budget. 84. In response, the Chief Executive of NEPAD Agency clarified as follows:

i) Agreed on the need to encourage voluntary contributions towards the activities of the NEPAD Agency as this would assist NEPAD make impact on the ground as an execution agency;

ii) As regards the integration of the NEPAD Budget into the AU Budget system, it could be pursued with understanding that NEPAD has its specificities.


i) Adopts the report and takes note of the Progress Report of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency for the period July to December 2012;

ii) Recommends to the Executive Council as follows:

a) The process of harmonizing programmes with the AU Commission

should be pursued and the gradual process agreed within the framework of the structural organization of NEPAD Agency should be respected as well;


b) The Agency should focus on programmes that have a real regional and continental impact;

c) Take note of the outcomes of the 19th Africa Partnership Forum; d) Take note of the outcomes of the G8 and G20 Summits as well as

those of the 1st meeting of the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership on the Effectiveness of Development Cooperation.

I. Report of the Policy Committee of the Special Emergency Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa – EX.CL/751(XXII)ix

86. The item was introduced by the H.E Dr Andrew Hama Mtetwa, Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Special Emergency fund for Drought and Famine in Africa. 87. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarifications as follows:

i) Expressed concern about the dwindling resources of the Emergency fund. 88. There was no further debate or objection to the Report. 89. In conclusion, the PRC:

i) Adopts the report of the Sub-Committee; ii) Commends the Sub-Committee for their work; iii) Expresses concern over the depletion of the Fund's resources in the face of

many threats affecting several countries in the region and continent; iv) Recommends to the Executive Council to launch an appeal to Member

States and partners to support the Fund;

v) Commend the Government and the people of Equatorial Guinea for their initiative to establish a Trust Fund of USD 30 000 000 (thirty million dollars) to assist African countries affected by drought, famine and disaster and requests the FAO to take all the necessary measures to ensure the implementation of this noble initiative by the Republic of Equatorial Guinea announced during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2012.


J. Report of the Sub-Committee on Headquarters and Host Agreements – EX.CL/(XXII)x

90. The Report was presented by the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Headquarters and Host Agreements H.E Andrew Bangali, Ambassador of the Republic of Sierra Leone. 91. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarifications as follows:

i) Welcomed the report and commended the Sub-Committee for submitting a report for the first time in six years;

ii) The Sub-Committee should meet as regularly as possible and report to the

PRC; iii) Namibia was omitted from the attendance list of the meeting of the Sub-

Committee; iv) The report spoke more to issues of the AUC and staff of the Commission,

whereas issues concern a broader constituency that includes Diplomatic Missions;

v) Commended the Host Country for assistance rendered in addressing

relevant issues, and in providing privileges and facilities, but noted that exemption from payment of VAT remained unresolved. The Host Agreement should assist in line with commitments made to the AU;

vi) Acknowledged with gratitude the role of Permanent Representative of

Ethiopia in assisting the Sub-Committee in resolving some of the issues; vii) The Sub-Committee should continue following up the request for an

invitation to participate in the Headquarters Implementation Committee.

92. The Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Headquarters and Host Agreements, and a representative of the Host Government, clarified as follows:

i) The pending exemption from payment of VAT is work in progress. The Host Government is putting in place a regulatory system to ensure that the exemption is activated;

ii) On the seizure of funds at the airport, Diplomatic Missions are expected to respect the laws of the Host Country;

iii) The Host Country sent questionnaires to Diplomatic Missions to solicit

responses on any problem issues, but only a few responded. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work with Member States to resolve any issues amicably;


iv) The proposal by the Sub-Committee to participate in meetings of the

Headquarters Implementation Committee will not in any way deviate from the work of this Committee as the AUC belongs to Member States who are members of the AU.

93. In conclusion, the PRC recommends that the Executive Council to:

i) Adopt the report;

ii) Recommends to the Executive Council as follows:

a) Commend the Sub-Committee for its work accomplished, in close

cooperation with Ethiopia, the host country, and the Commission;

b) Commend the host country for its constant cooperation and readiness

to resolve problems encountered in the implementation of the

Headquarters Agreement;

c) Request the Commission and the Sub-Committee to continue to

actively monitor outstanding issues relating to the implementation of

the Headquarters Agreement, in collaboration with the host country;

d) Emphasize the need to share experience in implementing the

Headquarters Agreement in Ethiopia with other Member States hosting

offices of the African Union so as to promote best practices throughout

the system.

iii) The Sub-Committee should discuss and resolve an issue relating to

item 7(vi) regarding seizure of belonging to a Diplomatic Mission, at

Bole International Airport;

K. Establishment of a Sub-Committee on Audit Matters and Consideration

of its Terms of Reference - EX.CL/751(XXII)

94. This Report was presented by a representative of the Commission. Following the presentation, the PRC sought the following clarification:

i) With regard to the proposed ten members of the Sub-Committee, two per

region, reference was made to the Summit decision to increase the number

of auditors to eleven instead of ten and clarification was sought on whether

the number of members could be aligned to that decision.


95. In response, the Commission explained that the Summit decision referred to the number of external auditors but that the membership of the Sub-Committee should respect equal representation among regions and that is why the number of members of the Sub-Committee is ten, two per region.


i) Decides as follows:

a) Establishes a Sub-committee on auditing matters;

b) Adopts the terms of reference of the Sub-committee, including the

mandate and responsibilities, composition on the basis of two

members per region as well as the term of office of two years;

ii) Recommends to the Executive Council to:

(a) Request the Commission to take the necessary steps to facilitate the

start and functioning of this Committee;

(b) Request regional deans to conduct the necessary consultations with

a view to appointing without delay members of the Sub-Committee.

SECTION V: CONSIDERATION OF THE PROGRESS REPORT ON THE DRAFT

STRATEGIC PLAN 2014-2017 FOR THE AFRICAN UNION

COMMISSION - EX.CL/753(XXII)

97. This Item was discussed under the consideration of the Report of the Sub-Committee on Programme and Conferences.

SECTION VI: CONSIDERATION OF THE ISSUE OF REVISION OF THE RULES

OF PROCEDURE RELATING TO THE PROCESS OF ELECTION

OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION - EX.CL/754(XXII)

98. The report was presented by a representative of the Commission, after which members of the PRC made comments and observations, and sought clarification as follows:

i) The Commission has not fulfilled the mandate accorded by Executive Council Decision EX.CL/688(XX). While the Report has reviewed the Rules and Procedure, it has not adequately covered the challenges, gaps and new developments. The Commission is advised to do a deeper reflection and more detailed analysis in order to meet the expectations of the Executive Council under the existing mandate;


ii) The Report is a work-in-progress that gives an outline of what has to be

done, but has yet to identify the challenges, gaps and new developments, as well as the impact of existing rules and procedures;

iii) Once an inventory of challenges, gaps and new developments is drafted,

the Commission should re-submit the Report to the PRC for consideration;

iv) The PRC should set up a Drafting Committee to holistically and comprehensively review the Rules and Procedures;

v) Other documents linked to the Rules and Procedures should also be

examined as part of the review, and in this respect the Commission should make reference to the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council and of the Assembly;

vi) The issue of elections of members of the Commission is complex in both

legal as well as political terms, therefore the review should take account of the legal as well as political dynamics of the elections;

vii) In terms of process, the desk review and solicitation of views from Member

States provides an opportunity for the views of the latter to be heard;

viii) The Assembly Decision calls for consultation of all stakeholders, and in this respect, a reflection group could be set up to bring different contributions from the regions;

ix) The title of the Draft Decision should be amended to read “Review of the

Process of Elections of Members of the Commission Doc. EX.CL/754(XXII)”;

x) The Legal Counsel should interpret the mandate given to the PRC by the Executive Council, for the benefit and better understanding of all;

xi) The position of Director of Legal Counsel has been vacant for quite some

time and should be filled as soon as possible.

99. In response to the questions raised and observations made, the representative of the Commission complimented by the Deputy Chairperson, provided clarification as follows:

i) The reason why a review of the whole process was not done, was to avoid a piece-meal review by first allowing the process of January 2013 to be concluded. The pending election of the Commissioners for Human Resources Science and Technology, and Economic Affairs will mark the end of the current election process after which the Commission can move the review process forward;


ii) Elections are governed by Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council, Assembly, and Statutes. Under Executive Council Decision EX.CL 688(XX), the mandate is limited to review of the election process. There is no mandate to look at other rules;

iii) Consideration of the report had not been intended by the Legal Counsel to

be on the agenda of the January 2013 Summit. It was put as a stand-alone item on the agenda upon the request of the PRC;

iv) The next election will be held in 2016: the time-frame in the report, which

schedules submission through the Executive Council to the Assembly in January 2014 for consideration could be considered as appropriate;

v) What needs to be done after the Executive Council decision in January 2013

is to identify the challenges, gaps and new developments, which will provide a road-map on how the Commission should proceed;

vi) The proposal to set up a Drafting Committee or Working Group for deeper

reflection is welcome. The establishment of a mechanism by the PRC would assist the Commission in the discharge of the mandate given to it by the Executive Council;

vii) The process of recruiting a substantive Legal Counsel is in motion. The

position was advertised, shortlisting was done and the Commission is vetting the shortlisted candidates after which interviews would be conducted to appoint the successful candidate.


i) Take Note of the Report of the Commission and recommendations as well as the proposed tasks and timelines contained in the report;

ii) Recall the Decision EX.CL/Dec.688(XX) which requested “the Commission to review in consultation with the PRC, the whole process of election of Members of the Commission with a view to addressing the challenges, gaps and new developments in order to strengthen it, including through the review of the existing rules and procedures”;

iii) Request the Commission working together with the PRC to submit a report

on the challenges, gaps and other new developments as they relate to the whole process of election of members of the Commission in accordance with Decision EX.CL/Dec.688(XX) “REQUESTS the Commission to review in consultation with the PRC, the whole process of election of Members of the Commission with a view to addressing the challenges, gaps and new developments in order to strengthen it, including through the review of the existing rules and procedures” and to submit appropriate recommendations at the Summit of January 2014.


SECTION VII: CONSIDERATION OF THE STATUTES OF THE PAN-AFRICAN

UNIVERSITY (PAU) – EX.CL/757(XXII)

101. The Report on the Statutes of the Pan African University (PAU) - EX.CL/757(XXII) was presented by the representative of the Commission after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The legal process which the document on Statute would have to undergo

should be clarified and whether it should not first be approved by the

Ministers of Justice;

ii) How the scholarship scheme would be sustained;

iii) The relationship between the PAU and the Commission;

iv) The need for clarification on the Space Science location;

v) The names of host countries are not reflected in the document;

vi) Whether the president and the Vice-President were among the 29 listed

representatives;

vii) The Tenure of the Office of the President?

viii) The reason for restricting the appointment Nationals to the position of

Director;

ix) The reporting mechanism of the PAU;

x) Whether the financial regulation of the PAU would conform with that of the

AU;

xi) The system that would apply in the appointment of academics and the

administration of scholarship;

xii) How the PAU intends to deal with the issue of Gender balance the Gender

issue.

102. In response, the representative of the Commission clarified as follows:


i) The Commission has taken note of the proposed changes on the document

and would comply;

ii) The Statute was endorsed by the Executive Council and adopted by the

Assembly and there was no requirement to refer the Statute to the Ministers

of Justice;

iii) There would be need to set up a Fund to ensure that the scholarship

scheme remained sustainable;

iv) The quality of services to be rendered by the host countries should be

reviewed;

v) On the relationship of the PAU with the Commission, the Commissioner for

HRST would represent the Commission at all times. While the PAU remains

autonomous, the Commission would oversee its operations;

vi) On the Space science location, the Southern African region has agreed to

identify a location. It was the RECs and the regions that were contacted and

required to identify locations;

vii) Naming the host countries on the Statute may not be appropriate but the

thematic areas would remain in the Statute;

viii) On whether the President and the Vice President are among the 29 listed as

representatives, it was deliberately not specified;

ix) The tenure of the Office of the President is three (3) years;

x) On the benefit of the host country appointing the Director, the reason was to

procure the cooperation of the host country and the citizenry. It may

however be reviewed to promote the Pan African nature of the University;

xi) The PAU would be expected to report to the Commission since the

Commission has been mandated to report progress toe the Assembly on

regular basis;

xii) While the PAU has its own financial peculiarities, it is expected that it should

comply with the financial rules of the AU;


xiii) The system for appointment of academics and administration of scholarship

would have its own peculiar way and approach;

xiv) The 50-50 Gender parity would apply.


i) Take note of the fact that the PRC did not consider this item due to the absence of the revised document on the Statutes of the Pan African University (PAU);

ii) Recommend to the Assembly to approve the operationalization of the Pan African University (PAU) pending the finalization of the document on the Statutes;

iii) Request the Commission to distribute to Member States the revised

document on the Statutes of Pan African University (PAU) as soon as possible;

iv) Place the item under Part B of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council.

SECTION VIII: OTHER REPORTS

1) Report of the Commission on the Ministerial Conference on Aviation

Safety in Africa, Abuja, Nigeria, 16-20 July 2012 – Doc. EX.CL/758(XXII)

104. The report was presented by the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy. 105. Following the presentation, the PRC made the following observations :

i) The issue relating to non-compliance with standards in air safety and established practices was becoming more alarming. The relevance of these standards should be evaluated considering the capability of our countries to comply with them. Are the basic criteria of the definition of these standards objective or are they from political considerations?

ii) Many African countries are registered on the black list established by the European Union. How does one react faced with this black list which keeps on expanding? Should the possibility of a reciprocal action against the European Union be envisaged?

iii) African countries are committed in a process of improving air safety and that

has not changed the comportment of the European Union in this regard. The black list, however, continues to be extended against them.


106. The Commissioner provided the following responses :

i) The management of the issue on air safety by the European Union consists of a double technical and political aspect. However, the technical dimension is predominant. In fact, many African airlines must respect the safety standards;

ii) Regarding the technical dimension, the African Union Commission is working with specialized African institutions to contribute to improve the capabilities of African airlines in air safety. The ICAO gives support to AU Member States to enable them to comply with established standards;

iii) Concerning the technical dimension, it can be tackled efficiently only in a

collective manner. The joint Declaration cannot suffice to convince the European Union, unless the capability of our countries to comply with the safety standards substantially improves.

107. In conclusion, the PRC recommends the following to the Executive Council:

i) Take note of the report and the recommendations contained therein;

ii) Endorse the recommendations as follows:

a) The Abuja Declaration on air safety;

b) The objectives of air safety and the proposed Action Plan for Africa as an orientation framework of the aviation sector in Africa designed for a greater compliance with international standards and best practices in accordance with the provisions of the Chicago Convention;

c) The need for all Member States, the RECs, specialized institutions to

implement these recommendations in pursuance of the Lagos Plan of Action and the Abuja Treaty;

d) The need to elaborate a common position on the banishment of some

African airlines and to face the problem in an appropriate manner.

iii) Place this item under Part A of the Agenda of the Executive Council.

2) Report of the 4th Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers in charge of Communication and Information Technologies (CITMC), Khartoum, Sudan, 2-6 September 2012- Doc. EX.CL/759(XXII)

108. The Report was presented by the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy. Following the presentation, comments and observations were made as follows:


i) All the reports should be accompanied by draft Decisions;

ii) Why is the Commission requested in paragraph 5(i) of the draft Decision to submit to the meeting of African Ministers of Justice for its finalization and its presentation for approval at the next Ordinary Session of Assembly of the Union, the Draft Convention adopted by the fourth AU Conference of Ministers in charge of Information and Communication Technologies (CITMC-4) held in Khartoum in 2012?

iii) Elaborate on the presentation on governance of the Internet by the

Foundation and on Global eSchools and Community Initiatives(GeSci);

iv) Provide more explanation on the status of the Convention, its state of progress and when and where it will be submitted for adoption;

v) Explain why the elected Bureau is composed of more than five members,

contrary to the practice; 109. In response to the request for clarification, the Commissioner explained that the Convention was also to be approved by the Ministers of Justice considering the legal obligations arising therefrom. The Legal Counsel of the African Union provided additional explanation, stating that the procedures for the ratification of treaties were subject to the decision of the Executive Council. The Commissioner thereafter provided details on the presentation made by Diplo Foundation and Global e-Schools and Community Initiatives(GeSci), highlighting the benefits of using ICT and tele-education, especially in rural and remote areas. She then clarified the composition of the bureau, stating that in line with standard practice the bureau comprised five statutory members. However other five members joined them to form a Steering Committee.

110. The PRC reminded the Commission that there were different legal systems on the continent and that treaties and conventions were not approved only by Ministers of Justice and that there was the need to add Ministers of Justice and/or other competent Ministers to the draft decision. 111. In conclusion the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Take note of the report and the recommendations, the 2012 Khartoum Declaration as well as the draft Convention relating to the issue;

ii) Endorse the following recommendations:

a) The 2012 Khartoum Declaration;

b) The need for Member States to provide the required support for the

Dot Africa project;

c) Accelerate the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting;


d) Support the transition from Internet Protocol version 4 to IP Protocol

version 6, and formulate national laws on cyber security;

e) Submit the African Union Convention on cyber security to the Conference of Ministers of Justice and/or other competent Ministers in line with the procedures in force;

f) The need to implement the recommendations of the feasibility study on

the African Space Agency (Afrispace) and to formulate a space policy for the continent;

g) The need to prepare an updated, integrated and coherent AU

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategic framework in collaboration with the specialized agencies and the other stakeholders.

iii) Place the item under Part B of the Agenda of the Executive Council.

3) Report of the 2nd AU Conference of Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration, Durban, South Africa, 3-7 September 2012- EX.CL/760(XXII)

112. The Report was presented by a representative of the Commission. 113. Following the presentation, members of the PRC made comments, observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) Whether the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Programme is housed in the ECA, and whether the Commission would continue to be dependent on the ECA in this respect;

ii) The decision to institute the Conference of Ministers as a standing regional forum would imply a bigger bureaucracy, more structures, as well as funding challenges;

iii) The report does not address the issue of the establishment of 14 STCs

which will necessitate the abolition of Sectoral Ministerial Conferences;

iv) The Commission should prepare a report on the involvement of Ministers of Health sector in the delivery of civil registration services;

v) How would the African Union mobilize the necessary financial and technical

resources to support the CRVS development agenda?

114. The Commission clarified as follows:


i) On the location of the CRVS Programme, there is a team in the Statistics

Division of the AUC, taking a lead on the programme and, in the spirit of collaboration with AfDB and ECA;

ii) Acknowledged the need for financial and technical resource mobilization. Efforts would be made to approach Member States to mobilize more resources in support of the CRVS Programme;

iii) it is the responsibility of Member States in strengthening their civil

registration system;

iv) On the Malabo decision to abolish Ministerial Conferences, implementation would begin in 2014. A decision had already been taken to convene the 3rd Conference of Ministers.

115. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council the following:

i) Take note of the report and the recommendations contained therein as well

as the Ministerial Declaration; ii) Endorse the following recommendations in particular:

a) Request Member States to embark on a thorough evaluation of the status of their National civil registration and statistics systems in a coordinated and integrated manner within the structures concerned;

b) Recall the relevant decision of the Assembly of the Union concerning the Specialized Technical Committees which states that they should be operational by January 2014 and consequently direct the Commission to take it into account in the organization of Ministerial Conferences within the framework of the existing STCs;

c) Allocate human and financial resources for the operations of the Civil

Registration bodies and to mobilize additional resources for capacity building in order to facilitate it;

iii) Place the item under Part B of the draft agenda of the Executive Council (as

a result of the decision of the Assembly on the STCs).

4) Report of the 14th Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers

on Environment (AMCEN), Arusha, Tanzania, 10-14 September 2012–

Doc. EX.CL/761(XXII)

116. The Report of the Commission on the 14th Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers on Environment (AMCEN), Arusha, Tanzania, 10-14 September


2012 - EX.CL/761(XXII) was presented by the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The report was precise and commendable;

ii) What would be the situation of collaboration with other regions and areas beyond Africa given that the issue of environment knows no boundaries;

iii) There is need for a detailed study of the legal and financial implications in

order to implement the decision;

iv) Need to translate the decision into action.

117. In response, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture clarified as follows:

i) The Commission had ensured good collaboration with various countries with respect to environmental issues, however, on collaboration beyond the shores of the continent, Member States should discuss the matter and give further directives;

ii) The need to carry out detailed legal and financial implications has been

noted and this would be done.

118. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to: i) Take note of the Report, the recommendations as well as the decisions

contained therein;

ii) Endorse:

a) The development and implementation of flagship regional projects within the framework of the conclusion and the programmes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) which relate to Africa;

b) The creation of an African-Group Negotiators on biodiversity as well as

its integration at the level of Experts, Ministers and Heads of State and Government;

c) The recommendation to review the scrapping of sector-based

Ministerial Conferences and reiterate the relevant decision of the Assembly of the Union.

iii) Place this item under Part A of the Agenda of the Executive Council.


5) Report of the 4th AU Conference of Ministers of Youth, Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia, 12-14 September 2012– Doc.EX.CL/762(XXII)

119. The Report of the Commission on the 4th AU Conference of Ministers of Youth, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12-14 September 2012 - EX.CL/762(XXII) was presented by a representative of the Commission, after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) There is need to clarify the areas where the pilot projects have started, how they were compiled, whether the youths were involved, regional presentation of the continent respected and how the project would be funded in a sustainable manner;

ii) Recast item 10, No. 51 of the report to read that “The Republic of South Sudan will host the COMY VI in 2016” as against “The Republic of South Sudan offered to host the COMY VI in 2016”;

iii) Further clarity was needed on the establishment of the fund;

iv) The hosting of the 2014 and 2016 Conferences should be seen in the

context of the STCs;

v) No draft decision had been submitted alongside the report;

vi) The reports as indicated on paragraph 15 were not attached;

vii) Need to state the deadlines for the submission of candidatures.

120. In response, the Commissioner for Human Resources Science and Technology (HRST) clarified as follows:

i) The four stakeholders, namely: ILO, ADB, UNECA and AUC are still mobilizing efforts with respect to location of the pilot projects;

ii) Regional representation would be taken into consideration;

iii) On the role of the Youths, the Pan African Union of Youths had been involved throughout the process;

iv) On financing of the project, it would be advisable not to leave it in the hands

of foreign donors;

v) No concrete decision on the Fund has been made as there are no available Funds to be housed by any financial institution;


vi) On why there was no draft decision, it was felt that the report was only

meant to brief on the progress so far made based on the Malabo decision;

vii) Copies of the said report would be made available.


i) Take note of the report and progress made in the implementation of the decisions on Youth Empowerment adopted in Malabo during the 17th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in July 2011;

ii) Encourage Member States and other stakeholders to strongly support the Youth Empowerment programmes within the framework of the implementation of the African Youth Charter;

iii) Regarding the organization of the AU Conference of Minister of Youth in

2014 and 2016, recall once more the Decisions of the Assembly of the Union of the STC on the issue and reiterate that all the activities relating to conferences should be undertaken within the framework of the Specialized Technical Committees (STC) already instituted by the said Decision and which are expected to be launched in January 2014 in pursuance of Decision EX.CL/Dec.701(XXII);

iv) On the proposal to transform the Pan African Green Wall Agency of the

Sahara and the Sahel Initiative into a specialized agency of the AU Commission, direct that that there should first of all be a thorough examination of the financial, structural and legal implications by the competent organs of the AU;

v) Place this item under Part A of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council.

6) Report of the 5th Session of the AU Conference of Ministers in charge of Drug Control (CAMDC5), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8-12 October 2012- EX.CL/763(XXII)

122. The Report was presented by the Commissioner for Social Affairs. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) There was the need to annex the revised action plan as well as the minimum quality standards to the report to make it easier to understand;

ii) Pointed out several contradictions between the report and the draft decision,

especially the minimum standards and the common position to be adopted,


with the report stating that work was still being done on the issues whereas the draft decision proposes that they should be adopted;

iii) The report did not indicate the forum during which Africa would present a common position;

iv) Some elements of the report should have been part of the draft decision. They included the financing strategy and the resources mobilization plan for the implementation of the Action Plan as well as the compilation, in consultation with the partners of the minimum continental standards for the reduction of offer including the reinforcing of demands in terms of human resources and equipment for drug control agencies at the entry points which would respond to the deep-rooted causes of the problems of drugs;

v) Given that the issue of drugs has financial, social and political implications, the fight against drugs should be done at the continental level in order for it to be effective. However, the definition of a common position should take into account national and regional sensitivities as well as cultural attitudes. The G20 has furthermore requested Africa to adopt a clear stand on drugs.

vi) As all the countries did not have Ministers in charge of drugs, it would be better to use the term Ministers responsible for drugs;

vii) Nowhere in the report was it indicated that the Ministers had approved the minimum standards and that it was not possible to endorse the revised Plan of Action because it was still a work-in- progress.

123. Responding to the PRC, the Commissioner first of all took note of all the observations made and insisted on the need for Africa to adopt a common position and not to go for the negotiations in a disorganized manner as the other continents were better organized. He reiterated that Africa was a transit point involving many actors and moreover there was the need to adopt a common position on the treatment of drug addicts and also have a better appreciation of the issue of drug addiction. He gave the assurance that the report would include the names of Ministers and would improve upon the terminology.

124. The Chairperson of the Commission intervened, reiterating that the issue of drugs should also be approached from the viewpoint of peace and security and not only from the perspective of health because drug trafficking and the proceeds from it served to sustain conflicts. She insisted on the need to examine the issue holistically and to take into account the demand aspect because at the global level the developed countries tended to examine the issue from the angle of production, forgetting the aspect of demand. There was therefore the need to work together with the developed countries to reduce the demand for drugs in the first place.


125. The Director of Social Affairs added to the statement by the Commissioner by providing some technical clarifications. He recalled the three international instruments that underpinned the fight against drugs. He admitted that most of the issues raised in the report made reference to an on-going work and that the Ministers had examined the minimum standards. However, the Commission was expected to bring together experts to continue with the work on the standards and the reference law given that the legislation differed from one country to the other. He added that the Commission was going to start with the mobilization of resources but that would not prevent the implementation of the revised Plan of Action. 126. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council the following:

i) Take note of the report and its recommendations; ii) Encourage the finalizing of consultations on the common African position

on controlled substances and the management of pain in collaboration with all the stakeholders concerned, especially the Ministers of Health and other stakeholders;

iii) Endorse the following recommendations:

a) The revised Plan of Action (2013 – 2017) on Drugs Control;

b) The work should continue on minimum quality standards for the treatment of drug addiction in force on the continent;

c) The need for Member States to adopt appropriate policies for the

allocation of proceeds from confiscated drug-related products and convictions to fund drug treatment and demand-reduction programmes. The AU should therefore prepare a draft harmonized law to assist Member States;

d) The need to reinforce drugs control, the monitoring and evaluation of

drug addiction as well as the trends of drug trafficking;

e) The need to introduce continental training programmes for the treatment of drug dependence;

f) The elaboration of a continental strategy on the eradication of drug

cultivation in favour of alternative agriculture in order to create sustainable means of livelihood;

g) The need to reinforce research activities on the situation of demand

and supply of drugs.

iv) Place this item under Part A of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council


7) Report of the 2nd Session of the AU Conference of Ministers on

Meteorology (AMCOMET), Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 15-19 October 2012 - EX.CL/764(XXII)

127. The report was presented by the Commissioner for Rural Development and Agriculture. 128. Following the presentation, the following observations were made:

i) Meteorology-related issues being taken care of by an official structure such

as AMCOMNET represented an important step due to the crosscutting

impact of meteorology in all sectors of human activity;

ii) The issue should be included within the larger scope of space sciences;

iii) The future of AMCOMNET should be envisaged within the context of the

establishment of Specialized Technical Committees (STCs).

129. In conclusion, the PRC recommended to the Executive Council as follows:

i) Take Note of the report and the recommendations contained therein;


a) The approval of the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology,

including Weather and Climate Services;

b) The establishment of a working group in charge of elaborating an

implementation plan for the Strategy;

c) Underscore the need, as was already proposed for the African

Regional Space Programme, for coordination between all AU

institutions and organs, as well as other stakeholders in the field;

d) Recall the Assembly Decision on Specialized Technical Committees

(STCs) which should be implemented in January 2014;

e) Recommend that the World Meteorological Organization take the

necessary measures towards the establishment of a regional climate

centre in Central Africa.


iii) Place the item in Part A of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council.

8) Report of the 4th Session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Culture (CAMC-4), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, 29 October – 2 November 2012 - EX.CL/765(XXII)

130. The report was presented by the Commissioner for Social Affairs. After its presentation, the PRC made the following clarifications and observations:

i) It would be difficult to envisage the creation of the post of Commissioner for Cultural Affairs for now;

ii) The choice of the theme of the conference which was linked to that of the

fiftieth anniversary celebrations;

iii) The report did not state the number of ratifications of the Charter on African Cultural Renaissance registered by the Commission;

iv) The framework for action of the third Pan-African Cultural Congress, on

cultural activities which would be organized and the status of the establishment of a cultural museum;

v) The Ambassador of Burkina Faso invited the Member States of AU to

participate in the cinema festival (FESPACO) which would be held from 23 February 2013 to 2 March 2013 in Ouagadougou;

vi) The Ambassador of Congo also invited Member States to participate in the

Music Festival, a regular event, which would be held on 13 July 2013 in Brazzaville;

vii) Apart from the destruction of cultural heritage, there was the need to

highlight human rights violations, including female genital mutilation;

viii) The draft decision should also emphasize the need for States to participate in the cultural activities which would be jointly organized in Malabo in February 2013 by Senegal and Venezuela within the framework of ASA;

ix) Nigeria should be commended for its contribution to world heritage;

x) Regarding the return of art works, it was important to lobby individual

European countries;

xi) The Commission should send notes verbale to Member States reminding them of the need to participate in the various festivals;


xii) A cultural space should be created where the portraits of the founding fathers would be displayed;

xiii) Ethiopia had offered a 200 metre square plot in Addis Ababa for the

construction of an African arts village which would be open to the general public and to the Commission as well.

131. In response to the concerns expressed, the Commissioner provided the following explanations:

i) Only four ratifications to the Charter had been registered to date;

ii) The Commission took note of the interventions on the festivals, the need to protect the heritage and to continue to combat negative traditional practices;

iii) The Commission was considering creating a cultural space in the new

Conference Centre to display different art works which would be donated by States within the framework of the fiftieth anniversary, as well as a space for the portraits of the founding fathers pending the creation of the African village.


i) Take note of the report and its recommendations as well as the Kinshasa Declaration;


a) The inclusion of culture in national development strategies and in the

Post-2015 development agenda;

b) The need for Member States to expedite the process of ratification and implementation of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, in particular, in order to ensure the entry into force of the Charter;

c) The fulfilment by Member States of the commitments made in respect

of the eradication of negative traditional practices;

d) The condemnation of the destruction of cultural assets and world heritage sites by some rebel movements in Mali and elsewhere on the continent;

e) The action framework of the 3rd Pan African Cultural Congress

(PACC3), requesting the Commission to disseminate it in all the Member States;


f) The allocation of physical facilities in the new Conference Center and Office Complex for the creation of Pan-African cultural space which would be inaugurated during the 50th anniversary of OAU-AU;

g) Recall the decision of the Assembly of the Union relating to the

Specialized Technical Committees whose implementation should take place in 2014 and directs the Commission to take it into account in the organization of activities relating to the current Conference of Ministers of Culture;

h) Encourage Member States to participate in FESPACO which would

take place on 23 February 2013 to 2 March 2013 in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso;

i) Encourage Member States to respond to the invitation by the Republic

of Congo by participating actively in the Pan-African Music Festival scheduled to take place in Brazzaville on 13 July 2013;

j) Commend the Republic of Senegal for the organization of the World

Festival of Black Arts;

k) Encourage Member States to participate in the cultural activities organized in Malabo on the initiative of Senegal and Venezuela within the framework of the ASA Summit in February 2013;

l) Recognize the contribution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the

cultural heritage;

m) Encourage the Commission to expedite the implementation of the African Village project for which the Ethiopian Government has provided adequate space in Addis Ababa and where cultural assets of Member States could be exhibited;

n) Stress the importance of the issue of languages in the promotion of

cultural activities on the continent.

iii) Place the item under Part A of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council.

9) Report of the 5th Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers in charge of Science and Technology (AMCOST V), Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, 12-15 November 2012 – Doc. EX.CL/766(XXII)

133. The Report of the 5th Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers in Charge of Science and Technology (AMCOST V), Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, 12-15 November 2012. EX.CL./766(XXII) was presented by the Commissioner for HRST, after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:


i) The Title on page 2 bullet 2 should read “Minister of State in Charge of

Scientific Research”;

ii) Fine tune Recommendation 4.2.21, given that same has previously been adopted in order to avoid duplication;

iii) Some Member States were not informed on the call for candidature, hence

the need to ensure thorough process in administering calls for candidature so as to ensure a wider outreach and give equal opportunities to all;

iv) There is need to reconsider the setting up of many institutions due to

financial constraints;

v) There is need for a clear strategy to be developed before setting up any Space Agency;

vi) Since Namibia would host the 2014 AMCOST, it is hoped that the

operationalization of the STCs would not affect it negatively.

134. In response, the Commissioner for HRST clarified as follows:

i) Remarks made on the need to adjust certain paragraphs have been noted and would be done;

ii) Only the sixteen (16) countries that have signed the agreement were involved in the call for candidature;

iii) Existing centres would be sourced instead of opening new offices for the

institutions;

iv) AUC would need the support of the Member States in order to popularize issues relating to Science and Technology.


i) Take note of the report and its recommendations;


a) The framework of Science and Technology for the detection,

identification and monitoring of infectious diseases affecting persons, plants and animals in Africa whilst ensuring effective coordination with existing initiatives and close cooperation with the specialized institutions in this area;


b) Favourably welcome the decision by H.E the President of the Republic of Congo to launch an African Award for Science and Innovation in his country;

c) The need to welcome the implementation and evaluation of the

consolidated action plan for Science and Technology in Africa so as to facilitate the transition of Africa to competitive economies based on innovation in line with the new 2023 Science and Technology Plan;

d) Recognize the role of space science and technology in the

development of Africa and stress the need to ensure close coordination among all the actors and stakeholders in the sector, especially regarding the establishment of a Pan African Space Agency and the harmonization of all the relevant initiatives and direct the African Union Commission to coordinate all the efforts within the institution and with the other organs concerned, notably the various sector-based Ministerial Conferences or the corresponding Specialized Technical Committees with effect from January 2014 pursuant to the Decision of the Assembly of the Union;

e) Take note of the efforts made by the Commission and ECA on the

feasibility study for the establishment of the African Research and Innovation Council, and direct the Commission to propose practical modalities for monitoring the study;

f) Take note of the offer by the Republic of Namibia to host the next

AMSCOT and directed the Commission to take into account the decisions of the Assembly on the Specialized Technical Committees in the implementation of the proposal.

iii) Place this item under Part A of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council.

10) Report of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Conference of Energy Ministers of Africa (CEMA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12-16 November 2012 - EX.CL/767(XXII)

136. The Report was presented by a representative of the Commission. 137. Following the presentation, members of the PRC made comments, observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The approach and methodology of adoption of resolutions on different

themes is a cause for concern. The resolutions taken by Ministers should always be accompanied by the relevant draft decisions;


ii) Why there are so many members in the CEMA bureau and the principles use in selecting the members?

iii) Tailoring the Rio +20 resolutions to Africa’s agenda, and messaging the

benefits of renewable energy for the people of Africa, was commended as an important initiative;

iv) The appeal being made to development partners to support implementation

of the various resolutions on energy has financial implications;

v) Duplication and contradiction, should be avoided, particularly in the context of the decision of the higher organs of the AU to set up Specialised Technical Committees;

vi) The reference to specific international partners by name should be amended

to refer to bilateral and multilateral partners. 138. The Commission clarified as follows:

i) A draft decision was available and had been circulated;

ii) The bureau has an expanded number of 10 Ministers as a way of ensuring inclusiveness and representation of the multiple energy sectors that exist;

iii) The issue of renewable energy was a top priority, hence the in-depth work

and dedication of an entire week for the Festival of Energy. 139. In conclusion, the PRC adopted the Report and recommended to the Executive Council the following:

i) Take note of the report, the recommendations as well as the resolutions contained therein;

ii) Endorse the recommendations of the Union as follows:

a) Approve the solutions adopted by the partners to support its implementation;

b) Invite all Member States to facilitate the connection of their national

energy databases to the main system of AFREC;

c) Support the C3E initiative which aims at encouraging women to play an active role in the promotion of clean energies;

d) Encourage Member States to adhere to the SE4ALL (Sustainable

Energy for All) initiative;


e) Promote the implementation of the PIDA priority action plan on energy;

f) Support the initiatives aimed at building capacity in the development of geothermal and other sources of renewable energies;

g) Design a strategy for the promotion of the Green Investment Plan and

a novel financing strategy;

h) Promote private-public partnership.

iii) Place this item under Part A of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council. 11) Report of the AU Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture and

Ministers of Trade, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 26-30 November 2012 - EX.CL/768(XXII)

140. The report was presented by representatives of the Commission, after which members of the PRC made comments and observations, and sought clarification as follows:

i) The Commission was commended for organizing a successful joint Conference and for a unique initiative that must be repeated;

ii) Concern was expressed that the meetings coincided with another meeting organized by the Department of Social Affairs making it difficult, for Member States to attend to the meetings;

iii) The two sectors are strongly linked, and for development of the African

continent, such joint activities between the Departments of Agriculture and Trade should be encouraged;

iv) In the Joint Report, the recommendation that “African countries should

enhance their trade flows by organizing Trade Fairs to promote trade and investment opportunities including the agricultural sector” should be highlighted in the Draft Decision;

v) Policies should be formulated to promote competitiveness and profitability in

the agricultural sector;

vi) Investment in agriculture is necessary, and there is need to empower women and the youth in land ownership and to promote food security;

vii) The importance of the “green economy” cannot be over emphasized focus

should not be only on maximizing food production, but also on taking care of the environment;


viii) Development of infrastructure to support agricultural production is critically important;

ix) Subsidies should be introduced in the agricultural sector. Smallholder

farmers should be further supported through provision of extension services; Incentives like agri-banks to provide low cost loans should be put in place;

x) Member States should support each other’s Trade Fairs as a way of getting

to know what each produces, and to promote Intra-Africa Trade. If possible Trade Fairs can be arranged to coincide with the AU Summit as a means of promoting intra-African Trade;

xi) The following important recommendation should be incorporated into the

Draft decision: “Member States and RECs, with the support of development partners, should deploy all necessary efforts to mainstream the Action Plan for Boosting Inter-African Trade (BIAT) in national and regional plans, programs and resource allocation, taking into account existing institutional structures and arrangements at national, regional and continental levels;

xii) Not many African countries are benefitting from AGOA process, due to lack

of information. The Commission should organize a seminar with a view to giving information on how best Member States can benefit from the AGOA process;

xiii) How can Member States be assisted to be in the AGOA process, and how

can those that are already in AGOA be assisted? The USA took a unilateral decision to take out one Member State from the list of eligible countries. How can the AU avoid a reoccurrence of such a situation?

xiv) Member States should work with African Ambassadors in Washington to

devise a strategy on how to deal with AGOA beyond the 2015 deadline;

xv) Ethiopia is hosting an AGOA Forum in June 2013, to promote high-level dialogue on trade and investment. This should be included in the Draft Decision;

xvi) Africa should fight for the candidate that has been identified for the position

of Director General of the WTO;

xvii) African leaders should be made aware of the issues around EPAs and which should add value. A strong message must be sent that Africa should not be fragmented, and that African economies should be safeguarded;

xviii) Boosting the Intra-Africa Trade architecture rests on RECs, which must be

assisted to develop a strategy for deepening integration.


141. In response to the questions raised and observations made, the Commissioners for Rural Economy and Agriculture and the Commissioner for Trade and Industry complemented by the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, provided clarification as follows:

i) The Commission is committed to developing a strategy for development of infrastructure to support agricultural production and in this regard, currently runs a joint programme together with the Department of Infrastructure;

ii) Supporting small-scale farmers with subsidies is a priority;

iii) In addition to many market failures, climate change is affecting agriculture in a profound way, and ways must be found to mitigate the effects of changing weather patterns;

iv) The Commission appreciates that trade holds the key to driving agricultural

transformation;

v) In July 2012 the Summit declared 2014 as the year of Agriculture and Food Security. There is need to bring the continent to focus on it and engage partners as well as the private sector which is encouraged to play a developmental role in the sector;

vi) On CAADP implementation, the Commission is engaging countries to sign

up on CAADP Compacts;

vii) The Commission is working hard to popularize the concept of commodity exchange, in which Ethiopia is thriving and can provide reference to best practice;

viii) The Draft Decision would be amended to capture all key recommendations

in the report on Trade;

ix) The suggestion to develop a Trade Fair concept is welcome and the AUC would endeavour to utilize the AGOA Forum as one such opportunity;

x) There is need for Africa to speak with one voice in all matters relating to

EPAs. 142. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Take Note of the report of the Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers of Trade held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 26-30 November 2012 and the Declarations contained therein;

ii) Endorse the Joint Declaration on boosting Intra-African Trade as a key to agricultural transformation and ensuring Food and Nutrition Security, the


Declaration on WTO issues, the Declarations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the declaration on AGOA and URGE all concerned parties to take necessary measures for their implementation;

iii) Call upon Member States to accelerate the implementation of CAADP and

AIDA and the signing of CAADP Compacts for those that have not yet done so, as a means of enhancing agricultural productivity, food nutrition security and transformation;

iv) Further call upon Member States to invest in the development of

infrastructure, to hold Trade Fairs and create incentives aimed at boosting agriculture and trade;

v) Encourage the increased involvement and role of the RECs in the

promotion of agriculture and trade in the continent;

vi) Welcome the decision by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to host AGOA Forum in June 2013;

vii) Request the Commission in consultation with the PRC to submit a proposal

on the funding of the implementation of Assembly decision AU/DEC 449 (XIX) on the Proclamation of 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security and the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of CAADP;

viii) Place this item under Part B of the agenda of the Executive Council.

12) Report of the 3rd Session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Social Development (CAMSD-3), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 26-30 November 2012 - EX.CL/769(XXII)

143. The report was presented by the Commissioner for Social Affairs. 144. Following the presentation, much of the discussion focused on two main points: the restructuring of the African Rehabilitation Institute (ARI) and the validity of common positions on the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family 2014 and the rights of elderly people in Africa. 145. On the restructuring of the ARI, discussions revealed differences of a semantic nature concerning the dissolution/restructuring of ARI as evidenced by the following observations:

i) In accordance with the Executive Council Decision EX.CL/684 (XX) taken on the basis of the ARI report, the Commission received a mandate to restructure the Institute. The above-mentioned decision spoke of "restructuring and not "dissolution";


ii) This decision, in paragraph 1, "Takes notes of the report on restructuring". In paragraph 3, it refers to another decision of the Executive Council requesting the Commission to assist in the restructuring of ARI and a more efficient financial management;

iii) Paragraph 6 of the same decision prescribed the "integration" of the ARI into

the Commission; iv) The provisions of this decision on ARI should be taken into account unless

they have been overridden by a contrary decision;

v) The reasons for the decision justifying the dissolution of the ARI must be clearly established on the one hand, and on the other hand, the proposed structure to replace it should be identified;

vi) The financial management of ARI was marked by massive embezzlements, hence the urgent need for its replacement by another structure;

vii) The decision to dissolve the ARI was taken by the competent ministers and such a decision can only be welcomed;

viii) Given the alleged embezzlers, the Commission should consider more than just terminating their contracts and envisage stronger measures.

146. In response to these contrasting observations, the Commissioner for Social Affairs made the following observations:

i) Due to massive embezzlement that characterized the management of ARI at its headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe, it was recommended to dissolve the ARI and replace it with an institute that would not reproduce the serious failings observed in its predecessor;

ii) The Commission (Department of Social Affairs) was mandated to assess the situation and submit an audit report, which report highlighted serious mismanagement as evidenced by grave embezzlement;

iii) The ARI was currently in a transition phase and the Commission was working on the design of its replacement. Pending the establishment of this new structure, most regional agencies of ARI were running smoothly;

iv) The transition team has a broad mandate that includes the formulation of proposals for the solution of all problems that the ARI is currently facing.

147. On African common positions there is a contradiction between the content of the report relating to African common positions and the draft decision. In fact:


i) Paragraph 34 of the report states that the draft "African Common Position on the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2014 is being elaborated" and as such cannot be adopted;

ii) The African Common Position on the rights of elderly people in Africa has not been considered in accordance with the procedure in force;

iii) Paragraph 2 of the draft decision should be rid of points (v) and (vi) relating

to the approval of the African common positions.

148. In conclusion, the PRC recommended to the Executive Council as follows:

i) Take note of the Report and the recommendations contained therein; ii) Endorse the recommendations of the CAMDS3 as follows:

a) The Architecture of the African Union for the disabled (AUDA);

b) The Continental Plan of Action on the African Decade of Disabled Persons (2010-2019);

c) The dissolution of the African Rehabilitation Institute (ARI), in

accordance with Article XVII of its statutes, and the appointment of a committee of seven Member States to oversee the liquidation of the assets of the ARI and the submission of a report on the dissolution, to be presented to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government through the Executive Council;

d) The renewed call for accelerated action towards the implementation of the Action Plan "Towards an Africa fit for children" by inviting Member States to respond to this call;

e) The Social Policy Framework for Africa should be implemented by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Member States should accelerate the implementation of the Centre in granting more investment and budget allocations to the social sector.

iii) Request the AU Commission to:

a) Facilitate capacity building and training of Member States in the analysis and expertise in social policy in order to ensure the proper implementation of the Social Policy Framework;

b) Facilitate the launch of the Advisory Council on Aging to monitor and support the implementation and monitoring of the Policy Framework and Plan of Action of the AU on aging;


c) Facilitate the dissolution of the ARI by supporting the Committee of Seven and putting in place a structure to replace the ARI, as well as a transition mechanism.

iv) Welcome the offer of the Republic of Guinea to host the fourth session of

the Conference of AU Ministers in charge of Social Development and request the Commission to take account of the provisions of the Decision of the Assembly of the African Union on the Specialized Technical Committees (STCs) whose operationalization is scheduled in January 2014;

v) Place this item in Part A of the draft agenda of the Executive Council.

13) Report of the Commission on the Situation in the Middle East and Palestine - Doc. EX.CL/770(XXII)

149. The report was presented by the Commissioner for Political Affairs. 150. Following the presentation, the PRC made the following observations:

i) The report gives a detailed and comprehensive description of recent events

which depict the conflict situation experienced on the ground by the

Palestinian people, victims of aggression by Israel;

ii) The report reaffirms the values of responsibility and commitment of the

African Union in its abiding and unflinching support for the Palestinian

cause;

iii) The AU Member States which voted in favour of Palestine for the Non-

Member State status in the United Nations have taken an action that is

consistent with the long tradition of Africa’s solidarity with the Palestinian

cause and the Arab world;

iv) The report should be updated in order to reflect the United Nation’s

resolution which confers the Non-Member State status on Palestine;

v) However, Africa’s expectations are beyond the granting of the Non-Member

State status in the UN to Palestine. The final objective is to see Palestine

become a full-fledged member of the United Nations, enjoying an

unquestionable legal status;

vi) The recent offensive by Israel against the Palestinian territories, coupled

with the expansion policy of settlements in the occupied territories do not


facilitate the implementation of the solution of two States living in peace and

side by side;

vii) The mediation role played by Egypt between Israel and the Palestinians

which resulted in the cessation of hostilities is commendable;

viii) The recommendations contained in the report should be drafted in the form

of a resolution in support of the Palestinian cause.

151. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to :

i) Take note of the Report;

ii) Reaffirm its unflinching support to the Palestinian people in their legitimate

struggle for the establishment of their own sovereign state in the

internationally recognized Palestinian territories based on the 4 June 1967

frontiers, including East Jerusalem as its Capital;

iii) Express grave concern over the continued Israeli settlements in the West

Bank and to condemn the continued Israeli occupation in Palestinian

territories and the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip;

iv) Welcome the granting of the Non-Member State (Observer) status in the

United Nations by the UN General Assembly in December 2012, and to

express high appreciation for the overwhelming support given by the AU

Member States in the UN General Assembly voting process;

v) Recall the previous decisions of the African Union in support of the

Palestinian people and to recommend the adoption by the Assembly of a

Declaration calling in particular for compliance with the ceasefire agreement

concluded on 21 November 2012 between Israel and the State of Palestine,

the support to the efforts of Egypt in achieving a truce, the lifting of Israeli

blockade imposed on Gaza since 2008, a halt to the building of Israeli

settlements in the West Bank, the release of Palestinian prisoners, the

resumption of talks between Palestinians and Israelis, with an agreed

timetable leading to the creation of a viable Palestinian State existing side

by side with the State of Israel;

vi) Place this item under Part B of the Draft Agenda of the Executive Council


14) Progress Report of the Commission on the implementation of Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.412 (XVIII) on the preparations for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the OAU - EX.CL/771(XXII)

152. The report was presented by a Representative of the Commission.

153. Following the presentation, the PRC made the following observations:

i) The Decision adopted at the Ordinary Session of the Assembly in July 2012

stipulated that the Commission, in collaboration with Ethiopia, host country,

should submit a report precisely quantifying the programmed activities. The

report presented does not meet the expectations of the Decision;

ii) The figures indicated in the matrix of activities in annex of the narrative

report are global and the process of arriving at the figures does not appear;

iii) The distribution key used to allocate the budgetary amounts between the

different sources of financing mentioned are not known;

iv) The report does not indicate the distribution of activities between the

Commission and the Ethiopian Government;

v) The festive aspects of the celebration should be reduced in favour of

political activities designed to send a strong political message to the world;

vi) Most of the activities in the matrix are not in harmony with the narrative part

of the report;

vii) The activities selected should accord a considerable place to the

commemoration of the Founding Fathers of the OAU, without forgetting the

First Ladies who supported them in their respective political struggles;

viii) The vision of the continent’s future, a principle underpinning the

programmed activities should be affirmed. In this respect, the search for

coherence imposes a reduction of the volume of activities in favour of a

smaller number capable of carrying Africa’s message to the world;

ix) The Ethiopian Government will throw into the equation all the resources at

its disposal in order to ensure the complete success of the commemoration

of the fiftieth Anniversary of the OAU/AU;


x) The activities selected are not accompanied with a timetable for

implementation.

xi) The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria informed the PRC that

the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be holding a Rock Art

exhibition in Addis Ababa from 22 to 24 May 2013 and in this regard, invites

all Member States to participate actively in this exhibition.

154. The Representative of the Commission provided the following explanations:

i) The Commission has submitted a report which expresses its good faith and

will to contribute to the complete success of the commemoration of the

fiftieth Anniversary;

ii) Some inconsistencies raised are due to the fact that in the preparation of the

report, the Commission took the advantage to reflect on all the contributions

it has received;

iii) The Decision of the Assembly no. 412 of January 2012 requested the

Commission and Member States to combine their efforts in the preparation

for the event of the fiftieth Anniversary of the OAU/AU. Only two regions, the

North and the Central part have paid their expected contributions;

iv) Proposals of Member States are still expected for the consolidation of the

report;

v) The Note Verbale in relation with the recall for voluntary contributions from

Member States had been sent on 31 July 2012. Some States claim they

have not received it;

vi) The activities listed in the matrix have been mostly defined with the

collaboration of the Commission’s technical departments;

vii) Regarding the publication of a work on the OAU/AU, the Department of

Information and Communication(DIC) is contributing to identify relevant

Academics/Researchers;

viii) The Office of the Secretary to the Commission only has four professionals.

It therefore needs two specialists in the organization of the event, in order to

carry out its missions in pursuance of the preparations for the fiftieth

Anniversary.



i) Take note of the interim report and agree that the work on the preparations

for the fiftieth Anniversary is still on-going;

ii) Request the Commission in collaboration with the PRC, to take all the

necessary measures to finalize the activities and the cost implications in the

aftermath of the Summit in February 2013.

15) Concept Note on the Year (2013)/Theme of “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”- EX.CL/772(XXII)

156. The Chairperson of the Commission intervened under this item and explained the reasons for withdrawal of the item of the Executive Council as follows:

i) The Commission had developed a draft Concept Note;

ii) After further discussion of the Concept Note within the Commission, the need was felt to undertake further consultations with the RECs, the ECA, the AfDB, the Youth and other Stakeholders with a view to enriching the Concept Note;

iii) It was further felt that the Concept Note goes with the theme of the 50th

Anniversary of Celebrations of the OAU/AU and that it was therefore proper to discuss the Concept Note in May 2013 rather than at the January 2013 Summit;

iv) The Deputy Chairperson had discussed the issue with the Regional Deans

of the PRC who agreed with the proposal to withdraw the item from the Agenda of January 2013 summit.

157. The PRC took note of the withdrawal of this item from the agenda of the Executive Council.

16) Report, the Legal Instruments and Recommendations of the Ministers of Justice/Attorneys General - EX.CL/773(XXII)

(a) Draft Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of

the African Court of Justice and Human Rights 158. The presentation of the report, including its annexes was made by a representative of the Commission.


159. Following the presentation, the PRC made the following observations:

i) Though the debate on the meaning of “crime of anti-constitutional change of government” was difficult due to the potential conflict inherent in the doctrinal implications which distorted the definitions, the approach adopted by the Commission to deal with the issue was satisfactory;

ii) However, there were some pending questions: which body would declare

that there has been anti-constitutional change of government? (Executive Council, Assembly of the AU?);

iii) The notion of “popular uprising” was also ambiguous. It would be necessary to clearly identify the defining characteristics of popular uprising, whilst keeping in mind that it could be the result of external manipulation;

iv) Constitutionality was assessed on the basis of the intrinsic criteria of a given constitution and not according to external criteria; hence the absolute necessity of sticking exclusively to legal criteria;

v) Regarding “anti-constitutional change of government” only the legal aspects of the issue could be referred to the Court since the political dimension was not within its remit;

vi) The assessment of the financial impact of the broadening of the competence of the Court was not quantified on the basis of exhaustive analysis. It was limited to a single case, namely that of the trial of Hissene Habre;

vii) The structural changes relating to the broadening of the competence of the Court should be examined by the competent organs;

viii) The composition proposed by the Bureau of the Court did not take into account the provisions of Decision 326 adopted by the Assembly of the AU at its Ordinary Session of January 2010 which enjoined it to strictly ensure that all the geographical regions were equitably represented. Consequently Article 3 of the Draft Statutes should be amended to reflect the said provisions.

160. The Commission provided the following responses:

i) The Commission takes note of the observations on the difficulties in agreeing on a stable semantic content of the concept of unconstitutional change of Government. It is working for a consensus approach;

ii) The Commission will continue to work in collaboration with the various Sub-

Committees in order to precisely determine the level of financial implications as well as the necessary structural modifications;


iii) The principle of geographical representation of the regions should be completed by gender representation. Through the Office of the Legal Counsel, the Commission has developed modalities to ensure geographical representation;

iv) Moreover, Member States should submit the candidatures of their nationals

in order to facilitate the implementation of the principle of geographical representation.

161. In conclusion, the PRC recommended the following to the Executive Council :

i) To take note of the report, legal instruments and recommendations as well as annexes of the audit report which focus on the definition of crimes of unconstitutional change of Government and the evaluation of the financial and structural implications of the broadening of the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights in order to include international crimes in its field of competence;

ii) To approve in principle the proposed amendments on the draft Protocol on

the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights and request the Commission to conduct a more thorough reflection, in collaboration with the Peace and Security Council, on the issue of “popular uprising” in all its dimensions and on the appropriate mechanism capable of deciding the legitimacy of such an uprising;

iii) To request the Commission to submit a report on the financial, political and

structural implications to the competent deliberative organs (Peace and Security Council, PRC Sub-Committees in charge of structure and budget issues;

iv) To recall the Decision of the Assembly relating to the respect of the principle

of equitable geographical representation of all the regions and consider it in the Court’s composition like in all the organs of the Union;

v) To include this item in part B of the draft agenda of the Executive Council..

(b) Draft Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union

Relating to the Pan-African Parliament.

162. The report was presented by a Representative of the Commission. 163. The PRC agreed not to discuss this report since the Executive Council had already deliberated on the issue and adopted a decision. 164. The PRC decided to include this item in the draft agenda of the Assembly.


17) Progress Report of the Commission on the Transformation of the African Union Commission into the African Union Authority (on the Implementation of Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.341(XVI)) – Doc. EX.CL/774(XXII)

165. The PRC did not discuss the report but recommended that the initial report that was deferred at the 17th and 18th Ordinary Sessions of the Assembly held in June/July 2011 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and in January 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, respectively, be resubmitted to the Assembly for consideration and further guidance. 166. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Refer the issue to the Assembly for a pronouncement on the pending report that was deferred from the last Summit.

SECTION IX: CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEES

OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1) Report of the Ministerial Committee on Candidatures – EX.CL/775(XXII)

2) Report of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Scale of

Assessment - EX.CL/776(XXII) 167. These reports are to be submitted to the Executive Council by the Ministerial Committees.

SECTION X: ELECTIONS

1) Election of two (2) Members of the Commission – Doc. EX.CL/777(XXII)

- Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology; - Commissioner for Economic Affairs.

2) Election of five (5) members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) - EX.CL/778(XXII)

3) Election of one (1) Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’

Rights (AfCHPR) - EX.CL/779(XXII)

4) Election of eleven (11) Members of the Advisory Board on Corruption -

EX.CL/780(XXII)


5) Election of five (5) Members of the African Union Commission on International Law - EX.CL/781(XXII)

168. The above Items will be considered by the Executive Council. SECTION XI: CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF OTHER AU ORGANS

1. Consideration of the Report on the Activities of the African

Commission on Human and People’s Rights - EX.CL/782(XXII) 169. The Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights presented the combined 32nd and 33rd activity report covering the period February to October 2012. 170. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarifications as follows:

i) Pledged full support to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and urged the Commission to pursue its mandate of enhancing human rights through highlighting defects and violations;

ii) Agreed on the importance of human rights and the need to abide by state

commitments;

iii) The issue of human rights should be seen in the context of peace and security as the two concepts are interlinked;

iv) The call for funding and improved working environment are valid concerns that need to be addressed urgently, and the issue of emoluments of Commissioners should be included in the draft decision;

v) The efforts in sending a fact-finding mission to the occupied Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic to investigate human rights violations are commendable while the refusal of access to the Commission to enter the occupied territories is regrettable;

vi) The Report was issued without consultation with Member States; the ACHPR should to ensure that future reports are based on concrete and proven facts;

vii) ACHPR should consult Member States as appropriate, and Member States are encouraged to collaborate with the ACHPR;

viii) The terms of reference and criteria for the Working Group on the Death Penalty and Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings in Africa, is not


clear. The last sentence of paragraph 44 should be deleted unless there is a clear response on how the conclusion of “a sudden wave of executions” was reached;

ix) The issue of death penalty needs clarification. Activities of the Working Group should take cognizance of the fact that there are different legal processes in different countries. There are cases where executions take place in countries where the death penalty is within legal process. The stated “wave of executions” must therefore be taken in the correct context of due legal process;

x) The ACHPR should engage Member States prior to issuance of its report;

xi) Botswana maintained that the process followed by the Commission when considering the case of Kenneth Wood VS Botswana were flawed and the written Rules of Procedures were not adhered to. Having raised its concerns which were ignored, Botswana thus reiterated its position that it is not bound by the Decision of the ACHPR, in this instance.

171. In response to the concerns raised, the President of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights clarified as follows:

(i) Expressed gratitude to State Parties for the pledges of support;

(ii) Working Group on Death Penalty was established to advocate for abolition of the death penalty and to advocate for a moratorium to enable state parties to undertake in-country consultation;

(iii) Stressed that the reservation raised by Botswana needs to be followed up, i.e. Botswana statement that they are not bound by the ruling of the ACHPR;

(iv) State parties do not respond to communications on allegations of violations that the ACHPR receives. Urges state parties to respond to allegations of human rights abuses.


i) Take note of the 32nd and 33rd combined activity report of the African

Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), the activities undertaken by the ACHPR from November 2011 to October 2012 and the recommendations contained therein;

ii) Further note with appreciation the progress made in the promotion and

protection of Human and Peoples Rights in Member States in the past 25 years;


iii) Commend Member States that have submitted their periodic reports and URGE those that have not yet done so to comply with the obligations set out in Article 62 of the African Charter;

iv) Further commend the ACHPR for the work accomplished during the period

under review

v) Request the African Union Commission to address as a matter of priority, the needs of the ACHPR in terms of funding and staffing by providing this important organ with adequate human and financial resources to enable it deliver on its mandate;

vi) Express its gratitude to the Government of the Republic of The Gambia for

kindly hosting ACHPR for the past 25 years and Urge it to provide a permanent Headquarters for ACHPR, in conformity with the criteria for Hosting AU Organs adopted in Sirte, Libya, in July 2005 Doc. EX/Dec.717(XX). Encourage the ACHPR to engage with the Government of The Gambia on the matter;

vii) Request the AUC to take all necessary measures with a view to

implementing the relevant Executive Council decisions on the emoluments and allowances of officials of the ACHPR;

viii) Accept the request of the Commission (ACHPR) to defer the consideration

of the report of the fact-finding mission to the SADR to the Ordinary Session of the Executive Committee in May 2013.

2. Consideration of the Report of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights – Doc. EX.CL/783(XXII)

173. The report was presented by the President of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights. 174. Following the presentation, the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarifications as follows:

i) Commended the report and endorsed its recommendations;

ii) Commended the Court President and congratulated her for being the first woman President of the Court;

iii) Expressed gratitude for the positive impact of the Court’s undertaking of sensitization missions to Member States to brief them about the work of the Court, and encouraged the Court to continue advocacy to all Member States;


iv) The Court’s plea for additional funds and recruitment of human resources should be fully supported;

v) Ratification is critical in terms of the function of the court, and State Parties are urged to submit their Declarations accepting jurisdiction of the Court to receive cases;

vi) With reference to the point raised in Paragraph 23 of the Report, there is the need for a mechanism to assist those who have no capacity to access the Court;

vii) The celebration of the 50 Years Anniversary of the OAU gives impetus to African countries to reflect on the justice system on the continent, and to find way of making it more effective;

viii) The jurisdiction of the Court should be extended to cover criminal cases; 175. The President of the Court clarified as follows:

i) Welcomed with satisfaction the encouragement extended to the Court by

Member States and expresses determination to deliver on its mandate. 176. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Take note of the Report and its recommendations and to commend the African Court for the efforts invested in 2012 to strengthen its operations;

ii) Urge Member States to ratify the Protocol establishing the Court if they have

not yet done so and encourage them to make and deposit the Special Declaration allowing interested individuals and non-governmental organizations as well as the civil society to directly seize the Court;

iii) Invite Member States and all the Organs of the Union to have recourse to the Court as much as possible to solicit advisory opinions on human rights related issues;

iv) Allocate the necessary resources to enable the Court to gradually fill the vacant posts taking into account budgetary provisions;

v) Take note of the conclusions of the October 2012 Joint Retreat between the Court and the PRC and encourage the two Organs to strengthen their working relations within the context of the activities of the Court.

177. In the course of its deliberations, the PRC expressed Member States’ solidarity with Algeria following the blatant attack by terrorist groups on the In Amenas gas plant and condemned in no uncertain terms the terrorist groups which seriously violate human


rights and endanger peace and security on the continent. To this end, the PRC recommended the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration. SECTION XII: ITEMS PROPOSED BY MEMBER STATES

1) Establishment of an International Constitutional Court (Item proposed

by the Republic of Tunisia) - Doc.EX.CL/784(XXII) Add.1

178. The Report on the establishment of an International Constitutional Court (Item proposed by the Republic of Tunisia) - EX.CL/784(XXII) was presented by a representative of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The proposal is timely, balanced and welcome;

ii) Need to undertake a thorough study of the proposal which would be aimed at interrogating the prospects and implications. This is necessary as the interpretation of constitutions are different from one country to another;

iii) The establishment of the Court would enhance the already existing AU

instruments;

iv) The matter should be taken to the Executive Council for review;

v) There is need for consultations at the regional and national levels;

vi) Need for all the Member States to support the proposal at the UN Assembly;

vii) Is the proposal for a continental Constitutional Court or and International Court;

viii) Time is of the essence to own the proposal as not to give room for another

country outside Africa to come up with same idea;

ix) Need to pass on the proposal for consideration by the AUCIL.

179. In response, the representative of the Republic of Tunisia clarified as follows:

i) The appreciation of the proposal in the first place is a landmark;

ii) The proposal is for an International Court and would have international jurisdiction;

iii) It is being requested that Member States and the internal parties should

send experts to the ad-hoc meeting that would take place in Tunisia in that regard.


180. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council as follows:

i) Takes Note of the proposal by the Republic of Tunisia on the establishment

of an International Constitutional Court;

ii) Acknowledges the importance of establishing an International Constitutional Court as consultative and legal organ to ensure the promotion of principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law;

iii) Commends the initiative of the Republic of Tunisia on the establishment of an International Constitutional Court;

iv) Invites the Commission, in conjunction with AUCIL, to consider the proposal on the establishment of an International Constitutional Court and to make recommendation to the January 2014 Summit on how to set up such a Court, especially after conducting a study on the objectives, the mandate and modalities of operation as well as other relevant aspects.

2) The Integration of the New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP) into African Union Structures and Processes (Item proposed by the Republic of South Africa) – Doc.EX.CL/784(XXII) Add. 2

181. This item was presented by the Ambassador of South Africa. Following the presentation, the PRC sought some clarification and made the following observations:

i) There is need to come up with a formula that will avoid duplication with the

already on-going partnerships with Asia;

ii) If this new partnership is meant to add value, then what will happen to the

existing arrangements between Africa and the Asian countries?

iii) This new partnership could be evaluated alongside the global review of

other partnerships, especially in terms of its sustainability and its

revitalization;

iv) Will the issue of counterfeited medicine be captured in combating organized

crime?

v) Could this partnership prevent other partners to cooperate with Africa?

vi) Since a decision on the matter requires a Summit decision, does it mean

that the proposal will not be considered by Council?


182. To the concerns expressed, the Ambassador of South Africa replied as follows:

i) NAASP already exists, the only difference is that it is not integrated into the

work of the AU;

ii) The NAASP needs to be streamlined into the activities of the continent, not

outside of AU; the Executive Council discussed this matter and

recommended that fast action be taken;

iii) There is no duplication because it will be a continent to continent

partnership;

iv) The proposal will indeed go to Council for consideration.

183. Regarding the integration of the New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership(NAASP) into the structures and processes of the African Union, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Take note of the proposal by the Republic of South Africa concerning the

integration of the New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership(NAASP) into the

structures and processes of the African Union;

ii) Recall further the recommendations on NAASP as contained in « the global

Study on Africa’s Partnerships with other parts of the world » and approved

by the Executive Council of the African Union at its Twentieth Session held

in January 2012;

iii) Underscore the need to promote Africa-Asia solidarity and further

strengthen South-South Cooperation in order to improve the living

conditions of the people of the two continents and determine their place in

the comity of nations;

iv) Requests the Commission, in consultation with the Republic of South Africa

and other stakeholders, to examine ways and means of implementing South

Africa’s proposal including the legal, structural and financial implications and

other relevant aspects like the relation with already existing partnerships and

to submit a report to the Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in

January 2014.


3) The Representation of Local Communities in Organs of the African Union (Item proposed by the Republic of Senegal)- Doc.EX.CL/784(XXII) Add.3

184. The report was presented by H.E. Bassirou Sene, Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal. 185. Following the presentation, the PRC made the following observations:

i) The initiative taken by Senegal in the context of improving participatory

democracy is commendable. However, grey areas remain about the

practical arrangements for the establishment of the Supreme Council for

local communities;

ii) This implementation raises legal, institutional and financial issues that

deserve to be addressed as preliminary questions;

iii) The issue of local governance is already under the purview of the

Conference of Ministers in charge of decentralization and local development

(CADEL) and the Supreme Council has considered the risk of duplication;

iv) The approach proposed by Senegal in the conduct of the project does not

meet the procedural requirements for establishing a new organ;

v) Senegal should get in touch with CADEL to assess the relevance of the

project by placing it in the context of the forthcoming implementation of the

Specialized Technical Committees (STCs);

vi) Senegal is encouraged to pursue studies related to the finalization of the

project in collaboration with all stakeholders.

186. The Ambassador of Senegal gave the following answers:

i) Senegal welcomes the interest shown by the PRC towards this initiative

dear to his President;

ii) The President of the Republic of Senegal had already had the opportunity to

bring this project to the attention of his peers at the AU Assembly in July

2012;


iii) The project is still under study and will be finalized in 2014. As such, the

configuration, functions and status of the Supreme Council for Local

Authorities within the Executive Council are not yet defined;

iv) It is the findings of the study, which will be open to all stakeholders, that will

determine the conditions of relevance of the Supreme Council;

v) The Supreme Council for Local Authorities is an offshoot of the problem of

decentralization while CADEL deals with devolution. There cannot therefore

be duplicated.


i) Take note of the proposal of the Republic of Senegal on the creation of a

Supreme Council for Local Authorities in the framework of the African Union;

ii) Congratulate the Republic of Senegal for this great initiative;

iii) Request the Republic of Senegal to work closely with the Commission to

consult on the subject and make any necessary clarification on the role,

composition, mandate and functioning of this structure. In this regard,

requests that the consultation process be inclusive and open to all

stakeholders. In addition, the study should take into account similar existing

initiatives;

iv) Request the Republic of Senegal, as part of the proposed study, to work

closely with the Commission to identify the financial, structural and legal

implications resulting from this initiative and submit a comprehensive report

to the AU Assembly in January 2014;

v) Recommend to the AU Assembly to approve the proposal of the Republic

of Senegal, with recommendations referred to above.

4) Reduction of maternal, neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity in Africa (Item proposed by the Republic of Benin) Doc. EX.CL/784(XXII) Add.4

188. The Report on the Reduction of maternal, neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity in Africa - EX.CL/784(XXII) was presented by the representative of the Embassy of the Republic of Benin after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:


i) The efforts being made by the Republic of Benin towards the reduction of

maternal, neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity in Africa were commendable and welcome;

ii) There is need to ensure that the resultant decisions are implemented with a

view to making visible impact.

189. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council as follows:

i) Take note with appreciation of the proposal of the Republic of Benin for a debate on the issue of reducing maternal, neonatal and infant mortality in Africa during the January 2013 Summit to be held in Addis Ababa;

ii) Express concern that despite the remarkable efforts and achievements

made in the field since the Summit in Kampala, the loss of life of women while giving birth remains a major challenge for which concrete actions should be taken to significantly reduce the scourge;

iii) Invite all Member States to implement the initiative such as the Maputo Plan of Action and the CARMMA;

iv) Recommend to the Assembly to approve the initiative of the Republic of Benin.

5) Establishment of an African Union Institute for Statistics in Tunis,

Republic of Tunisia (Item proposed by the Republic of Tunisia) EX.CL/784(XXII Add.5

190. The item was presented by a representative of Tunisia. After the presentation, the PRC requested for clarifications and made the following observations:

i) The institution was being established at the appropriate time because Africa should have its own statistics and decision-making based on reliable statistics is a necessity;

ii) Would the institution operate on external funding?

iii) The Charter on Statistics had not yet entered into force;

iv) There was the need to specify in the draft decision the country that would

host the Institute;

v) The smooth operation of the institution would be contingent upon the harmonization of statistics and the collaboration of Member States;


vi) Some activities had been outlined under the chapter on Expected Outcomes in the document: was there a deadline for the attainment of the outcomes?

vii) The document stated that Tunisia would expedite the ratification of the

African Charter on Statistics and all the other treaties; did that mean that Tunisia had made a commitment to support African States or was it an internal process?

viii) The Roadmap mentioned during the presentation was not specified in the

document;

ix) The implementation report should not be presented in May 2013 as reflected in the draft decision, but rather in January 2014 as the initial time-limit was rather short;

x) The role of the RECs was not defined in the document;

xi) Regional branches should be envisaged in order to ensure that maximum

benefit was derived from the Institute;

xii) The harmonization of data collection and processing in Member States would have some financial implication that the Commission should assess;

xiii) It would also imply capacity building for which the Institute could make

provision in its programme;

xiv) Should they wait for the Charter to enter into force before putting in place the Institute?

xv) Was the programme provided for in the new Strategic Plan?

xvi) Would Tunisia finance the take-off stage of the Institute? Who would finance

the Institute thereafter?

xvii) Was there any study on the profitability of the Institute?

xviii) How would the Institute cooperate with ECA and the AU in order to avoid duplication of efforts?

xix) The draft decision should encourage Member States to expedite the

ratification of the Charter on Statistics;

xx) What would be the fate of the working groups once the Institute was put in place?

191. Responding to the concerns expressed, the Representative of the Commission provided the following additional information:


i) The Institute would be modelled on Eurostat;

ii) There was a national statistical institute in each Member State, but at the

level of the African Union projects, programmes and treaties were adopted during the various summits and this implied statistics for effective monitoring and evaluation, as well as the generation of specific statistics that could not be obtained elsewhere;

iii) The Institute would work in close collaboration with the relevant

stakeholders; it would propose definitions, concepts, nomenclature and would gather necessary data from national institutes which would be obliged to conform to the established standards;

iv) The Institute would fill the existing vacuum;

v) It was one of the flagship projects under the AU Strategic Plan;

vi) There would obviously be financial implications. Initially, Tunisia would

absorb all the cost relating to the commencement of the Institute. Partners had expressed willingness to finance the subsequent stages of the Institute;

vii) The RECs had already been involved and had been working in close

collaboration to ensure the ratification of the Charter, the harmonization strategy and other activities;

viii) 22 countries had already signed the Charter whilst 7 had ratified it. It

remained 8 ratifications for the Charter to enter into force. Thus, the Charter and the Institute were complementary and did not contradict each other;

ix) The Working Groups headed by the Member States and relating, among

others, to trade, employment, governance (headed by the AU) would continue to exist and would assist the Institute in its work by collecting data because the Institute did not generate statistics;

x) Tunisia would sensitize and encourage the national institutes to adopt the

same concepts on unemployment and poverty, for example;

xi) A profitability study could be carried out by simple questionnaire to the stakeholders requesting for their views on the concept note. The responses obtained could be used to enrich it.

192. In conclusion the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Take note of the proposal by the Republic of Tunisia on the creation of an African Union Institute for Statistics in Tunis;


ii) Recognize the importance of the African Union Institute for Statistics in promoting the generation of the official statistics of the African Union by mainly collating, harmonizing and aggregating data published by the national institute for statistics of Member States;

iii) Recognize also the importance of the establishment of the African Union

Institute for Statistics in the preparation and publication of statistical data in Africa in order to guide public authorities in decision-making and also to inform African citizens;

iv) Encourage the Member States that have not yet signed, ratified and

implemented the African Charter on Statistics to do so in order to ensure its rapid entry into force;

v) Approve the creation of the African Union Institute for Statistics which will be

based in Tunis in the Republic of Tunisia and express its gratitude to Tunisia for its commitment to absorb the operating costs during the initial phase of its commencement;

vi) Direct the Commission, to examine, in collaboration with the Government of

Tunisia, ways and means for putting in place the Institute by undertaking a study on the financial, structural and legal implications, the sources of funding as well as other relevant aspects and submit a report to the January 2014 Summit;

vii) Invite development partners to support the proposed creation of an African

Union Institute for Statistics.

6) The promotion of key competences for the accelerated and sustainable development of Africa (Item proposed by Burkina Faso) EX.CL/784(XXII) Add.6

193. The Report on the promotion of key competences for the accelerated and

sustainable development of Africa (Item proposed by Burkina Faso) was presented by

H.E. Minata Samate Cessouma, the Ambassador of the Republic of Burkina; after

which the PRC made comments and observations as follows:

i) The proposal is welcome and commendable;

ii) The proposal depicts the vision of Africa;

iii) It is a perfect proposal for African Renaissance;

iv) There is need to highlight the importance of teachers as well;

v) Need to ensure creation of employment opportunities.

194. In response, the representative of the Commission made clarification as follows:


i) The comments and observations of the PRC have been noted and these would be incorporated with a view to enriching the document.


i) Take note of the proposal of Burkina Faso on the promotion of critical skills for Accelerated and Sustainable Development in Africa; proposal which complements other initiatives such as the Plan of Action for the Decade of Education;

ii) Commend the Government of Burkina Faso for hosting the 2012 Triennale of education and vocational training in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 12 to 17 February 2012;

iii) Call upon Member States to implement the recommendations of the Triennale due to the important role of education and vocational training in the development of the continent and the African Renaissance;

iv) Request the Commission to arrange a consultation with the ADEA, the AfDB and the relevant institutions to develop a program of support to African countries concerned, to the end of appropriating, adapting and implementing conclusions from the Trienniale of education and training of Ouagadougou;

v) Also request the Commission to report regularly to the Assembly on the implementation of the decision on the Triennale through COMEDAF or corresponding STCs;

vi) Recommend to the Assembly to approve the initiative of Burkina Faso and endorse the recommendations of the Triennale 2012.

7) 18 July – Nelson Mandela Day for Africa (Item proposed by the Republic of South Africa) EX.CL/784(XXII) Add.7

196. This item was withdrawn at the request of the Republic of South Africa.

8) Proposal by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to host a Special Follow-up Summit on the Abuja 2001 African Union Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other Related Infectious Diseases in the third quarter (July/August) of 2013 (Item proposed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria) EX.CL/784(XXII) Add.8

197. The Report on the Proposal by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to host a Special Follow-up Summit on the Abuja 2001 African Union Summit on


HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other Related Infectious Diseases in the third quarter (July/August) of 2013 was presented by H.E. Ambassador Bulus Paul Zom Lolo, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after which the PRC made comments and observations and sought clarification as follows:

i) The proposal to host the Summit is most welcome and highly appreciated;

ii) The date of the Special Summit should not coincide with the dates for the Ramadan as the Summit may likely take place during the Ramadan season.

198. In response, Amb. Bulus Paul Zom Lolo, reassured the PRC that necessary measures would be taken to ensure that the dates of the Special Summit do not clash with the dates of the Ramadan feast. 199. In conclusion, the PRC recommends to the Executive Council to:

i) Take note with appreciation of the offer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to

host a Special Follow-up Summit to the Abuja 2001 Summit on HIV/AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases in the third quarter of

2013;

ii) Express concern that HIV/AIDS continues to be a major scourge to the

African continent;

iii) Request the Commission to take the necessary measures, in consultation

with the Government of Nigeria, for the preparation and the proper conduct

of the Summit and to undertake necessary consultations regarding the

choice of dates for the Summit;

iv) Recommend to the Assembly to approve the offer of the Federal Republic

of Nigeria.

9) South-South and Triangular Coalition for Africa post-2015 (Item

proposed by the Republic of Guinea) EX.CL/784(XXII) Add. 10

200. The report was presented by the representative of Guinea. After the presentation,

the PRC made the following comments:

i) The structure of the coalition, its headquarters, its link with already existing partnerships, the definition of triangular cooperation, and its impact on existing partnerships;


ii) The initiative could be placed within the framework of the non-aligned movement;

iii) Other more creative initiatives should be considered, such as a partnership

with the Continent’s richest countries and institutions, since it appeared that cooperation with distant continents did not succeed;

iv) The proposal would effectively contribute towards the realization of Africa’s

development objectives;

v) The financing of the headquarters and activities was a source of great concern;

vi) The Deputy Chairperson of the Commission highlighted the importance of

South-South cooperation and underscored the need for the Commission to work hand in hand with Guinea in order to present a comprehensive report to the PRC, which would include the financial and other implications. He added that some emerging countries have the technology Africa required, but lack resources, and therefore turn to a developed country to establish triangular cooperation. He stressed the need for the Commission to work with Member States that make proposals, in order to strengthen, assert and enrich them.

201. Responding to the concerns of the PRC, the representative of the Republic of

Guinea, as well as the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, provided the following

clarifications:

i) The idea of South-South and triangular cooperation arose when developed countries, except for Scandinavian countries, could not respect the 0.7% official development assistance to be granted to countries of the South, in the aftermath of the economic crisis, and due to the fact that emerging countries have resources which they can put to the service of Africa. However, since each of the countries or continents has its own cooperation framework, there was a need to federate them, highlight their complementarity in terms of resources for attaining the MDGs, and pool resources from the North and the South;

ii) The headquarters would be in Guinea and all the procedures would be respected;

iii) The cooperation does not undermine existing cooperation frameworks, but rather instils impetus in and compliments them;

iv) The coalition would make it possible to take stock of South-South

cooperation by highlighting the achievements and weaknesses, and on that basis, define an African strategy under the auspices of the AU;


v) On completion of the strategy, a plan of action would be defined within the

NEPAD framework, with added value from each country, by avoiding duplication and strengthening the consistency of South-South cooperation;

vi) Once a policy decision has been taken within the AU, the AfDB, UNECA and

UNDP could come together to highlight the added value of such a proposal in order to submit an enriched document to the next meeting of Ministers of Finance which will be held in Abidjan in March 2013;

vii) The Non-Aligned Movement having affirmed its political identity, is now

addressing economic development issues, and would work in synergy with the coalition ;

viii) In bilateral consultations with emerging countries of the South, particularly

the Golf States, China, East Asia, and Latin America the latter have not only adhered to the idea, but are prepared to finance its headquarters;

ix) Resource mobilization missions are envisaged for funding the headquarters,

the first of which will be to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Japan, South Korea and Brazil. They have all given assurances to the Guinean Government for funding.


i) Take Note of the proposal of the Republic of Guinea on the establishment of a South-South and Triangular Coalition for Africa post-2015;

ii) Stress the strategic importance of such a coalition which is meant to boost development assistance to the Continent within the framework of the post- 2015 agenda, while ensuring the dynamic mobilization of the Continent’s internal resources for its development;

iii) Recognize the importance of the role of the coalition in building the

Continent’s financial capacities;

iv) Endorse in principle the idea of a South-South and Triangular Coalition for Africa post-2015 within the framework of its post-2015 development agenda;

v) Take Note of the candidature of Guinea to host the headquarters of the

Coalition in January 2016 and the regional project for the implementation of the 2013-2015 preparatory phase;

vi) Request the Commission, in collaboration with the Republic of Guinea and

the other partners concerned, namely, UNECA, UNDP, AfDB, NEPAD Agency, European Union, the World Bank, OIF, the competent institutions of the United Nations System, bilateral partners of the South and the North, to


consider the ways and means of implementation of the Guinean proposal, including the legal, structural, financial and other implications, taking into consideration already existing agreements, and report thereon to the ordinary session in January 2014.

SECTION XIII: ANY OTHER BUSINESS

203. A communication was made to the PRC by the Special Representative of the UN

Secretary General on violence during war. The PRC expressed its appreciation to the

Special Representative of the UNSG for the communication and took note of its

important content.

SECTION XIV: DATE AND VENUE OF THE 23rd ORDINARY SESSION OF THE

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

204. This item will be considered by the Executive Council.

SECTION XV: ADOPTION OF THE DECISIONS OF THE 22ND ORDINARY

SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL


SECTION XVI: CONSIDERATION OF THE DRAFT DECISIONS AND

DECLARATIONS OF THE 20TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE

ASSEMBLY


SECTION XVII: CONSIDERATION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA OF THE 20TH

ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY


SECTION XVIII: ADOPTION OF THE REPORT

208. At the close of the deliberations the PRC adopted its report which it recommended to the Executive Council for consideration.


SECTION XIX: CLOSING CEREMONY

209. In his closing remarks, the Chairperson of the PRC thanked the members of the Bureau, all the delegations, the Commission led by the Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the interpreters and translators for their cooperation and contribution to the success of the deliberations. He then declared the 25th Ordinary Session of the PRC closed.

Documents

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES’ COMMITTEE TWENTY-FIVE … Rpt (XXV) _E.pdf · PRC/Rpt(XXV) Page 1 REPORT OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES’ COMMITTEE