African Union Compendium 2Nd Edition
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African Union Compendium 2nd Edition Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union African Union Compendium About Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. We save lives and help rebuild livelihoods when crisis strikes and we campaign so that the voices of the poor influence the local, national, regional and global decisions that affect them. We believe that change happens when citizens are informed, empowered and enabled to influence policies, practices and to use mechanisms to hold their leaders accountable. We work directly with citizens, communities and we seek to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them. We are an international confederation of 17 organizations working together with partners in more than 90 countries including 35 in Africa. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union and a Bilateral Host Agreement with the Government of Ethiopia, Oxfam set up a Liaison Office with the African Union (OI-AU) in Addis Ababa to strengthen it collaboration with the African union. OI-AU together with other Oxfam affiliates and partners operating in Africa, work closely with the African Union and its member States on various issues of common interest including humanitarian policy, peace and security, social affairs, gender justice, economic affairs, governance, agriculture, citizens’ participation and communication. In line with the African Union’s mission to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena, our Liaison Office with the African Union, part of Oxfam Pan Africa Team works essentially on the following: 1. Active Citizenship in the Affairs of the African Union: To support citizens and civil society organizations of Africa to work with and engage the African Union, and be part of the policy processes debates and decisions that affect their life. 2. Saving Life Now and in the Future: Peace, Security and Humanitarian Affairs including direct engagement with the African Union’s peace and security organs in terms of policy advocacy and campaign, building on Oxfam’s operational presence in 35 countries in Africa including a number of conflict affected countries namely Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Mali, Somalia etc. 3. Making African Extractive Resources Work for Africa: Support the AU’s African Mining Vision and African Mineral Development Centre objectives to ensure that African rich mineral resources are fully and best used for the socio- economic development of the continent 4. Representation of Oxfam to the African Union and management of the confederation’s relationship with the African Union, its organs and member states in the framework of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between Oxfam International and the African Union Commission. Copyright © 2014 International Designed and Printed by: AMEYIB Communication & Marketing Plc - +251 911 64 711 88 All rights reserved. Redistribution of the material presented in this work is encouraged, provided that the original text is not altered, that the original source is properly and fully acknowledged and that the objective of the redistribution is not for commercial gain. African Union Compendium African Union Compendium Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union 4 African Union Compendium Acronyms AACC All Africa Conference of Churches ACB African Central Bank ACBF African Capacity Building Foundation ACHPR African Commission on Human and People’s Rights AEC African Economic Community AIB African Investment Bank AMF African Monetary Fund APRM African Peer Review Mechanism APSA African Peace and Security Architecture ASF African Standby Force AU African Union AUC African Union Commission CCP-AU Centre for Citizens’ Participation in the African Union CEN-SAD Community of Sahel-Saharan States CID Citizens and Diaspora Directorate CMD COMESA ConflictCommon Management Market for Eastern Division and Southern Africa CSOs Civil Society Organisations EAC East African Community EASFCOM Eastern Africa Standby Force Mechanism ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States ECOSOCC Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EU European Union FAS Femmes Africa Solidarité Acronyms 5 FEMNET African Women’s Development and Communication Network FES Friedrich Ebert Stiftung FIDH International Federation for Human Rights GIMAC Gender is My Agenda Campaign ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development International IDEA International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance IPSS Institute for Peace and Security Studies IRRI International Refugee Rights Initiative ISS Institute of Security Studies MoU Memorandum of Understanding NARC North African Regional Capability NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OAU Organisation of Africa Unity OI-AU PAP OxfamPan Africa International Parliament Liaison Office with the African Union PRC Permanent Representatives Committee PSC Peace and Security Council PSD Peace and Security Department RECs Regional Economic Communities SADC Southern African Development Community SOAWR Solidarity for African Women’s Rights SOTU State of the Union Coalition UNOAU United Nations Liaison Office to the African Union 6 Table of Contents Table of Contents Acknowledgement. 8 Background to the Compendium . 9 Chapter One: . 12 The Pan African Movement . 13 Chapter Two . 22 The Continental Body . 23 Chapter Three . 36 African Union Organs . 37 Chapter Four . 71 African Union Commission . 72 Chapter Five . 128 The African Union Decision-Making Process. 129 Chapter Six . 138 The Union Government Debate . 139 Chapter Seven . 146 The Process of Organizing Meetings and the AU Summit . 147 Chapter Eight. 170 Civil Society Engagement . 171 Chapter Nine . 180 Non-State Actors Engaging the African Union . 181 Table of Contents 7 Appendix . 207 AU Regions . 208 Regional Economic Communities Recognized by the AU . 209 Foreign Offices to the African Union . 225 African Union Scientific and Technical Offices . 229 Leaders of the OAU/AU . 236 Legal Instruments . 237 Bibliography . 239 8 Acknowledgment and Introduction Acknowledgment and Introduction I am delighted to introduce to you this second edition of the African Union Compendium. I would like to thank sincerely my dynamic and dedicated colleagues of OI-AU who worked hard to complete this 2nd edition, a totally revised and augmented version of the 1st edition. I am particularly grateful to Rinret Dabeng the Project Lead, Idriss Ali Nassah and Brenda Mofya the reviewers and all the other colleagues contributors in this exciting work. I would also like to thank the African Union Commission staff and the representation project.offices of the RECs, for their contributions and assistance in the realization of this The original project and the 1st Edition of this Compendium was thought by Oxfam theLiaison African Office Union’s with missionthe African to build Union an andintegrated, Fahamu pr withosperous the objective and peaceful of supporting Africa, an Africa driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena. Our aim was to have a comprehensive manual to support our “understanding the African Union” training programme now jointly executed by Oxfam and the African Union Commission. It is to be noted that, in preparing the African Union Compendium, we have made use of publiclydepartmental available experts, official internet AU documents, research and policy resear instruments,ch work that key has presentations taken into account by AU available information Oxfam and its partners are committed to the vision and objectives of the African Union, and continue their engagement with the continental body through different efforts of popularizing the African Union, and supporting it to promote the implementation of Acknowledgment and Introduction 9 the various policy instruments that will in essence render better conditions of life for the citizens of the continent. I sincerely hope that this Compendium will be of great use to citizens, CSOs, the media, policy makers and other interested stakeholders. Désiré Assogbavi, Resident Representative and Head of Oxfam Liaison Office of the African Union Addis Ababa, 6 January 2014 10 Why an AU Compendium? Why an AU Compendium? Since its creation in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the African Union (AU) has been seeking to achieve greater unity and solidarity of African countries and to be a people-centred institution by allowing and encouraging citizens’ engagement with its organs. The AU has promised to keenly involve African citizens at large and members of the diaspora in the process of the continental integration. Over the last few years, the AU has been trying to build a partnership between governments and all segments of civil society, in order to strengthen solidarity and cohesion among the African people and to make Africans ‘both the actors and beneficiaries of the structural changes engendered by development’ (OSISA et al., 2007). In addition, the creation of organs such as the Pan African Parliament (PAP)