AU Monitor: Issue 123, 2008

[Hakima Abbas]

Weekly Roundup -  Issue 123, 2008

This week’s AU Monitor brings you news and updates from the African  
Union (AU) summit.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has been elected Chair of the  
African Union, promising that he will do everything “within his  
mandate to work towards peace and stability on the continent”.  In  
addition, Jean Ping, Gabonese Foreign Affairs Minister, was elected  
as the new Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC),  
replacing President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali.  At the close of the  
AU summit, Mr. Ping stated that the AU should deepen its ties with  
the Arab world to help end conflicts in Africa where “Arab’s and  
African’s meet” and to promote economic development. Kenyan Erastus  
Mwencha, Secretary General of COMESA, was elected as Deputy  
Chairperson of the Commission while seven Commissioners were also  
elected to the AUC at this 10th ordinary session.

In an interview with President Mbeki at the close of the AU summit,  
he noted that progress on industrialization, the theme of the summit,  
would only occur once Africa became a manufacturing continent rather  
than simply an exporter of raw materials.  Referring to both the  
decisions relating to the audit report and the union government,  
President Mbeki stated that they would be effectively postponed until  
the next summit of the AU in July with further inter-session  
deliberation.  In her analysis, Anita Powell calls the stagnation of  
the Union Government decision power politics.  Notably, the Southern  
African Development Community’s (SADC) Executive Secretary Tomas  
Salomao has cautioned the formation of a union government until sub- 
regional groups increase ties and communication amongst themselves  
first.

Further, the AU Executive Council made a decision on the Economic  
Partnership Agreements with the European Union, stating that no  
region should sign one if it is not discussed at the continental  
level. The Council said that the signing of any agreement will affect  
the continent as a whole. Afroflag Youth Vision and Oxfam  
International have issued a joint statement urging African  
governments to join forces and block the European Unions proposed  
economic partnership agreements (EPAs), as they will have a critical  
negative impact on Africa’s industrial development and economic  
policies.

The African Commission on Human and People’s Right’s (ACHPR) will  
hold its fourth extraordinary session in The Gambia this month,  
addressing, among other matters, the human rights situation in Kenya.  
ACHPR has also issued a statement on the violence in Kenya,  
expressing grave concern for the destruction, loss of life, and  
displacement of civilians; the group has also called upon all those  
involved to work through differences through dialogue and urges the  
Kenyan government to protect those at greatest risk.

The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) coalition issued a  
communiqué on the situation in Kenya, expressing their concerns over  
the civil and political unrest following the elections and the  
violation of human rights that occurred as a result. While the  
president of the West African Bar Association, Femi Falana, urged the  
African Union to take proactive steps to limit the violence in Kenya,  
calling for them to impose sanctions on the Kenyan government for  
“violating its obligations under the AU Constitutive Act and African  
Charter as well as promoting unconstitutionalism”.

The media rights group, Committee to Protect Journalists, has called  
on the AU to “strengthen AU institutions dedicated to supporting  
press freedom” to help ensure democracy, stability, and freedom of  
speech throughout the continent.  While, a group of civil society  
organizations (CSO) released a communiqué on a people-centered  
African Union and the importance of CSO involvement in AU affairs.  
The communiqué states:  “With a commitment from the AU to enhanced  
engagement of African civilians in the process of uniting the African  
continent, there remains the actualization of a new form of  
partnership. We believe that civil society can serve as the critical  
link between the African peoples and AU”. Further, a recent CSO  
Continental Conference resulted in a host of recommendations from  
African civil society on the audit of the AU, the union government,  
peace and human security and EPAs.

In regional news, Secretary General of the East African Community  
(EAC) Ambassador Juma Mwapachu calls for police and immigration  
authorities to join the movement in promoting cross-border trade and  
free movement of people in the region, encouraging authorities to  
contribute to regional integration as opposed to hindering it.   
Similarly, in an attempt to further economic integration, SADC will  
launch its Free Trade Area in late August, 2008, coinciding with the  
annual Summit of Heads of State.



Citizen’s Continental Conference Briefing

Over 50 African national and continental organisations, coalitions  
and CSO networks having met for two days offer the following  
reflection, commitments and recommendations towards strengthening the  
impact of the African Union on peace, democratic governance and  
industrialisation in Africa.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/968


A People-Centered African Union

Civil Society Communiqué—We, the undersigned organisations welcome  
the opportunity of the 10th Ordinary Summit as a chance to come  
together again as a joint civil society to contribute to an  
increasingly united Africa. This conference builds on the value of  
the last such civil society gathering, which took place in Accra,  
Ghana in June 2007 around the 9th Ordinary Summit.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/967


SADC Free Trade Area

(SANF)—The Year 2008 is set to be a momentous one for the region with  
the official launch of the Southern African Development Community  
(SADC) Free Trade Area slated for August.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/966


Boosting Arab Ties to Build Peace

(The Daily Monitor) - Africa should deepen its ties to the Arab world  
to help end a spate of conflicts in the regions of Africa where  
Africans and Arabs meet, the African Union’s top diplomat said in  
remarks published on Monday.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/965


AU Audit Report

At the AU Summit in July, 2007 it was argued that while “all member  
states accept the United States of Africa as a common and a desirable  
goal”, the Executive Council recommended an audit review of the state  
of the Union to identify the areas where significant improvement has  
to be made to accelerate the African integration process. The High- 
Level panel to review the African Union presented its final report,  
AUDIT_REPORT.doc, for discussion and adoption at last week’s  
Executive Council meeting in Addis Ababa.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/962


Mbeki Interview on AU Summit

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Feb. 2.

Question: Mr President, the Summit of Heads of State and Government  
have reviewed the audit of the African Union – where do we go to from  
here?
Answer: Well there are two elements to this. One of them, I should  
say that the African Union has been concerned about the effectiveness  
of the African Union, the efficiencies of their institutions, the  
capacity of the institutions of the African Union to do the things  
that they’re expected to do.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/954


ACHPR Statement on Kenya

Press Release—The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has  
followed closely, and with growing concern, the violence that has  
engulfed Kenya in the aftermath of the Presidential elections held at  
the end of December 2007.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/940


ACHPR to Consider Kenya Situation

The fourth extra-ordinary session of the African Commission on Human  
and Peoples’ Rights will be held in Banjul, The Gambia between  
February 15th - 24th, 2008. Among other agenda items will be the  
consideration of the human rights situation in Kenya.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/939


Free Movement of Persons in EAC

Press Release—The Secretary General of the East African Community,  
Ambassador Juma Mwapachu has wound up a thee-day (17-19 January)  
visit to the Tanzanian border towns of Bukoba, Mutukula and Mwanza  
with a call on the Immigration, Police and Revenue authorities in the  
EAC border regions to get on the frontline of the effort to promote  
cross-border trade and free movement of persons in the region.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/938


Election of Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson

(Press Release) - Gabonese Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean Ping, has  
been elected as the new Chairperson of the African Union Commission  
(AUC). The election took place today, Friday 1st February 2008,  
during the 10th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of  
Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/937


AU Commission Election Results

(Press Release) - Seven (07) Commissioners out of the eight  
portfolios of the African Union Commission were elected Friday 2nd  
February 2008, within the framework of the 10th Ordinary Session of  
the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government currently  
holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/936


Power Politics Confound the United States of Africa

Anita Powell (Associated Press Writer)—The United States of Africa.  
It’s one of few concrete plans African leaders agreed on as they  
struggled with issues of peacekeeping and political disputes at this  
week’s continental summit.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/935


AU Decides on EPAs

The Executive Council of the African Union has approved that no  
African region should be allowed to sign the Economic Partnership  
Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union "as long as the draft  
agreement is not submitted and discussed at the continental level."  
The council believes that the signing of any interim or complete EPAs  
will affect other regions in Africa, recommended "the need for a  
political intervention at the highest level to protect the interest  
of African countries." According to the council, Africa has the  
opportunity to explain to EU political leaders about its concerns  
over the partnership negotiation process during the scheduled  
meetings in Egypt and Portugal. African Heads of State are expected  
to decide on the council’s report at a continental summit in Addis  
Ababa, Ethiopia.

Read more: www.aumonitor/org/comments/924


SADC Urges Caution on AU Government

(PANA) - The Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development  
Community (SADC), Mr. Tomas Salomao, has said "before there can be  
any African Union Government, articulation and communication between  
the various sub-regional groups such as SADC or ECOWAS ( the Economic  
Community of West Afri can States) must be strengthened".

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/922


EPAs: A Threat to Industrialization

(The Daily Monitor) - As Africa’s Heads of States debate the progress  
of industrialisation in Africa at the opening of the 10th African  
Union Assembly, Afroflag Youth Vision and Oxfam International have  
called on African Governments to act jointly and block the threat  
posed by the European Union’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs),  
"As the single most important trading partner for Africa, the  
implementation of EPAs will have a critical negative impact on  
Africa’s industrial development and economic policies", a joint  
statement issued yesterday by Afroflag Youth Vision and Oxfam  
International quoted Abera Tola of Oxfam who was speaking in Addis at  
the Summit as having argued.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/921


Kikwete takes over AU Chair

Michael Appel (BuaNews) - Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete was on  
Thursday elected to take over as Chairperson of the African Union  
(AU) for 2008 replacing Ghanaian President John Kufuor.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/920


AU: Seek Sanctions Against Kenya

(This Day) - President of the West African Bar Association, Mr Femi  
Falana yesterday urged the African Union Assembly to take urgent and  
proactive steps towards stemming the spiraling post-electoral  
violence in Kenya.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/919


AU Urged to Uphold Press Freedom

(PANA) - The New York-based media rights group, Committee to Protect  
Journalists (CPJ), has called on the African Union (AU) Commission to  
‘’actively defend and uphold press freedom across the continent’’, as  
African leaders converge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the first of  
their twice-a-year summit starting Thursday.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/905


SOAWR Communiqué on Conflict in Kenya

We, the members of Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR), a  
regional network of 29 Civil Society organisations and Development  
partners working towards the promotion and protection of Women’s  
Human Rights in Africa, meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between 22  
-24th January 2008.

Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/904


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Hakima Abbas
Policy Analyst, AU-Monitor
Fahamu - Networks for Social Justice
Email: hakima at fahamu.org
Skype: hakima_abbas
www.aumonitor.org
www.fahamu.org
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