Communique of the 529th meeting of the PSC on the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak

AFRICAN UNION

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PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL

529™ MEETING

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

31 JULY 2015

PSC/PR/COMM. (DXXIX)

COMMUNIQUE

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 529^th meeting held on 31 July 2015, adopted the following decision on the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in the affected countries in West Africa:

Council,

1. Takes note of the briefing provided by the Commission on the progress made, to date, in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in the affected countries in West Africa;

2. Recalls its earlier pronouncements on the EVD, in particular communique PSC/PR/COMM.(CDL) adopted at its 450^th meeting held on 19 August 2014, which authorized the deployment of an AU-led military, civilian and humanitarian mission to fight the EVD, communique PSC/PR/COMM.(DXX) adopted at its 520^th meeting held on 29 June 2015, communique PSC/PR/COMM.(DXI) adopted at its 511^th meeting held on 29 May 2015, and communique PSC/AHG/COMM.3(CDLXXXIV) adopted at its 484^th meeting held on 29 January 2015 at the level of Heads of State and Government. Council also recalls decision Ext/EX.CL/Dec.l(XVI) on the same issue, adopted by the 16^th Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council held in Addis Ababa on 8 September 2014;

3. Reiterates its deep appreciation to the Commission for the efforts being deployed in the fight against the EVD and, in particular, to the brave volunteers and health professionals who were deployed in the affected countries as part of the AU Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), putting their lives at great risk, for their invaluable contribution to the fight against Ebola. Council also reiterates the need for the countries of origin to give a heroes' welcome to all ASEOWA volunteers returning from the EVD affected countries and to avoid stigmatizing and discriminating them. In this respect, Council, further reiterates its request for the Commission to provide the countries of origin with timely information regarding the return of their respective healthcare volunteers, in order to facilitate effective tracing and tracking by the concerned national healthcare authorities;

4. Welcomes the outcomes of the International Conference on Africa's Fight against Ebola under the theme: "Africa Helping Africans in the post-Ebola Recovery and Reconstruction”, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 20 to 21 July 2015. In this regard, Council expresses sincere gratitude to Government and people of Equatorial Guinea for hosting this crucial Pan-African Conference. In the same vein, Council commends all Member States which participated at Conference, particularly, for the pledges they made and urges them to urgently redeem them to the countries most affected by the EVD;

5. Welcomes also the report of the successful trial of the VSV-EBOV vaccine for Ebola in Guinea which holds the hope for the prevention and cure of the EVD;

6. Notes, with concern, that, in spite of the significant progress achieved, to date, the EVD has not yet been completely eradicated in the countries most affected. Council also notes that the current mandate of ASEOWA will expire on 18 August 2015. In this regard, and pursuant to the decision taken by Council at its 520^th meeting, decides to extend the mandate of ASEOWA for a period of four months until 31 December 2015, on the understanding that this extension of mandate does not necessarily compel ASEOWA to maintain physical presence in the countries most affected by the EVD;

7. Emphasizes the imperative need for the concerned populations and countries to continue to extend full cooperation to ASEOWA and to remain extra-vigilant, as well as to ensure effective surveillance mechanisms for monitoring cross-border movements of people, with a view not only to effectively eradicate the EVD, but also to prevent its re-spread throughout the region and beyond;

8. Requests the Commission to submit a progress report to Council during the month of August 2015;

9. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter