Decision on the Second Report of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union on the Implementation of the African Union Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020 - Doc. Assembly/AU/8(XXX)

DECISION ON THE SECOND REPORT OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY
COUNCIL OF THE AFRICAN UNION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
AFRICAN UNION MASTER ROADMAP OF PRACTICAL STEPS FOR
SILENCING THE GUNS IN AFRICA BY THE YEAR 2020

Doc. Assembly/AU/8(XXX)

The Assembly,

1. RECALLS the Organization of African Unity/ African Union (OAU/AU) 50^th Anniversary Solemn Declaration adopted on 25 May 2013, in which the Assembly of the Union pledged not to bequeath the burden of wars to the next generation of Africans and undertook to end all wars in Africa by the year 2020, as well as decision Assembly/AU/Dec.630 (XXVIII) by which the 28^th ordinary session of the Assembly, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 30 - 31 January 2017, adopted the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020. The Assembly FURTHER RECALLS decision Assembly/AU/Dec.645(XXIX) by which the 29^th ordinary session of the Assembly, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 4 -5 July 2017, adopted the Inaugural Report of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union on the Implementation of the African Union Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020;

2. COMMENDS the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for its efforts in implementing decision Assembly/AU/Dec.645(XXIX), through, among others, the launching at its 716^th meeting held on 4 September 2017, of the “Africa Amnesty Month” for the surrender and collection of illegally owned weapons/arms, in line with the African and international best practices. The Assembly UNDERLINES that observance of the African Amnesty Month is one of the major steps towards achieving the goal of silencing the guns in Africa by the Year 2020, and ENCOURAGES Member States to implement activities foreseen under the Africa Amnesty Month in September each year and to actively engage in public awareness campaigns, including through their national media, in order to effectively educate the people on this issue with a view to ensuring their full cooperation and support, as well as success of the process;

3. FURTHER COMMENDS the PSC and all Member States, as well as the AU Organs, the RECs/RMs, the UN, the CSOs and think tanks for the efforts thus far deployed in implementing the AU Master Roadmap and URGES them to continue in their efforts;

4. URGES Member States and the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (RECs/RMs) to submit their reports to Council, through the AU Commission, on the actions taken in implementing the Africa Amnesty Month, by November each year, to further popularize it within the communities, with a view to ensuring maximum participation of all citizens in the continent;

5. RECOGNIZES that lack of dedicated research, which accounts for huge gaps in the data, particularly on illicit weapons, illicit financial flows, arms and drug trafficking, drug production, illegal exploitation of natural resources and migration, among others, remains one of the main challenges, while such data is required to further strengthen the efforts to silence the guns in Africa. In this regard, the Assembly APPEALS to Member States to mobilize resources to address the challenge and CALLS ON the academia and private sectors in Africa to redouble their efforts to make contributions through research, publicity and mobilization towards effective implementation of the AU Master Roadmap;

6. ENCOURAGES Member States to continue with their efforts to further improve their governance institutions and processes, robustly combat corruption, take measures to arrest illicit financial flows, mobilize action to mitigate negative effects of climate change, environmental degradation and boost economic activities, including employment creation, especially in favour of the youth and women;

7. STRESSES THE NEED for Member States to deploy the required efforts on the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap, particularly by paying due attention to all the five key aspects raised in the AU Master Roadmap, namely political, social, economic, environmental and legal aspects to enable Africa and its people to see the actual trends in the AU Master Roadmap implementation process and address gaps where they appear in the run-up to the year 2020;

8. ENCOURAGES the RECs/RMs to fully mainstream implementation of the AU Master Roadmap in their activities, including setting dedicated focal points, and/or special envoys on silencing the guns, with a view to enhancing coordination of efforts with the AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns;

9. APPEALS to Member States to demonstrate sustained political commitment and engagement, and EMPHASIZES the need to be consistent in the application of the AU norms and instruments in the prevention and resolution of conflicts in the continent, with a view to ensure the creation of requisite conditions for silencing the guns in Africa, which will facilitate realization of a conflict-free continent in line with the letter and spirit of Agenda 2063;

10. WELCOMES the appointment of Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, by the Chairperson of the Commission as the AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns in Africa, and CALLS UPON Member States, the RECs/RMs, the UN and all partners, to extend their cooperation and support his activities in assisting Africa and its people to silence the guns in Africa by the year 2020. The Assembly FURTHER STRESSES the urgent need for the AU to mobilize funding in support of the activities of the High Representative to enable him carry out his mandate, particularly galvanizing efforts of all stakeholders to scale up activities in the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap.