DECISION ON THE FOURTH 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
The Assembly,
TAKES NOTE of the Fourth Report of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) on the Implementation of the African Union Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020;
RECALLS the Organization of African Unity/ African Union (OAU/AU) 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration adopted on 25 May 2013, in Addis Ababa, 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 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 30 and 31 January 2017, adopted, following submission by the PSC, the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020;
TAKES NOTE WITH APPRECIATION the progress made, so far, on the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap, in all its aspect namely, political, economic, social, environmental and legal. In this context, the Assembly COMMENDS all AU the Member States, the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms for Conflict, management and Resolution(RECs/RMs), civil society organizations and the private sector, as well as the United Nations (UN) and other partners for their unwavering engagements towards implementation of the AU Master Roadmap, which contributes to creating conditions for realization of a conflict-free Africa;
COMMENDS the efforts deployed by the PSC in championing and steering forward the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap. The Assembly further COMMENDS the RECs/RMs, particularly the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for providing inputs on their activities in implementing AU Master Roadmap. In this regard, the Assembly APPEALS to all the stakeholders to deploy the required efforts to ensure that there is full coverage on the efforts being deployed in the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap and LOOKS forward to more detailed report to be submitted to the Ordinary Session of the Assembly in January/February 2020. In the same vein, the Assembly COMMENDS the AU Commission for the support that it continues to provide to the Member States in undertaking national programs and initiatives in line with the objectives of the AU Master Roadmap;
EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN over the slow pace in the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap, given the impending December 2020 deadline for ending wars in Africa. While calling for the acceleration of the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap, the Assembly further EXPRESS DEEP CONCERN over the persistence of threats to peace and security in the continent, especially election- related crisis; the existence of ungoverned spaces which leave room for illegal activities; continued inflow of weapons into the continent and their illicit circulation and use in some parts of Africa; weak mechanisms or their absence in some cases, as needed in curbing illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons; inadequate border monitoring and control; persistence of corruption and high rate of unemployment, particularly among the youth; illicit financial flows which facilitate funding for illicit weapons and conflicts; illegal exploitation of natural resources which contribute to funding insurgencies and rebellions; the effects of climate change and increase in desertification; and slow processes in the ratification of AU instruments and policies. In the context, the Assembly APPEALS to all AU Member States, RECs/RMs and civil society, as well as the UN, and other partners to redouble their efforts to ensure that the AU flagship project of silencing the guns is effectively implemented;
While COMMENDING those countries which undertook activities in observance of the Africa Amnesty Month, namely, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mali, Sudan and Zambia for their commitments towards the goal of silencing the guns in Africa, the Assembly URGES all other Member States to emulate these efforts and give more visibility to the Africa Amnesty Month, September each year. The Assembly further STRESSES the need for Member States and other stakeholders to contribute to the sensitization of its citizens with regard to the Africa Amnesty Month, in order to facilitate the voluntary surrender the illegally owned weapons;
Given the significant potential of the observance of the Africa Amnesty month to contribute to curbing illicit circulation and use of weapons, the Assembly ENDORSES the PSC decision to the effect that the marking/commemoration of the Africa Amnesty Month is conducted on a rotational basis in the five geographic regional, with the RECs/RMs leading the process, with the full participation of local civil society and institutions/organizations, with the view of publicizing the month and bringing the initiative closer to those concerned;
WELCOMES the development of the technical and operational guidelines by the Commission aimed at informing national and regional efforts in conducting activities under the Africa Amnesty Month and a compendium of African experiences and good practices in implementing voluntary disarmament programs. The Assembly REQUESTS the AU Commission to speedily finalize these products and avail them to all AU Member States to strengthen their implementation efforts in the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap;
WELCOMES the initiatives of the Equatorial Guinea, in its capacity as the President of the UN Security Council for the month of February 2019, in including in the Council’s agenda for February 2019 an open debate on the ‘AU initiative on silencing the guns in Africa’. In this context, the Assembly APPEALS to the African Members of the UN Security Council (A3) and the entire membership of this Council to provide their full support to Equatorial Guinea and accelerate efforts towards adoption of the envisaged outcome;
FURTHER WELCOMES the development of an integrated framework to guide the handling of persons associated with terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin and CALLS UPON the concerned Member States to spare no effort in executing the procedures and principles outlined therein as part of the overall stabilization efforts in the region. The Assembly ENCOURAGES Member States to take ownership of the operational guidance notes developed by the Commission in response to growing complexities in the field of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR);
COMMENDS the Commission for convening the 2nd Africa Forum on Security Sector Reform (SSR) as an important platform to reflect on progress and challenges to the implementation of the AU Policy Framework on SSR, and WELCOMES the efforts deployed by the Commission to support Member States in articulating and executing SSR processes, and to promote active and constructive engagement of civil society in these processes. In this context, the Assembly UNDERSCORES the need to streamline SSR in the AU’s conflict prevention and resolution efforts, as well as in post-conflict reconstruction and development initiatives, in accordance with the relevant practical steps outlined in the AU Master Roadmap;
WELCOMES the development of the Draft AU Policy for the Management of Recovered Arms and Ammunition in peace support operations (PSOs) by the AU Commission and LOOKS FORWARD to its timely adoption by the Specialized Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS). Furthermore, the Assembly CALL UPON Member States to intensify their efforts, to prevent the diversion, illicit circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons, including through ratifying and effectively implementing the relevant African, regional and international instruments;
RECALLS decision AHG/Dec.135(XXXV) of the 35th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU, and CALLS ON Member States with outstanding clearance obligations, pursuant to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, to consolidate their engagements in line with the Maputo 2025 Commitment. The Assembly WELCOMES the dialogue initiated by the Commission among Member States and partners, towards developing coherent and coordinated approaches to countering the growing threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (lEDs), and to promote institutional capacity building to mitigate the risk. The Assembly LOOKS FOWARD to the holding of the 4th Review Conference of the Mine Ban
Convention in Oslo, in November 2019, and REQUESTS the Commission, with the guidance of the PSC, to review the existing continental frameworks and develop an African common position ahead of the review conference;
EXPRESSES ITS CONCERN over the global challenges to the multilateral regimes against Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), yet such regimes constitute a critical pillar of the global peace and security architecture. In this regard, the Assembly URGES Member States that have not yet done so, to ratify the Pelindaba Treaty, as well as the biological and chemical weapons conventions. The Assembly WELCOMES the steps taken by the Commission to support the development of institutional capacities for the full and effective implementation of the regional and international instruments against WMD. Furthermore, the Assembly REQUESTS the AU Commission and the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) to provide annual briefings to the PSC on the status of implementation of the Pelindaba Treaty and the activities of the AFCONE;
UNDERSCORES the imperative for Member States, RECs/RMs and the Commission to enhance preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention, as part of the efforts to silence the guns with a view to realizing a conflict-free Continent. The Assembly STRESSES the importance of participation of women and youth in the full cycle of peace processes in the Continent with a view to ensuring that the need for women and youth are fully included in the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap;
ENCOURAGES all AU Member States to submit, in a timely manner, their reports on their implementation of the AU Master Roadmap in its five key dimensions, namely political, social, economic, environmental and legal aspects, to enable the PSC and the Assembly to have a comprehensive sight in to the actual trends in the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap;
ENCOURAGES Member States to volunteer resources, within their means, to facilitate the work of the High Representative, whose role complements that of the PSC in enhancing coordination of activities aimed at silencing the guns within Africa;
REQUESTS the PSC, with the support of the Commission, to take steps for the elaboration of a comprehensive report on the status of implementation of the AU Master Roadmap, in close coordination with the involved stakeholders, which will be submitted to the Ordinary Session of the Assembly in January/February 2020, with a view to take stock of progress and the challenges in view of the December 2020 deadline for silencing the guns in Africa.