DECISION ON THE REPORTS OF THE PRC SUB-COMMITTEES
The Executive Council:
1. TAKES NOTE of the Reports of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC) and the recommendations therein contained;
A. ON ADMINISTRATIVE, BUDGETARY AND FINANCIAL MATTERS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AU MAINTENANCE FUND - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)i
2. EMPHASIZES the need to have in place an AU Maintenance Fund with the view to provide preventive, corrective and emergency maintenance; renovation and improvement to all the African Union facilities and properties;
3. APPROVES:
i) An initial amount of US$3,000,000.00 be transferred form the AU Acquisition of Properties Fund to the Maintenance Fund;
ii) The Annual Contribution to the Fund of 50% of all revenues from rental of conference facilities;
iii) The Annual Contribution to the Fund of 100% of all revenues from rental of other spaces, all incomes generated and sales of obsolete items;
iv) The transfer of 2% of the Annual Arrears Contribution of Member States be transferred to the AU Maintenance Fund;
v) A transition period of two years be allowed in which all maintenance costs be charged from the Maintenance Fund;
vi) That 3% of the Annual AU Acquisition of Properties Fund be transferred to the AU Maintenance Fund.
4. REQUESTS the Commission to submit an Annual Maintenance and Improvement Action Report which shall include all preventive, corrective and emergency maintenance carried out in all Organs of the Union during the course of the financial year prior to consideration and approval of any future Annual Maintenance Plan;
5. AUTHORISES
i) the Chairperson of the Commission, in case of critical emergency maintenance supported by technical and insurance reports, to make use of the Maintenance Fund through the appropriate AU Procurement process as stipulated in the AU Financial Rules and Regulations up to the ceiling of US$1 million, which shall be documented and submitted to the PRC for endorsement;
ii) the PRC to approve the Annual Maintenance and Improvement Plan of African Union;
6. REQUESTS the Commission to submit its Annual Maintenance and Improvement Plan of the Union for consideration and approval by the Permanent Representative Committee (PRC) prior to utilization of the Maintenance Fund in the next financial cycle;
B. ON THE PROGRESS REPORT ON STRUCTURES - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)iii
7. ENCOURAGES the Sub-Committee and the Commission to intensify their efforts towards the development of a new structure based on the requirements of the AU Agenda 2063 Framework and its 1st Ten-Year Implementation Plan guided by the principles of subsidiarity and complementarity at national, regional (RECs) and continental levels to address the challenges of effective decisions and adequate service delivery;
8. REQUESTS the PRC to dedicate a session to reflect on all the restructuring proposals in a holistic manner, including all AU Organs and external offices with a view to coming up with appropriate guidelines and recommendations on a new structure with its attendant financial and other related implications;
9. STRESSES the need to work towards the submission of the final proposals at the January 2016 Summit;
C. ON MULTILATERAL COOPERATION - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)v
I. On the evaluation of the Africa’s Strategic Partnerships;
10. REAFFIRMS the right of all the AU Member States to participate without discrimination in all meetings, activities and events organised within the framework of the partnerships in which the AU is a stakeholder;
11. REQUESTS:
i) the PRC to ensure that discussions and negotiations on substantive issues with respect to partnerships be guided by the outcome of the Evaluation of the Strategic Partnerships and to submit recommendations regarding the said Evaluation to the January 2016 Summit;
ii) the Commission to come up with a chart indicating the dates of all major partnership and AU related meetings respectively and ensure that there would be no overlaps;
iii) the Commission to adopt a mechanism for the application of the principle of rotation in hosting partnership summits and ensure that there are no overlaps;
iv) the PRC, in collaboration with the Commission, to determine the appropriate name for the Strategic Partnerships and report back to the next session of the Executive Council in January 2016;
II. Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD);
12. APPRECIATES the offer by The Gambia and Kenya to host the TICAD VI Summit, and URGES the two countries to finalize their consultations for a decision to be taken in this regard;
13. REQUESTS the AU Commission and the host country to engage the coorganizers to propose dates and venues to the Sub-Committee on Multilateral Cooperation that is convenient to all parties for the TICAD VI summit and its preparatory meetings;
III. Africa-Arab Partnership
14. REQUESTS the Commission to expedite the process of implementation of the Consolidated Work Plan for the Implementation of the Resolutions of the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit, held in Kuwait in November 2013, in collaboration with the League of Arab States;
IV. Africa-India Partnership;
15. ENDORSES the following dates for the 3rd Africa-India Forum Summit as proposed by India:
• 26 October 2015: Senior Officials Meeting
• 27 October 2015: Ministerial Meeting
• 29 October 2015: Summit
• 30 October 2015: Bilateral meetings with Heads of State and
Government
16. REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with the Sub-Committee to speed up the process of consideration of the draft working documents proposed by the Indian side;
17. URGES
i) Member States that are hosting Institutions set-up under the Africa-India partnership, to take all necessary steps to ensure the operationalization of these institutions;
ii) the necessity to identify a Member State to host the India-Africa Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting following the withdrawal of Mauritius.
V. Africa- Turkey Partnership
18. REQUESTS the Commission to ensure effective implementation of activities agreed upon by both sides during the 6th Senior Officials Meeting and report back to the Sub-Committee;
VI. Africa-South America Cooperation Summit (ASA)
19. APPROVES the proposal by Ecuador to host ASA IV Summit in Quito from 5- 7 May 2016 provided that the Commission confirms that there are no overlaps with other partnerships related meetings or with other AU scheduled meetings;
20. REQUESTS the Commission, together with the South American side, to take the necessary steps to ensure effective preparation of the 4th ASA Summit scheduled for Quito, Ecuador in 2016;
VII. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)
21. ENCOURAGES the two Co-chairs to finalize their consultations on the date and working documents of the Forum;
22. APPROVES the upgrading of the 6th Ministerial Conference to a Summit level;
VIII. Africa-Korea Forum
23. APPROVES the offer of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to host the 4th Africa-Korea Forum and its preparatory meetings;
24. REQUESTS the Commission, in close collaboration with the host country and the partner to propose a suitable date for the 4th Africa-Korea Forum, and to start the preparatory processes;
IX. Africa - EU Partnership
25. REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with the Sub-Committee, to finalize the Concept Note of the Africa-EU Joint Annual Forum and to also propose, in consultation with the EU side, appropriate dates for the meeting of the Forum;
D. ON HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN AFRICA - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)vi
26. NOTES the positive developments that continued to take place in the area of forced displacement but still EXPRESSES CONCERN over the large number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa caused mainly by recurrent conflicts, and natural Disasters including drought and flooding on the continent;
27. EXPRESSES GRATITUDE to countries of asylum that continue to meet their international obligations and most importantly commit themselves to extend hospitality to refugees in spite of the environmental, security and social impact of such hospitality upon their countries;
28. RECOGNIZES the commendable work done by the development partners and other relevant humanitarian agencies in the area of forced displacement and URGES them to continue to address the complexity of the humanitarian situation on the Continent;
29. EXPRESSES CONCERN over the dwindling financial support for displaced populations and APPEALS to international community to exert all efforts to extend the financial and material assistance to the forcibly displaced population in the spirit of solidarity and burden sharing;
30. COMMENDS the concrete steps taken so far by the Commission in close collaboration with the PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees to hold regional consultations in a process of engaging Member States to develop a Common Africa Position on humanitarian effectiveness, which will be presented at the World humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, May 2016 and URGES all Member States to actively participate in the AU led processes;
31. TAKES SPECIAL NOTE of the outcomes of the missions undertaken to South Sudan, Malawi and Uganda, which is a concrete demonstration of the Solidarity of the African Union Member States with the countries affected by the problem of refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons and by natural disasters;
32. COMMENDS the Sub-Committee and the Commission for the work done and ENCOURAGES both to work closely to:
i) Continue to undertake missions to other countries affected by the problem of refugees, returnees and displaced persons, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cape Verde, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic and the three Member States that were affected by the Ebola virus, namely Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone;
ii) Continue to hold consultation with all the Stakeholders on the African Common Position at the World Humanitarian Summit slated to take place in May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey, in compliance with the published schedule;
iii) Work with key departments of the Commission concerning the coordination of activities of the PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees and the PRC Sub-Committee on the Special Emergency Assistance Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa (SEAF), in a bid to address the need for the harmonization of the mandates and roles of the two Subcommittees.
33. COMMENDS the Government of Uganda for its laudable Refugee Integration Policy and URGES other refugee hosting countries to emulate this policy;
34. REQUEST the Commission to engage and check with Member States on the confirmation of data and information cited in its report in view of the variety of sources used in its data collection;
35. RECOMMENDS the holding of an international Conference to address the issue of migration;
36. ENDORSES the outcomes of the regional conference on Human Trafficking and smuggling held in Khartoum, Sudan from 13-16 October 2014, including the TOR, Declaration, Strategy and Plan of Action;
37. TAKES NOTE of the challenges posed by the presence of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. In this regard, TAKES FURTHER NOTE of the planned session of PSC to discuss the request by the Government of Kenya to assist in the relocation of the Dadaab Refugee Camp.
E. ON THE REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON CONTRIBUTIONS - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)vii
38. COMMENDS
i) the Member States that are up to-date with their contributions and Encourage the other Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time;
ii) the Development Partners for their contributions and INVITES them to release their contributions on time to enable the African Union to implement its projects and programmes;
39. URGES Member States to pay their contributions on time and ENCOURAGES those in arrears to settle their debts so as to review their commitment to and their full ownership of AU Programming;
40. REQUESTS Member States with over two years accumulated arrears to expeditiously settle their financial commitments to avoid falling under sanctions in accordance with the existing rules;
41. RECOMMENDS that sanctions be imposed for default of payment on Central Africa Republic;
42. CALLS ON the Republic of Somalia to approach the Commission to find the ways and means enabling it to clear its arrears before the commencement of the Executive Council Session and to comply with the Decision EX.CL/Dec.788(XXIV);
43. STRESSES the need to review the sanctions regime in line with the Decision EX.CL/Dec.854(XXVI) taken by the Organs in January 2015;
44. EXPRESSES its solidarity with the Republic of The Sudan and CALLS ON the International Community to lift the sanctions imposed on Republic of The Sudan to enable it meet its international obligations in line with the previous Decisions of the Assembly;
45. REQUESTS the Commission to regularly update the status of contributions in particular to notify Member States each year in September;
46. STRESSES the need to accelerate Implementation of Assembly Decision/AU/Dec.561 (XXIV) of January 2015 on Alternative Sources of Financing the AU;
47. REQUESTS the Commission in consultation with the PRC to work out a suitable and flexible mechanism aimed at assisting Member States in settling their arrears;
F. ON THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON HEADQUARTERS AND HOST AGREEMENTS - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)x
48. RECALLS its Decision EX.CL/Dec.854(XXVI) and EXPRESSES its concern over the non-submission of the Reports and URGES:
i) The Host Country and the Commission to submit their Reports on the complaint submitted by the State of Eritrea to the Sub-Committee by the end of August 2015;
ii) The Host Country to continue to ensure the effective discharge of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement.
49. REQUESTS the Host Government to engage the Commission prior to any need for a change of policies, rules and practices that hitherto accorded certain privileges and immunities to the diplomatic personnel accredited to the African Union and Elected Officials and Staff of the African Union;
50. STRESSES the need to provide adequate resources within the available means to undertake the study on the Host Agreements with all countries hosting AU Organs, Offices and Institutions;
51. REQUESTS
i) the Host Country to look into modalities of effecting legal money transfer, foreign exchange and remittances;
ii) The Commission to prepare a comprehensive report on the implementation of this Decision and submit to the Sub-Committee before the end of November 2015.
G. ON THE REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON PROGRAMMES AND CONFERENCES - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)ii
52. ENDORSES the 7 priorities and outcomes proposed for the Draft 2016 Budget for the Commission, while integrating the blue economy in the process, as well as the priorities set for the NEPAD Agency and for the other AU Organs;
53. STRESSES the need to consider the report of the Sub-Committee in every January Summit before the adoption of the budget in July;
54. ENCOURAGES the Ad hoc Committee on the Scale of Assessment to expedite its work on the practical modalities for the effective implementation of Assembly Decision 561 of January 2015;
55. CALLS UPON the Commission to take all measures to popularize the Agenda 2063 and INVITES Member States and RECs to domesticate the Agenda 2063 in their internal systems and processes to speed up regional and continental integration, while emphasizing the role of women in those processes in line with a people-centered Union;
56. APPEALS once more to Member States to pay up on time and in full their assessed contributions and REQUESTS the Commission to inform Member States by October each year of their assessed contributions due for payment at the beginning of the next financial year;
57. REQUESTS the Commission to regularly brief Member States on the actual resources received from Partners and the progress achieved in the actual implementation of agreements between them and the AU;
58. CALLS ON the Commission and the Member States concerned, to make necessary arrangements to operationalize the Statistics Institutions in Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire in order to develop statistical capacity on the Continent, in collaboration with Member States statistical bodies;
59. CALLS UPON Member States to ratify and implement various legal instruments and decisions taken by the AU Policy Organs in upholding their obligations in this respect;
60. REQUESTS the Commission to regularly update Member States on the concrete results obtained in the implementation of the different programmes funded by Member States and Development Partners as well as the evaluation of the gains registered at national, regional and continental levels in carrying out the actions deriving from outcomes of the Themes of each Year;
61. STRESSES the need to uphold the principles of beneficiation, value addition, subsidiarity and complementarity in planning and implementing the AU programmes and activities at national, regional and continental levels;
62. CALLS ON the Commission to further rationalise and synchronize the AU Calendar of Meetings by avoiding overlapping and duplication, and enhance internal and external coordination with Member States and other relevant stakeholders.
H. ON THE REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON AUDIT - Doc. EX.CL/895(XXVII)iv
63. ADOPTS the report and the recommendations contained therein as well as the pertinent observations of Member States, including the deadlines;
64. ENDORSES the recommendations contained under Para 3 on the report which should also include the following:
a) Compliance with AU Financial Rules and Regulations and all other AU Legal Frameworks;
b) Producing an implementation matrix on Audits recommendations by September 15, 2015;
c) Reiterate the need for AU to fund its programs so as to reduce the current dependency on Partner funding through timely payment of assessed contributions;
d) Stress the need to follow up on the implementation of previous decisions on Audit matters;
65. EXPEDITES the modalities for implementation of the Decision on Alternative Sources of Funding in view of the non-predictability of Partner Funding.