DECISION ON AFRICAN CANDIDATURES
WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
Doc. EX.CL/1041(XXXI)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Ministerial Committee on African Candidatures within the International System;
2. ENDORSES:
i) for membership of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, during elections scheduled for November 2017 in New York, the candidature of Mr. Abdallah Bachar Bong of the Republic of Chad;
ii) for the position of Deputy Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), during elections scheduled from 29 October to 16 November 2018 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, the candidature of Mr. Brahima Sanou of Burkina Faso;
iii) for the position of Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), during elections scheduled for November/December 2017 in The Hague, the Netherlands, the candidature of Mr. Abdouraman Bary, of Burkina Faso;
3. ALSO TAKES NOTE of and decides to approve the following candidatures:
i) for membership of the Human Rights Council for the 2018-2020 period, during elections scheduled for November 2017, at the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the candidatures of:
• The Democratic Republic of Congo, for Central Africa
• The Republic of Angola, for Southern Africa
• The Republic of Senegal, for West Africa
• The Federal Republic of Nigeria, for West Africa
ii) for membership of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization for the 2018-2021 period, during elections scheduled from 4 to 9 September 2017 in Chengdu, China, at the 22nd session of the General Assembly of the WTO, the candidatures of:
• The Republic of Sudan
• The Republic of Cabo Verde
• The Republic of Seychelles
• The Republic of Congo.
iii) for membership of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the 2017-2019 period, during elections scheduled for September 2017, at the General Conference of the IAEA, the candidatures of:
• The Republic of Sudan
• The Republic of Niger
• The Arab Republic of Egypt
NB: The Committee directed the Permanent Mission of the African Union in Geneva to inform Member States, together with the African Group in Geneva, of the selection of two (2) States to fill the vacant post.
iv) for membership of the Council of the International Maritime Organization, under Category C, during elections scheduled from 27 November to 6 December 2017 in London at the 30th Session of the General Assembly of the International Maritime Organization, the candidatures of:
• The Republic of Liberia
• The Kingdom of Morocco
• The Republic of South Africa
• The Arab Republic of Egypt
• The Republic of Kenya
v) for the post of Director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau, during elections scheduled from 29 October to 26 November 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Zimbabwe to continue to consult to agree on a sole African candidate;
vi) for membership of the Council of the International Telecommunications Union, during elections scheduled from 29 October to 26 November 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, at the Plenipotentiary Conference, the candidature of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
NB: The Committee decided to leave the twelve (12) other positions to be filled by Africa in the Council open, and requested the Secretariat to inform Member States of the candidature.
vii) for membership of the Committee on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, during elections scheduled for November 2017 in Paris, at the Conference of State Parties of the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the candidature of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
viii) for membership of the Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDCj, during elections scheduled for the 39th UNESCO General Conference to be held in Paris in November 2017, the candidature of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
ix) for membership of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), during elections scheduled to be held in Paris in November 2017, at the 39th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, the candidature of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
x) Member of the International Coordination Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) during elections scheduled for the 39th Session of the UNESCO General Conference in November 2017 in Paris, the candidature of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
4. DECIDES that concerning the posts listed below, taking into consideration the existing mechanisms within the organizations, particularly geographical distribution and the determination of groups to which the Member States belong to take note of the candidatures and lend its support. The posts are the following:
i) Member of the Executive Council of UNESCO in the V(b) Electoral Group for the 2017-2021 period during elections scheduled to be held in Paris in November 2017 at the 39th UNESCO General Conference, the candidatures of:
• The Kingdom of Morocco
• The Arab Republic of Egypt
ii) Member of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization in the Category of Arab Countries, for the 2018-2021 period, during elections scheduled for 4 to 9 September 2017 in Chengdu, China at the 22nd Session of the WTO General Assembly, the candidature of:
• The Arab Republic of Egypt
5. LASTLY DECIDES that taking into consideration this election in October 2017 for the post of Director General of UNESCO as well as other strategic positions within the international system, to request:
i) Member States, the Chairperson of the African Union, African Groups in UNESCO and the deans of the African Groups in the different capitals, to collectively undertake to promote and support the candidature of Dr.
Moushira Khattab, sole candidate for Africa, for the post of Director General of UNESCO;
ii) The African Union Commission to take all the necessary measures to ensure multifaceted support for the candidates endorsed by the African Union mechanism;
iii) The Secretariat of the Ministerial Committee for African Candidatures within the International System to work together with African Groups towards the establishment of candidatures committees within the said Groups that have none;
iv) The Permanent Mission of the African Union in New York to provide Member States with information on the United Nations Audit Committee.