DECISION ON THE ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE AFRICAN UNION AND ITS ORGANS
Doc. EX.CL/1061 (XXXII)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTE of the Annual Report on the Activities of the African Union and its Organs for the period January -December 2017, and the observations and comments made by Member States;
2. COMMENDS the Chairperson of the Commission for the comprehensiveness of the Annual Report, which provides a global picture of the state of the Union, as well as the quality of his Introductory Note, which highlights key issues warranting the urgent attention of the Policy Organs;
3. EXPRESSES APPRECIATION to the former Commission, in particular, to the former Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, for the leadership and dedication in pursuit of the goals and objectives of the Union, culminating into the adoption of Agenda 2063;
4. WELCOMES the appointment of former Algerian Foreign Minister and former AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Amb. Ramtane Lamamra, as the AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns who, in close collaboration with all concerned stakeholders, will galvanize support towards ending violence and sustaining peace on the continent, and REQUESTS the Chairperson of the Commission to submit a progress report on the steps taken by the High Representative, in consultation with the Peace and Security Council and all concerned stakeholders within the African Union, as well as Member States, to the June/July 2018 Summit;
5. CALLS UPON all Member States to accelerate the signing and ratification of the relevant AU Human Rights instruments to enhance the respect and protection of human and peoples’ rights on the continent, and REQUESTS the Chairperson of the Commission, in collaboration with AU human rights institutions, to redouble his efforts to that end;
6. FURTHER REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to take the necessary steps to convert the existing Liaison Offices of the AU to the RECs, which currently focus exclusively on peace and security, into Permanent Delegations of the AU to the RECs covering the whole agenda of the AU and to report on the steps taken to the June/July 2018 Summit;
A. ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS
7. RECALLS Assembly Special Declaration of January 2015 on the Report of the High-Level Panel on the Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), chaired by Former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, STRESSES the urgency for speedy response from Member States to the Action Plan Matrix developed by the High-Level Panel to guide and record periodically the achievements of African countries to curtail IFFs, and LOOKS FORWARD to the submission, at the June/July 2018 Summit, by the High-Level Panel, through the Commission, of the Annual Report on the implementation of the Special Declaration;
B. ON PROMOTING THE CULTURE OF READING
8. NOTES WITH CONCERN that a generation of young Africans is growing up with limited knowledge of great African writers and RECOGNISES the importance of literature and reading as a resource of inestimable value to young people, as they seek to educate and empower themselves;
9. REQUESTS the Commission and Member States to develop programmes to promote a culture of reading among children, youth and adults, as well as the promotion of African writers and African content in education curricula, in line with the Continent Education Strategy for Africa, adopted by the Assembly in January 2016;
10. RECOMMENDS to the Assembly the establishment of African Writers’ Prizes and an African Reading Week;
C. ENSURING SAFE FOODS FOR AFRICA
11. RECOGNISES the role of food safety, nutrition and food security in promoting human health and sustainable growth, and URGES all Member States to engage with relevant stakeholders and Partners to advance the agenda of food safety on the continent, and EXPRESSES APPRECIATION to the Commission for the steps taken to promote food safety, as outlined in the Introductory Note of the Chairperson of the Commission;
12. SUPPORTS the request by the Commission to host, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), planned International Food Safety Conference in 2019, to further garner political support for the establishment of a continental food safety structure;
D. ON THE PROTECTION OF AFRICA’S WILDLIFE AND WILD LANDS
13. RECALLS decision EX.CL/Dec.879 (XXVII) adopted in June 2015, in Johannesburg, South Africa, through which it endorsed the African Strategy on Combating Illegal Exploitation and Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora and called upon Member States and AU partners to support and facilitate its implementation, and REITERATES its concern with the significant losses in Africa’s unique wildlife and wild lands heritage;
14. REQUESTS the Chairperson of the Commission to continue and intensify the efforts already initiated towards the implementation of the African Strategy on Combating Illegal Exploitation and Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora;
E. AFRICA’S ROLE IN ENHANCING MULTILATERALISM
15. ACKNOWLEDGES the pursuit of multilateralism to achieve a just and equitable international order that is respectful of international law and the sovereign equality of all Member States, and RECOGNISES the African Union’s role in promoting multilateralism for the benefits of the Union;
16. SUPPORTS the intention of the Chairperson of the Commission to organize an International Conference on Africa and the future of Multilateralism in 2018 and report to the next June/July 2018 Summit.