Friday, March 19, 2010

AU Meeting Communiqué

NEWS BANJUL, THE GAMBIA(MB)-The African Union Commission (AUC) organized a consultation with the AU Organs/Institutions and RECs on developing a Human Rights Strategy for Africa from 11-13 March 2010 in Banjul, The Gambia with the participation and support of its strategic partners: the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The meeting reviewed the mapping document on the African Human Rights System and the roadmap towards establishing a Human Rights Strategy for Africa.

The African Union Commission (AUC) in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are in the process of developing of a Human Rights Strategy for Africa. Developing a Human Rights Strategy is in line with the AU’s decision to establish an African Governance Architecture. Furthermore, the UN General Assembly Resolution A/61/296 of September 2007 Paragraph 16, called upon the UN System and the AU to develop a strategy for the effective promotion and protection of human rights in Africa.

The meeting reviewed the draft mapping document and draft roadmap for facilitating the African Human Rights Strategy. The meeting noted as follows:

(a) Commends the Department of Political Affairs of the AUC and its strategic partners for their efforts so far in the process of facilitating the African Human Rights Strategy and endorsed the process and the partnership towards its realization;
(b) Affirms the ownership and leadership of the AUC in the process of drawing up the African Human Rights Strategy;
(c) Affirms the need for the participation of the AU Organs, RECs and national institutions on human rights to be actively involved in the formulation of the African Human Rights Strategy;
(d) Reviewed the draft Mapping Document on the Human Rights Strategy and the draft roadmap, and made significant inputs into them;
(e) Discussed the linkage between the evolving African Governance Architecture and the African Human Rights Strategy.

The Meeting resolved as follows:

(a) The process towards the formulation of the African Human Rights Strategy should be intensified and accomplished within the set time frame;
(b) The Human Rights Strategy constitute part of the Shared Values of the African Continent, which should input into the AU Summit in January 2011;
(c) The mapping document should be circulated amongst AU organs/institutions, RECs and other relevant stakeholders for detailed formal input into the Mapping Document;
(d) The Mapping Document should be revised and finalized as well as the Roadmap by the AUC and its strategic partners;
(e) The Political Affairs Department will regularly consult with relevant AU Organs/institutions and RECs in the process of drafting the Human Rights Strategy for Africa;
(f) The process of drafting the African Human Rights Strategy should begin as soon as possible as indicated in the roadmap;
(g) A meeting of major stakeholders should be organized to present the revised Mapping Document and Roadmap and progress report on the drafting of the human Rights Strategy to them on the margins of the next African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) Session in May 2010.
(h) It was recommended that the outcomes of the meeting will form the basis for regular consultations between the AUC and the other AU Organs with human rights mandates, RECS and partners on the preparation of the theme (Shared Values) of the January 2011 Summit.

The Meeting thanked the Government and Peoples of the Republic of The Gambia for their warm hospitality in hosting the meeting in Banjul and also the African Commission on Human and Peoples (ACHPR) for their support to the meeting. The meeting also commended the participation of the different AU organs/institutions, RECs and partners present and urged them to actively support the process of formulating the African Human Rights Strategy.


13 March 2010
Banjul, The Gambia

No comments: