AU WEEKLY
24-31 March , 2014 AU WEEKLY
…keeping you updated @Oxfam_AU
Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union: OI-AU
In this issue
PEACE AND SECURITY MISCA Chief calls on CSO to help end conflict in CAR
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International Contact Group on Madagascar meets
MISCA Head and AUC Chairperson’s Envoy to Central African Republic called on civic leaders to speak-up and use their influence to help end the current violence in their country.
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Africa-EU Summit to focus on People, Prosperity, Peace
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Mugabe boycotts Summit over wife’s visa
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ECOSOCC calls for applications for General Assembly membership
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Africans undermine capacity--Dlamini Zuma
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UNECA urges building credible African Institutions
Reacting to the killing and injuring of several persons on 27th March, Gen Jean Marie Michel Mokoko urged the local and international media to demonstrate a high sense of responsibility in reporting events in the CAR. He condemned attacks on MISCA vehicles and Members of Staff in Bangui which injured a MISCA Finance Officer, a urse and Surgeon on the 23rd March and the killing of a MISCA peacekeeper in Boali, 80 kms north of Bangui.
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He then urged CAR Transitional Authorities to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the suspects and called upon all armed groups to turn-in their weapons and join the dialogue and reconciliation process . Further Reading: http://www.peaceau.org/en/article/miscastrongly-condemns-unprovoked-attacks-on-its-staff
International Contact Group on Madagascar meets On 28th March 2014, the International Contact Group on Madagascar held its 9th meeting in Antananarivo chaired by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security. Participants welcomed the positive evolution of the situation since the 8th meeting of the Group and the patriotism and commitment of all the political
and social stakeholders and of the Malagasy people, which made it possible to successfully conclude the process for ending the crisis in Madagascar. The ICG welcomed the lifting by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the suspension of Madagascar after the unconstitutional change of government in
March 2009, and also urged international partners to fully resume their cooperation with the country and relieved the people of Madagascar of the suffering they have had to endure for so long. http://www.peaceau.org/ en/article/conclusions-ofthe-9th-meeting-of-theinternational-contact-groupon-madagascar-icg-mantananarivo-28-march2014#sthash.zFqAPj8t.IlbzacId.
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ECOSOCC calls for applications to General Assembly membership The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) has called on African Civil Society Organizations to apply for membership of the Interim ECOSOCC General Assembly. ECOSOCC is an organ designed to give
CSO’s a voice within the AU. Past attempts to recruit have failed due to the unattainable qualification requirements.
representation of CSOs from all AU member states. The closing date for receiving applications is 30 June 2014.
The process has ben reopened for a period of three months to allow for greater
http://pages.au.int/ecosocc/ events/announcement-callapplications
Mugabe, Zuma boycott EU-Africa Summit EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’Ariccia on Wednesday, March 26, said that only those with a role to play in meetings at the EU-Africa Summit in Belgium next week had been invited. Dell’Ariccia said this following reports that the EU had
denied President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, a visa to allow her to travel alongside her husband. Zimbabwe then indicated it would boycott the summit if Mugabe’s wife was not granted a visa to travel
with him. South African President Jacob Zuma is also boycotting the Summit because “we should not be told who must come, who must not come” http://www.news24.com/ Africa/Zimbabwe/No-role-forspouses-at-summit-EU-tells-
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS AND LIVELIHOODS Africans undermine own capacity: Dlamini-Zuma Africa needs to come up with its own solutions to problems rather than depend on the United Nations (UN) to spearhead the process, African Union Commission
Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Saturday, March 29. Addressing a meeting of African Ministers in Lagos, Nigeria, Dlamini-Zuma said the continent needed to be at the forefront of the
Agenda 2063 framework. The plan sets in motion targets for high levels of productivity and economic growth in Africa. http://www.sabc.co.za/ news/
UNECA urges building of credible African institutions African countries need to introduce credible industrial policies and promote effective industrial policy organizations to enhance the structural transformation of the continent, says a
report jointly produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission. The report says transforming Africa’s industrial landscape has failed partly because
countries used industrial blueprints characterised by lack of dynamism and high level coordination, as well as inadequate consultations with stakeholders.
http://ea.au.int/en/content/seventh-joint-au-conferenceministers-economy-and-finance-and-eca-conference-africanministe
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AU WEEKLY EU-Africa Summit to focus on “People, Prosperity and Peace” The fourth EU-Africa summit will take place in Brussels on 2-3 April under the theme “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”. Building on the spirit of their 2007 Joint Strategy, Africa and the European Union will discuss as equal partners how to deepen cooperation under these three areas, the European Commission said in a press release on Friday.
Africa and the European Union are jointly committed to foster human capital through education and training, to create additional incentives for investment, and to find ways of stimulating growth that will create jobs in particular for young people. The summit will bring together the Heads of State and Government of the European Union and the
African continent, together with the leaders of the EU and African Union institutions. A range of high-ranking international observers will also be associated. that will create jobs in particular for young people www.rttnews.com/2294185/ eu-africa-summit-to-focuson-investing-in-peopleprosperity-and-peace. aspx?type=gn&SimRec=1
UPCOMING EVENTS DATE
April
EVENT
Chair of the Peace and Security Council for the month of April
VENUE
Addis Ababa, Nigeria
DEPARTMENT
Peace and Security
CONTACT Embassy of Nigeria in Ethiopia P.O. Box 1019 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251 11 155 0644 Email: dmoffice@ethionet.et
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April 2-3
The 4th EU-Africa Summit, under the theme: “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”
Brussels, Belgium
European Council
European Council Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel Belgique/België Main switchboard: (32-2) 281 61 11 Fax (32-2) 281 69 34
April 21-24
Civil Society, Media and State Parties Workshop in the advocacy for the ratification, domestication, implementation and reporting processes of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
Dakar, Senegal
Political Affairs
Department of Political Affairs, AU Commission Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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