Oi au 2013 review final

Raising Citizens’ Voices & Enlarging the Space

OXFAM International

Liaison Office with the African Union (OI-AU)

Annual Review 2013

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Oxfam International - Liaison Office with the African Union 2

Liaison Office with The African Union

This is the Annual Review 2013 of the Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union (OI-AU) formally established through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Union and a Host Agreement with the Government of Ethiopia.

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Introduction Besides representing the Oxfam confederation to the African Union, the Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union (OI-AU), operating under Oxfam International’s Secretariat, carries out two main programmes: 1/ Active Citizenship in the Affairs of the African Union and 2/ Peace, Security and Humanitarian Affairs. From January 2014, the Office will launch an additional programme: “Making African Extractive Resources Work for Africa”.

In this review, you will find the highlights of our work this year to implement the OI-AU strategy. This has been achieved by working in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the Oxfam Pan Africa units in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa and Oxfam programmes in 35 African countries, various partners and allies in and outside the African continent and in synergy with the Oxfam Advocacy offices in New York, Brussels, Geneva and Washington DC. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the committed and dynamic team of staff, associates and volunteers who made our year’s success happen.

I would also thank the African Union leadership and our various friends and allies at the Commission as well as in the various embassies for their strong collaboration over the year.

Finally, I thank the Government of Ethiopia, especially the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their support and the facilitation of our operation in Addis Ababa.

Désiré Y. Assogbavi Resident Representative and Head of Oxfam Liaison Office of the African Union

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OI-AU Mandate: 1. Active Citizenship in the Affairs of the African Union: To support civil society organizations and ordinary citizens of Africa to engage with the African Union and be part of the policy debates that affect their life.

This role is in line with the African Union’s vision of a people driven organization, and to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, an Africa driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.

2. Saving lives now and in the future: Peace, Security and Humanitarian issues Direct engagement with the African Union’s peace and security organs in terms of policy advocacy building on Oxfam’s operational presence in a number of conflict affected countries including Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Mali, Somalia etc.

3. Representation of Oxfam to the African Union and management of the confederation relationship with the African Union and its organs and member states in the framework of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between Oxfam International and the African Union Commission.

Our Theory of Change!

Change will happen when African citizens are informed, empowered and enabled to influence policies, practices and to use mechanisms to hold their leaders accountable Over the year 2013 our key achievements are the following:

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Peace , Security and Humanitarian Affairs Oxfam’s global Rights in Crisis campaign aims to support the rights of people caught in emergency and humanitarian crisis situations. In Africa, five countries have been identified as priorities due to ongoing conflict or continued instability: DRC, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. At OI-AU, much of our work relates to these countries and the RiC campaign; acting as a link between the work of the country teams and the African Union Commission and Peace and Security Council/Department. In 2013 Oxfam reach approx. 2 million people across these countries and thus connecting and effectively engaging with the AU is crucial to our efforts to push for their interests.

Mary Robinson addressing members of civil society organizations during a forum hosted by OI –AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Strategic consultation with UNSG special envoy to DRC, Ms Mary Robinson and African CSOs in Addis OI-AU convened a consultative meeting between H.E Mary Robinson, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Great Lakes Region (GLR), and CSO representatives on the sidelines of the 21st AU summit in May 2013, where 26 CSO representatives discussed issues around the DRC framework agreement.

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Engagement with the Peace and Security Council/Department of the AU On World Humanitarian Day, OI–AU brought a representative of a partner organization from the DRC to directly address the special session of the Peace and Security Council on the protection of civilians and gender based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Claudine Tsongo from DRC and OI–AU then submitted recommendations to the PSC Chair of the month which, among other things, called upon the PSC to encourage the 11 signatory states to the DRC Peace and Security Framework

lasting solutions to the conflict and uphold their commitments. The recommendations also called upon DRC’s neighbours to actively promote a regional solution to the conflict.

the Africa Solidarity Initiative OI-AU participated in the AU strategy gathering in South Africa to formulate strategies for the implementation of the African Solidarity Initiative (ASI), which aims to mobilize and enhanced support from within the continent for post-conflict reconstruction and development in countries emerging from conflict, with a view to consolidate peace where it has been achieved.

Agreement to remain politically engaged in finding

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Women and Children in Situations of Violent

for the publication of its “Make Peace Happen’’

Conflict in Africa

campaign materials.

Muleya

Mwananyanda,

Oxfam’s Rights in Crisis Africa Campaign and Policy Manager

addressed

the

Peace and Security Council of the African Union during its two open sessions on

Africa Support to Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) The Oxfam ATT Team and their Control Arms partners were accompanied to various lobby meetings with a number of African ambassadors in Addis Ababa, in a bid to secure their countries’ sup- port for a strong

“women and children in situations of violent

ATT.

conflict in Africa”.

African Union Actions Against Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

Conflict Area Partners Engaged with AU Official and Ambassadors

OI–AU, in collaboration with the Oxfam team in DRC and

OI–AU facilitated a number of high level dialogues between Conflict affected partners from Mali, DRC, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia and other key targets including AU , EU officials and other development partners in May OI-AU assisted the African Union Peace and Security Department with institutional support Annual Review 2013

the Institute for Security Studies, jointly organized a high-level seminar on AU actions against LRA. Over 60 stakeholders, mostly diplomats, AU Commission staff and CSOs participated in the seminar. OI-AU brought Father Ernest Sugule from the DRC-based ‘’Solidarité et Assistance Integrale aux Personnes Déplacées (SAIPED) and Pascal Konan from the AU Conflict Management Division.

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Over 200 delegates visited the Oxfam and AUC Exhibition on Mali and DRC Conflicts OI– AU and the AU Commission co-hosted a photo exhibition on DRC and Mali on the side-lines of the Heads of State Summit in January 2013. The exhibition attracted over 200 visitors. Oxfam also launched a paper on Mali. The then Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, H.E Ambassador

Ramtane

Lamamra,

personally

officiated both the photo exhibition and launch of the Mali paper.

Active Citizenship in the Affairs of the African Union: Oxfam International Executive Director, Mrs.

Commissioner Lamamra during the exhibition

Winnie Byanyima, and the Oxfam Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, Celine Charveriat, conducted lobby meetings with High Level Officials including Ambassadors of Uganda, Tanzania, Togo, Zimbabwe, the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, EU Delegation to AU, the UK embassy and other stakeholders during their visit to Addis Ababa

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Oxfam Int. ED Winnie Byanyima (2nd left) with Uganda Amb. to the AU (3rd left)

Understanding the African Union Training for journalists and cSOs 60 CSO leaders and media representatives received training in May and December on the structures and functioning of the African Union. These trainings were jointly organized by Oxfam and the African Union Commission Directorate of Information and Communication with the support and the participation of other department of the AU Commission such as the Legal Affairs Department and the Peace and Security Department, CIDO, Rural Economy and Agriculture, the Cabinet of the Chairperson etc.

Over 2013, more than 100 CSOs representatives received targeted technical, financial and logistic support from OI-AU to engage with the 20th and 21st Summits of the African Union as well as a number of ministerial and technical experts meetings and bilateral engagements with country representatives.

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OI-AU gave institutional and logistic support to the African Youth Decade Alliance to engage the African Union with the ongoing Africa Youth

International Day of Peace 2013

Decade Program

To mark the International Day of Peace, OI-AU and the

To mark the 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU, OI–

seminar titled: “Peace and Solidarity in Africa, whose

AU Peace and Security Division jointly organized a public

AU, together with Femme Africa Solidarité (FAS), responsibility?” co–hosted an African inter-generational dialogue alongside the AU summit in May.

Thanks to a joint effort of our IT and Communication Team with the AU Communication department, this

15 African organizations were supported to engage was the first event organized from the AU Commission with the Tokyo International Conference for African that had a live online participation of citizens around the Development (TICAD) in Japan, July 2013.

continent. On Twitter, 431 African Citizens from all regions

followed the debate live and sent tweets, comments

25 Students from the School of Diplomacy of Seton and questions directly to panellists (projected live on the Hall University, New Jersey, USA on a study visit of screen during the conference). The event had over 2000 Ethiopia received a briefing on peace and security issues in Africa from the OI-AU Team, supported by Oxfam in Somalia.

views on the live stream that is still running on http:// www.peaceau.org.

The over 100 participants included Ambassadors, policy

Crisis Action received support through the year to makers, research institutions, AU Staff, NGO partners, bring delegations from Sudan and South Sudan students, youth representatives and members of the to Addis Ababa for lobby meetings at the African public.

Union Commission & Embassies.

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H.E. Amb. Joram Mukama Biswaro of United Republic of Tanzania with Head of OI-AU during his visit to the office

Ensuring Impact…

Following our unprecedented exhibition on Mali and DRC, both conflicts were widely discussed by the African Union Summit and subsequent important decisions were taken by the Heads of States and Governments.

The Assembly of the AU, in May 2013, “requested the Commission and the Peace and Security Council to take all necessary steps to enhance interaction with CSOs”.

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union adopted key recommendations proposed by Oxfam and partners on the issue of peace and development and the protection of women and children in conflict.

During May 2013 AU Summit, Oxfam ED Winnie Byanyima was on hand to launch the “50 voices, 50 places” documentary.

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Oxfam International - Liaison Office with the African Union 12 Fifty voices

In it, 50 ordinary citizens from Mali, DRC, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia recount their experiences of conflict and hopes for the future.

fifty places

Fifty years gone by, looking to the future with hope

The majority of African governments have supported the adoption of the first unprecedented legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the UN as a result of Oxfam’s campaign.

Over 400 citizens across Africa and the diaspora 50 different places in the conflict affected areas of Mali, DRC, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia ex-pressed their hopes, fears and demands through direct discussion with policy makers. Participated online to the discussion of peace and security issues in Africa. In addition, over 2,000 citizens watched the live stream of the international day of peace seminar.

Over 5,000 people have had access to the AU Compendium; the first comprehensive guide to the African Union Commission published by the OI-AU. Over a thousand subscribers receive OI-AU weekly updates and alerts on the AU activities and engagement opportunities.

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Facing the Future …

A number of new developments in Africa, at the African Union and within the Oxfam Confederation will drive our future. They are:

In Africa: Economies continue to grow but there is widening inequality, governance challenges in a number of countries and increasing peace, security and humanitarian issues unregulated exploitation of extractive resources in Africa and illicit capital flow.

At the African Union: •

Increasing demand for accountability and implementation of on AU decisions, protocols

and treaties at national level.

•

New strategic plan of the African Union with the following area of priorities:

•

More recognition of Non-State Actor space within the AU processes

•

Progressive decisions but still largely unimplemented

Within Oxfam : •

New Oxfam Strategic Plan matching a number of AU priorities including active citizenship,

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agriculture, extractive industries and illicit capital flow, gender equality etc.

•

New Executive Director of Oxfam International, Winnie Byanyima

•

Decision to move its leadership’s center of gravity closer to states in the global South.

Making African Extractive minerals work for Africa Building on Oxfam 15 years’ experience working on extractive industries, OI-AU will launch an extractive industries programme in Addis with the appointment of a Senior Policy Advisor for Extractive Industries to work on advocacy, campaign and research on extractive industries and transparency issues. In the preparation of this, Oxfam has had a number of interactions with the AUC’s Department of Trade and Industry to discuss the scope of Oxfam’s work on natural resources and how that could fit within the new AUC Strategic Plan. Oxfam was also invited participate to the 3rd Session of African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development, in December 2013 in Maputo, Mozambique.

OI-AU had also had a discussion with the AU Advisory Board on Corruption to consider an eventual program that looks at the role of extractive industries on development in Africa.

Pan-African Professional in Residence As part of our Active Citizenship Programme, George Asiimwe (Ugandan), Campaigns, Advocacy and Lobby for the Eastern and Southern Africa Small Annual Review 2013

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Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF)- Uganda is now seconded to OI-AU for the next 3 months. During this time he will receive support from our Active Citizenship Team to engage with the African Union linking his organization to the African Union in the upcoming Year of Agriculture and Food Security The Pan-African Professional in Residence was established as part of our Active Citizenship Programme to provide committed civil society actors the opportunity to meet and work with policy and decision makers at the African Union in Addis Ababa. By so doing, we strengthen the role and influence of nonstate actors and ordinary citizens in the AU’s policy-making process.

OI-AU PUBLICATIONS covers key updates and opportunities on the OI-AU launched a quarterly

African Union agenda. An official note from the AU

bulletin

to Oxfam has appreciated this initiative.

“Active

Citizens”

highlighting opportunities of citizens’ engagement at the African Union.

AU

PRC

poster

co-published

is in

collaboration with the Communication A weekly update, ‘’AU Weekly’’ has been regularly circulated to over 1000 subscribers of the ‘’African Citizens’’ listserv and Oxfam Affiliates. The weekly Annual Review 2013

and

Information Department of the AUC, the yearly updated AU PRC posterwill enable all African CSO actors, observers

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and members of the International and local community to familiarise themselves with the distinguished Ambassadors who make up the AU PRC, in order to facilitate the lobbying and advocacy work they plan.

The second edition of our AU Compendium in both English and French will be launched in January 2014. The African Union Compendium is intended for multiple stakeholders including, but not limited to civil society organizations (CSOs), policymakers at various levels, AU and embassy staff, academics, staff of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and journalists among others.

African Union Compendium 2nd Edition

In preparing the African Union Compendium, we have made use of publicly available official AU documents, policy instruments, key presentations by AU departmental experts, internet research and research work that has taken into account available information.

African Union Compendium 1st Edition

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People Our Staff Associates & Volunteers OI-AU operates under Oxfam International Secretariat as one of its advocacy offices to the multilateral institutions. We work closely with Oxfam Pan Africa programmes, regional and country teams across the continent. The office has the following 12 staff, associates and volunteers:

Desire Assogbavi- Togo

Muleya Mwananyanda - Zambia

Brenda Chikwe Mofya - Zambia

Rights in Crisis Campaign and Policy Manager (Gender Peace & Livelihoods) Muleya.Mwananyanda@oxfaminternational.org

Policy Advisor – Peace and Security/ Governance Brenda.Mofya@oxfaminternational.org

Head of Office desire.assogbavi@oxfaminternational.org

Idriss Ali Nassah - Malawi OI-AU Media Lead Idriss.nassah@oxfaminternational.org

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Rinret Dabeng - Nigeria Policy and Capacity Development Coordinator Rinret.Dabeng@oxfaminternational.org

Roben Nedasa - Ethiopia Finance and Administration Officer Roben.Nedasa@oxfaminternational.org

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Liyu Dereje - Ethiopia

Faith Adhiambo - Kenya

Hannah Adisu- Ethiopia

Office Administrator Liyu.dereje@oxfaminternational.org

Pan African Associate: Strategic Engagement Faith.Adhiambo@OxfamInternational.org

Pan Africa Associate: Strategic Campaigning, Rights in Crisis Hannah.Adisu@OxfamInternational.org

Senay Girma - Ethiopia Pan Africa Associate: IT Support Senay.Girma@oxfaminternational.org

Ilyas Oussedik- Algeria

Abaynesh Tekle - Ethiopia

Pan Africa Associate: Peace &Security/Governance Ilyas.Oussedik@OxfamInternational.org

Office Assistant

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Raising Citizens’ Voices & Enlarging the Space

Our Year 2013 in Pictures . . .

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ABOUT OXFAM INTERNATIONAL - LIAISON OFFICE WITH THE AFRICAN UNION Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. We save lives and help rebuild livelihoods when crisis strikes and we campaign so that the voices of the poor influence the local, national, regional and global

In line with the African Union’s mission to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven and managed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena, our Liaison Office with the African Union, part of Oxfam Pan Africa Team works essentially on the following:

decisions that affect them. We believe that change happens when

1. Active Citizenship in the Affairs of the African Union: To support

citizens are informed, empowered and enabled to influence policies,

citizens and civil society organizations of Africa to work with and

practices and to use mechanisms to hold their leaders accountable.

engage the African Union, and be part of the policy processes

We work directly with citizens, communities and we seek to influence

debates and decisions that affect their life.

the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and

2. Saving Life Now and in the Future: Peace, Security and Humanitarian

livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them. We are an

Affairs including direct engagement with the African Union’s peace

international confederation of 17 organizations working together with

and security organs in terms of policy advocacy and campaign,

partners in more than 90 countries including 35 in Africa.

building on Oxfam’s operational presence in 35 countries in Africa

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union and a Bilateral Host Agreement with the Government of

including a number of conflict affected countries namely Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Mali, Somalia etc.

Ethiopia, Oxfam set up a Liaison Office with the African Union (OI-AU)

3. Making African Extractive Resources Work for Africa: Support the

in Addis Ababa to strengthen it collaboration with the African union.

AU’s African Mining Vision and African Mineral Development Centre

OI-AU together with other Oxfam affiliates and partners operating in

objectives to ensure that African rich mineral resources are

Africa, work closely with the African Union and its member States on

fully and best used for the socio-economic development of the

various issues of common interest including humanitarian policy,

continent.

peace and security, social affairs, gender justice, economic affairs, governance, agriculture, citizens’ participation and communication.

4. Representation of Oxfam to the African Union and management of the confederation’s relationship with the African Union, its organs and member states in the framework of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between Oxfam International and the African

Contact: Oxfam Liaison Office with the African Union TK Building, Bole Airport Area, Suite 406 Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia Tel.: +251 11661 1601 / Fax: +251 11 661 2795 Email: addisababa@oxfaminternational.org Twitter@Oxfam_AU Facebook: Oxfam International Liaison Office with the African Union: OI-AU

Union Commission.

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