African Union

First World Humanitarian Summit: African Union is going to Istanbul with its own commitments to the continent and its people

The key concerns that the AU will be raising in the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit include the need for redefining the international humanitarian system…

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 19 May 2016 – The Head of the Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees and Displaced Persons Division in the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mr. Olabisi Dare, highlights the participation of the AU at the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit scheduled to take place on 23 -24 May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey, during an interview granted to the Directorate of Information and Communication of the AUC, ahead of the event.

According to  Mr. Olabisi, the key concerns that the AU will be raising in the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit include the need for redefining the international humanitarian system which includes a reconfiguration of the entire system, “it being understood that the existing system predicated on Resolution 46 182 is not being faithfully implemented”. It is therefore in respect of this that the African Union is going to Istanbul with its own commitments to the continent and its people and has formulated a Common African Position on Humanitarian Effectiveness. One of the key things the commitment will anchor upon is on the primacy of the state, noting that the state has the primary responsibility to its own people - to satisfy their needs and take care of their vulnerabilities.

Mr. Olabisi explained that the African Union feels the state has to play the primary role of coordinating any and all humanitarian action that may take place within its territory. The state has a responsibility to guarantee the safety of both the humanitarian workers and humanitarian infrastructure and must alleviate the needs of its people, as well as maintain humanitarian space. “We note that the state has the capability and capacity in key areas such as the use of military assets in assisting humanitarian action.An example is the use of military forces in Liberia where the military was deployed to serve as the first line of defense to combat the spread of Ebola. We can’t overemphasize the role of the state in ensuring that humanitarian action and relief is dispensed in an effective manner and we see that this in itself will give effect to humanitarian action more readily on the continent” Mr. Olabisi further explained.

Mr. Olabisi indicated that, the African Union will make proposals for the reconfiguration of the International Humanitarian systems during the first World Humanitarian Summit (WHS). “We recognize that part of the solutions is the need for governments to play the primary role and a greater coordination role in order to fulfill the attributes of state in terms of its predictive nature and responsive nature and other attributes and this in itself is in of the keyrecommendations we are taking to the WHS as part of what Africa has committed itself to doing. We are hopeful that these recommendations will feature prominently in the outcomes”. He emphasized.

Mr. Olabisi underlined that the AU is calling for the re-engineering of Resolution 46182 to reflect Africa’s views, and the need to elevate the role of the state primarily to deliver to its people. “When you look at the Common Africa Position (CAP) you find out that the first pillar speaks to the privacy of the state while all the other 9 pillars speak the same in one form or the other” , he noted.

Mr. Olabisi said Africa will be calling for increased domestic and innovative resource mobilization in order to deliver and allocate more resources to humanitarian action. He further noted that, Africa is of course also cognizant of the dwindling resources from traditional donors and moreso, the bleeding of resources from Africa in the form of illicit financial flows and the like.

With regards to the outcome of the WHS, Mr. Olabisi mentioned that, Africa’s commitments goes beyond the WHS “but the summit give us an opportunity to discuss a paradigm shift in terms of the way we do things in the humanitarian field in Africa and to see that we can positively add to

the mitigation and alleviation the sufferings of our people when disasters and displacements occur”. He concluded that “our resolve is to emerge with an outcome that is workable, pragmatic, and empowering.  Africa has resolved nonetheless to begin to addressing its own problems using African solutions to African problems”.

African Union Commission News

Banjul+10: AUC and Partners to Commemorate 10 Year anniversary of African Youth Charter (AYC)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 17 May 2016: The African Union Commission (AUC) Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), in collaboration with the Islamic Republic of The Gambia and various development partners, will commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the African Youth Charter (AYC) between the 21^st and 25^th May, 2016.

Dubbed Banjul+10, with the theme; “10 Years Implementation of the African Youth Charter: Accelerating Youth Development in Africa”, the forum is intended to provide a fresh opportunity to evaluate the current status and promote the African youth development and empowerment agenda, within the framework of the Youth Charter and Agenda 2063.

The African Youth Charter (AYC) is a legal and political document which serves as a strategic framework for guiding efforts towards youth empowerment and development on the African continent. It emerged during the 7^th Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) that took place in Banjul, Gambia, in July 2006, with the aim of strengthening, reinforcing and consolidating efforts to empower youth in Africa through meaningful participation and equal partnership in decision making processes.

To date 42 countries are signatory to the African Youth Charter, and 38 have ratified it. Banjul+10,  will offer an opportunity to advance the agenda of youth empowerment and development in all Member States by ensuring, as a mechanism, mutual accountability to the obligations of the African Youth Charter, re-affirming commitments to the Decade of Youth (2009 – 2018) and its Plan of Action and promoting alignment to Africa’s Agenda 2063.

Ten years after the introduction and adoption of the AYC, the AUC is looking to assess the progress that has been made as well as evaluate the major challenges faced with regard to the implementation of the Charter, in an effort to collectively re-strategize and strengthen actions toward implementation (of the Charter) and further - realize the vision laid out in Africa’s Agenda 2063.

The forum will, among other things, present an avenue for AU Member States to conduct peer reviews of investments in the continent’s youth; provide a platform for intergenerational discourse and advocacy; showcase the creativity and innovativeness of African youth across various sectors; ensure and facilitate broad-based, inclusive consultations, etc.

Outcomes from Banjul+10 will inform the second AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) meeting of AU Ministers of Youth, Culture and Sports and serve as a basis for 2017 ‘African Year of Harnessing Demographic Dividends for Accelerated Youth Empowerment.’ The event will also provide an opportunity to celebrate Africa Liberation Day in Banjul on the 25^th of May 2016.

Join the Twitter conversations on the 10 year anniversary of the African Youth Charter using our Twitter handle @AUYouthProgram and the hashtag #AUBanjulPlus10.

African Union Commission News

African Union Commission joins Young Africans in the Simulation of the African Union’s Summit in Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia -18 May 2016: As part of efforts to promote and accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2063, The African Union Commission (AUC) participated in the Simulation of the African Union’s Summit, held in Tunis, Tunisia from 14 to 15 May 2016. The AUC delegation that represented Her Excellency the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma at the simulation exercise included Dr. Beatrice Njenga, Head of Education and Ag. Head of Youth Division as Head of delegation; Mr. Vukani Lumumba, Communications Advisor, Bureau of the AUC Chairperson; and Mr. Musa Frimpong, AU Youth Volunteer, Youth Division, HRST.  

The simulation exercise was the third edition organised by the Tunisian youth-led NGO, Model African Union as a platform to impute in young Africans the spirit of Pan Africanism, leadership skills and knowledge about the African Union and its decision making processes. The event offered the young Africans a unique opportunity to integrate, share ideas and experiences, and deliberate on issues of development across the African continent. The exercise brought together 170 young Africans from 10 different African countries representing all AU regions.      

The simulation exercise was held under the theme ''2016 - African Year of Human Rights with particular focus on Women rights'' with main objectives of involving African Youth and engaging them on their duty to promote and maintain unity, peace and development on the continent; establish a culture of shared responsibility and leadership; create awareness of the role, the organisation and importance of the AU at continental and international level and highlight the issue of economic, social and security policies facing the African Continent.

In her address, Dr. Beatrice Njenga on behalf Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and the African Union Commission commended the organisers and participants of the simulation for taking practical action towards building the Africa they want. “Indeed, our superordinate goal is to ensure a united and “integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena”. Such an Africa ought to holistically address the needs and aspirations of young people who constitute over 65 per cent of our population.  This is what motivated Africa’s leaders to conduct worldwide consultations during 2013 with a simple question to all Africans here and in the diaspora; “what type of Africa would you want to see in the year 2063”. Dreaming long term has offered us a blue print for Africa’s development over the next 50 years or so. The product of those dreams has given the continent a new lease of life through the aspirations and implementation programme of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want’ she added.

She added that “African Union Commission is committed to partner young Africans at any given opportunity such as this and ensuring that appropriate platforms are made available for you to be active players in all the key development activities in the continent. Such investments and opportunities in young Africans by the African union include internships; the African Union Youth volunteer Corps (AU-YVC) programme, and scholarships including the Mwalimu Nyerere and the Pan African University, Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards and Research Grants, celebration of African Youth Heroes among others.” She called for strengthening linkages among youth organisations across the continent, including African Union Clubs for strengthening intra-African collaboration.

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia, Mr. Chiheb Bouden in his address highlighted the importance of holding such events to provide opportunity for young Africans to understand the economic, political and social challenges facing the development of African as well as boost co-operation among African citizens. He challenged the youth to make good use of the platform to play their role as strategic population for the next phase of Africa’s development. The platform is good grounds for preparing African youth for productive life and diplomatic practice. He urged foreign students who constitute over 4,000 in the public and private sector in Tunisia to be ambassadors of Tunisia and other African countries in their countries of origin in other to accelerate the integration of the people of Africa.

The President and Founder of Model African Union, Mr. Hamza Ghadamsi expressed his appreciation to the AUC and other partners for their support for the simulation exercise over the past years. He added that “Africa does not lack strength because it has its passionate, energetic and creative youth. Young Africans needs to learn a sense of common interest and to forget the individualism and selfishness which impedes their development. And to learn and apply the true values of commitment, sense of responsibility and honesty at all levels and in all aspects of their lives towards building an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa.”

The AUC delegation during the two day event provided general guidance, met with key partners and was part of the jury Chaired by Dr. Beatrice Njenga that selected best delegates and chairpersons for the simulation exercise.  

Key personalities who attended the event include a Representative of the Tunisian Presidency, Representative for Nigeria Ambassador to Tunisia, Head of Mission for International Organization for Migration, Ms. Malek Lamine, Representative of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the main sponsors of the event, Miss Rola Badran, Representative of the Arab Institute for Human Rights andDr. Raymonde Agossou, Former Head of Youth Division, AUC.

For more information please contact:

Ms. Pamela Charidza| Youth Policy Technical Officer | Human resources, Science and Technology Department | African Union Commission I Tel: +215115517700 |Email: charidzap@africa-union