The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 265th meeting, held on 10 March 2011, at the level of Heads of State and Government, adopted the following decision on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire:

The Council,

1. Takes note of the report of the High‐Level Panel for the Resolution of the Crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, established pursuant to paragraph 6 of communiqué PSC/AHG/Comm (CCLIX) adopted at its 259th meeting held on 28 January 2011 [Document PSC/AHG/2 (CCLXV)]. The Council also takes note of the statements made by President Alassane Dramane Ouattara and by the representative of His Excellency Laurent Gbagbo;

2. Reaffirms all its previous decisions on the post‐electoral crisis facing Côte d’Ivoire since the second round of the presidential election, on 28 November 2010, recognising the election of Mr. Alassane Dramane Ouattara as the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire;

3. Commends the High‐Level Panel for its commitment and the sustained efforts it has made in search for a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. In this regard, Council pays tribute to Presidents Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Idriss Déby Itno of Chad, as well as to the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Dr. Jean Ping, and the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mr. James Victor Gbeho, for their contribution to the search for a solution to the current crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. Council also commends all those who have extended cooperation to the High‐ Level Panel in the discharge of its mandate. Council expresses its appreciation to the

Secretary‐General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki‐moon, for the support extended to the Panel, through his Special Representative for West Africa, Saïd Djinnit;

4. Expresses its grave concern at the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian situation since the announcement of the results of the second round of the presidential election. Council notes that, in the absence of a speedy solution to the crisis, Côte d’Ivoire is likely to sink into widespread violence, with incalculable consequences for the country, as well as for the region and the continent as a whole;

5. Reiterates its firm condemnation of all atrocities and other violations of human rights, threats and acts of intimidation, as well as acts of obstruction directed at the operations of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI ), and deeply regrets the loss of life and destruction of property that occurred in parts of Côte d’Ivoire;

6. Reaffirms its conviction that the post‐electoral crisis in Côte d’Ivoire requires an overall political solution that preserves democracy and peace, and promotes lasting reconciliation among all Ivorians;

7. Endorses the recommendations of the High‐Level Panel as contained in its report, as well as the proposals made for an overall political solution to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, which offer a viable basis for a way out of the crisis that reconciles respect for democracy and the quest for peace. In this regard, Council recalls the provisions of paragraph 6 (c) of the communiqué of its 259th meeting stating that the Panel’s conclusions, as endorsed by Council, will be binding on all Ivorian parties;

8. Requests the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a High Representative for the implementation of the overall political solution, as endorsed by Council, and to complete the process for a way out of the crisis as follows:

(i) convening, under the auspices of the AU and ECOWAS, within the next two weeks, of negotiations between the Ivorian parties to develop modalities for the implementation of the proposals submitted by the High‐Level Panel as endorsed by Council, with all the necessary guarantees for all concerned actors, in particular for the outgoing President, H.E. Laurent Gbagbo,

(ii) mobilisation of the support of AU partners for the early conclusion of the

Agreement for a way out of the crisis, and

(iii) submission, to a meeting of Council, of a comprehensive report on the results of its efforts;

9. Calls upon the Ivorian parties to extend full cooperation for the effective implementation, within the agreed timeframe, of the Panel’s proposals, and to refrain from any action likely to complicate the situation and the process for a way out of the crisis;

10. Underlines its determination to take, in light of the results of the negotiations referred to in paragraph 8 (i) hereof, and on the basis of the relevant instruments of the AU, all measures that the situation would require;

11. Requests the Chairperson of the Commission to transmit this decision to the United Nations Security Council, ECOWAS and other AU partners;

12. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

A hundred years ago today, women across the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women’s Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. Although the occasion was celebrated in only a handful of countries, it brought over one million women out onto the streets, demanding not just better conditions at work but also the right to vote, to hold office and to be equal partners with men. 

I suspect those courageous pioneers would look at our world today with a mixture of pride and disappointment. There has been remarkable progress as the last century has seen an unprecedented expansion of women’s legal rights and entitlements. Indeed, the advancement of women’s rights can lay claim to be one of the most profound social revolutions the world has seen.

One hundred years ago, only two countries allowed women to vote. Today, that right is virtually universal and women have now been elected to lead Governments in every continent. Women, too, hold leading positions in professions from which they were once banned. Far more recently than a century ago, the police, courts and neighbors still saw violence in the home as a purely private matter. Today two-thirds of countries have specific laws that penalise domestic violence and the United Nations Security Council now recognises sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of war.

But despite this progress over the last century, the hopes of equality expressed on that first International Women’s Day are a long way from being realised.  Almost two out of three illiterate adults are women. Girls are still less likely to be in school than boys. Every 90 seconds of every day, a woman dies in pregnancy or due to childbirth-related complications despite us having the knowledge and resources to make birth safe.

Across the world, women continue to earn less than men for the same work. In many countries, too, they have unequal access to land and inheritance rights. And despite high-profile advances, women still make up only 19 per cent of legislatures, eight per cent of peace negotiators, and only 28 women are heads of state or government.  

It is not just women who pay the price for this discrimination. We all suffer for failing to make the most of half the world’s talent and potential. We undermine the quality of our democracy, the strength of our economies, the health of our societies and the sustainability of peace. This year’s focus of International Women’s Day on women’s equal access to education, training, science and technology underscores the need to tap this potential.

The agenda to secure gender equality and women’s rights is a global agenda, a challenge for every country, rich and poor, north and south. It was in recognition of both its universality and the rewards if we get this right that the United Nations brought together four existing organisations to create UN Women.  The goal of this new body, which I have the great privilege to lead, is to galvanise the entire UN system so we can deliver on the promise of the UN Charter of equal rights of men and women.  It is something I have fought for my whole life.

As a young mother and a pediatrician, I experienced the struggles of balancing family and career and saw how the absence of child care prevented women from paid employment.  The opportunity to help remove these barriers was one of the reasons I went into politics. It is why I supported policies that extended health and childcare services to families and prioritised public spending for social protection.   

As President, I worked hard to create equal opportunities for both men and women to contribute their talents and experiences to the challenges facing our country. That is why I proposed a Cabinet that had an equal number of men and women.

As Executive Director of UN Women, I want to use my journey and the collective knowledge and experience all around me to encourage progress towards true gender equality across the world. We will work, in close partnership, with men and women, leaders and citizens, civil society, the private sector and the whole UN system to assist countries to roll out policies, programs and budgets to achieve this worthy goal.   

I have seen myself what women, often in the toughest circumstances, can achieve for their families and societies if they are given the opportunity. The strength, industry and wisdom of women remain humanity’s greatest untapped resource. We simply cannot afford to wait another 100 years to unlock this potential.

The decision follows a meeting of the Peace and Security Council at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss the situation in Libya.

The AU strongly deplores the loss of lives and destruction of properties in that country, and called on all Libyans to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any further loss of lives.  

‘Council deplored the unfortunate tragic loss of lives...and urged all people, stakeholders, all those concerned to exercise restraint to avoid any further loss of lives and/or destruction of property,’ Kakena S.K. Nangula, current Chairwoman of the Council, told journalists.

The Council also emphasized the need to respect Libya’s territorial integrity and unity, according to Nangula.

According to Nangula, AU lacks first hand information on the situation and the mission it plans to deploy will fill the gap.      

As news reports and testimonies of people caught up in the events in Libya indicate, the violent unprecedented brutal crackdown against protestors is continuing. Libya’s ‘supreme leader’ Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has urged his supporters to come out on the streets to attack the ‘rats’ and ‘cockroaches’ opposing his iron grip on power. 

Indications from his public address of 22 February show that he is in no mood to relent to the legitimate demands of the pro-democracy protestors. Instead, he has threatened to purge opponents ‘house by house’ and ‘inch by inch’ and do whatever it takes to hold on to his iron grip on power. The situation in Libya is fast spiraling into an international and continent-wide crisis.

Article 3 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) lists the promotion of peace, security and stability on the continent as one of its key objectives. Despite this, the AU and African governments have been slow to react. Issuing statements urging the violence to stop will not deter the Libyan regime, which has practiced its brutal methods for over 40 years.

The UN Security Council has issued a unanimous statement condemning the violence but has failed to take any concrete action to restore peace and security to the people of Libya. The three African countries that sit on the UN Security Council – South Africa, Nigeria and Gabon – as representatives of the continent have a special responsibility to ensure that the people of Libya are protected from grave human rights violations constituting crimes against humanity.

It is vital that all African governments immediately recognise that this is an extraordinary situation which is fast becoming a threat to peace and security in Africa and internationally that must be recognised and acted upon resolutely by the UN andthe AU.

Signed:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Africa Democracy Forum

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Media Monitoring Africa

‘While international law guarantees the right to free expression, journalists cannot count on a robust defense of those rights,’ said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. ‘The recent unprecedented repression and persecution of journalists in Egypt , for example, provides an important opportunity for global and regional institutions to speak and act forcefully in defense of a free press.’

Attacks on the Press is the world’s most comprehensive guide to international press freedom, with thorough analyses of the key factors that obstruct a free press by CPJ’s regional experts. It includes a special feature on the invisible nature of online attacks meant to curb journalists, including online surveillance, malicious software, and the elimination of news sites from the Internet. CPJ found that a halfhearted, inconsistent approach to defending press freedom plagues institutions like the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of American States, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others. ‘While valiant special rapporteurs at various institutions battle anti-media violence, their efforts are stymied by a halting political will to guarantee press freedom,’ said Simon.

With a preface by Al-Jazeera English anchor Riz Khan, the book provides an overview of media conditions in more than 100 countries along with data on journalists killed (44) and imprisoned (145) in 2010. Regional trends identified by CPJ include:

Africa:

A rise in investigative journalism has led governments in the region to crack down on journalists, particularly those reporting on the provision of basic services and the use of public money. From Cameroon to South Africa, authorities are moving aggressively to unmask confidential news sources, criminalise possession of government documents, and retaliate against probing journalists-all while governments across the continent, under pressure from donor countries, are pledging more transparency and accountability.

Americas:

Decades since democratization took hold in the region, a rise in censorship can be seen throughout Latin America , caused by government repression, judicial interference, and intimidation from criminal groups. In some countries, a climate of impunity perpetuates a cycle of violence and self-censorship. In others, governments abuse state resources to silence critical reporting, and powerful figures routinely utilise politicised courts to override constitutional guarantees of free expression.

Asia:

With a mixture of violence and official repression, censorship in Asia takes many forms. China ‘s anti-media policies are becoming ever more entrenched, even as local journalists test the daily guidelines flowing from the Central Propaganda Department. Asian democracies like Thailand , the Philippines , and Indonesia appear incapable of reversing the impunity with which journalists are being killed, while Sri Lanka ‘s peace dividend never materialised for journalists. Pakistan was the world’s deadliest country for journalists in 2010.

Europe and Central Asia:

Newer and subtler forms of censorship are taking hold across the region to counter the rise of electronic journalism, particularly in Russia and the former Soviet republics. These include the targeted use of technological attacks and the untraceable disabling of independent media websites. The physical violence already employed in several countries to harass and intimidate journalists working in traditional media now extends to bloggers. Meanwhile, journalists face restrictions and potential punishment from defamation laws and anti-extremism statutes.

Middle East and North Africa:

Throughout the region, governments are conflating critical coverage of counterterrorism with terrorism itself, claiming national security grounds to suppress news and views considered unfavorable. From Egypt to Turkey , sweeping national security legislation has been enacted, criminalizing the coverage of terrorism and politically sensitive topics. Iran leads the region in its abuse of anti-state charges, and from Sudan to Bahrain , authorities resort to threats, harassment, and restriction of movement to limit coverage and conceal controversial activities and flawed policies.

Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Professor of Food and Nutrition and Public Policy at Cornell, said Friday that although multi-national corporations and middle-income countries were bringing in capital-intensive equipment to grow food, which has resulted in an increase in food production in the global sense, this is not benefiting the rural vulnerable people in Africa who are malnourished.

He said the food produced in Africa by these foreign investors is going to people who are not malnourished such as those in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other middle-income countries.

‘My concern is that we are seeing a dramatic deterioration  in the well-being of those small-holders who have been cultivating this land for a long time but who could not get title. For instance, in Ethiopia you cannot get title to your land, so government can decide that you leave the land so that investors from outside come in and take over,’ Pinstrup-Andersen told PANA Friday in New Delhi, India, where a global conference to assess ways to increase agriculture’s contribution to better nutrition and health for the world’s most vulnerable people is taking place.

He suggested that African government should instead help small-holder farmers by investing in roads, water management systems, credit facilities, research and technology so that they (farmers) can expand production and escape poverty rather than simply pushing them off the land.

‘Unfortunately, most African governments do not have resources and they need assistant from outside but the governments themselves have to set the priorities and if the governments do not prioritise investment in rural areas, the country will not be able to expand food production to meet future demands,’ Pinstrup-Andersen said.

He said African countries should not let the international community set the priorities for them, adding that African governments must set the priorities themselves and implement whatever investments they can afford, adding: ‘Ignoring agriculture is ignoring economic growth opportunities in Africa.’

Pinstrup-Andersen cited Ethiopia and Ghana, and to a lesser extent Uganda, as some of the countries that are now making major investments in rural development and agriculture.

He expressed disappointment that most African countries are still not investing as much as they agreed to under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) agreement.  

Under the CAADP agreement entered in 2003, African leaders pledged to allocate ten per cent of their national budget to agriculture by 2008.

‘The conference here would be successful if it draws attention to the importance of incorporating nutrition and health goals into agriculture development but it takes more than attention. Attention is the first step, step two is to create action and for that we need resources, so lip service is cheap, we have to move beyond lip service and make investments for rural development that farmers can use in order to improve their well-being,’ Pinstrup-Andersen said.

The three-day conference on ‘leveraging agriculture for improving nutrition and health’, which began here Thursday, has brought experts to examine ways that agriculture can enhance the health and nutritional status of poor people in developing countries.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), organisers of the conference, said nearly a billion people now go hungry everyday and are unable to access the food they need for energy and growth, while several billions suffer from deficiencies in micronutrients like iron, vitamin A, and zinc. 

In the wake of presidential elections, clashes have spread within Cote d’Ivoire and refugees are pouring into neighbouring Liberia. A panel of experts appointed by the African Union is in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, this week for discussions with the country’s rival political leaders. Alassane Ouattara is the internationally acknowledged victor in last November’s run-off vote, but Laurent Gbagbo, who has been president for a decade, calls the results invalid and refuses to leave office. 

The 20-member AU team is to report early next week to the five heads of state who were designated as mediators at the African Union summit late last month. Previous mediation efforts by both the AU and the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) failed to end the impasse.

‘The decision to mount another mission supported by an expert group was made by consensus,’ according to Liberian Foreign Minister Togo McIntosh, who accompanied President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the closed-door summit session in Addis Ababa. ‘That meeting gave us some confidence that the cracks we had seen in the preceding two weeks were disappearing and that Africa could once again speak with one voice on the issue,’ he said in an interview in Washington.

After the elections were held on November 28, there was ‘almost a unified view as to the outcome,’ McIntosh said. The United Nations Security Council, the AU and Ecowas all accepted Cote d’Ivoire’s Independent Electoral Commission’s certification of Ouattara as the winner by an eight percent margin. When Gbagbo rejected the consensus, citing a subsequent ruling by the Constitutional Court, a series of interlocutors sought to win his concession and increasing pressure was applied.

The international community, including the United Nations and the European Union, has continued to back the Security Council decision recognising Ouattara as the elected leader. There was ‘overwhelming’ unity on the election outcome and ‘hope for a peaceful transition,’ U.S. Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire Phillip Carter said last week.

To press the search for peace, the AU decided to launch another diplomatic push, involving one leader from each region, and gave them a one-month timetable to find a solution. The five, who are to meet for the first time when they receive the expert panel’s findings, include Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, Idriss Déby of Chad, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma.

However, the united African front was dented this week when Ecowas president James Victor Gbeho of Ghana complained that the presence of a South African naval replenishment ship in waters off Cote d’Ivoire could encourage Gbagbo to hold onto power. The charge was dismissed by South Africa’s ambassador to Nigeria, Kingsley Mamabolo, who told AFP ‘there is nothing amiss about the vessel,’ which he said could be used to evacuate civilians or host negotiations and was not on a military mission.

His comments reflect the view that South Africa, along with Angola, Cape Verde, Gambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe have been tilting in favor of Gbagbo. Those governments viewed as backing Ouattara include Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya and Burkina Faso.

Past and present leaders who have traveled to Abidjan since December to mediate include former presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, as well as Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The AU also sent a high-level team headed by Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma for talks last month with the U.S. administration in Washington and the United Nations in New York. Other AU representatives went to Europe and to Asia for similar discussions. All these efforts helped to reinvigorate a united approach, McIntosh said.

President Johnson Sirleaf has also played an influential role behind the scenes, her foreign minister said. She was asked to be a member of the first Ecowas delegation to Abidjan but decided to participate in other ways, he said, including being constantly engaged by telephone. He said the views she presented during the AU summit debate were well received by the leaders taking part. Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire’s other next-door neighbours - Sierra Leone, Guinea - have been among the strongest backers of negotiations, along with Ghana, Libya, Congo, Gabon, Cameroun and Tanzania.

The impact of the Ivorian crisis on Liberia has been significant, and the toll is rising. The flow of Ivorians fleeing across the border began as soon as tensions rose, immediately after the election results were announced. Well over 30,000 refugees are spread among more than two-dozen Liberian villages, according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. ‘Our people took them into their homes; they made sacrifices,’ McIntosh said. ‘We hoped the crisis would end quickly,’ but, instead, the problem has grown far beyond Liberia’s capacity to cope.

McIntosh said he is asking UNHCR to play a larger leading role. Three camps that have been constructed to house the influx are already insufficient, and Unicef, the UN children’s fund, predicts that the number of refugees will top 50,000 this month.

A much smaller number have fled to Guinea, but Unicef says the total number in the region may hit 100,000 by April, if the Ivorian stalemate remains unresolved. Compounding the refugees’ plight are the poor road conditions, making access difficult and expensive - a situation that will worsen when the rainy season begins, usually by early May. Emergency supplies have been airlifted into the remote border area by two UN-chartered flights.

‘We are seeing if we can get some help on the roads from UNMIL,’ McIntosh said. UNMIL is the United Nations Mission in Liberia, the peacekeeping force that has been on the ground since 2003 and currently has some 8,000 soldiers and 1,345 police.

‘We also need help with security in the camps and along the border,’ he said. The boundary between Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire stretches for some 2,000 km (600 miles) and is not well demarcated. With rising cross-border movement, there is increasing need for police and immigration capacity in that area, he said.

‘Our people are very much worried,’ said McIntosh. ‘They are tired of war.’ Memories are still fresh from more than 14 years of civil conflict that uprooted more than two-thirds of Liberia’s population and killed as many as a quarter of a million people.

A worsening situation in Cote d’Ivoire threatens Liberia’s security, he said, and comes at a particularly critical moment for the nascent democracy. National elections take place in October. Holding a second successful election is ‘a critical test’ that should not be imperiled by ‘trouble in the neighbourhood’, he said. ‘We have accomplished so much, but we are not yet out of the woods. We have so much more to do.’

The panel named on the final day of the AU summit (30-31 January) consists of the new African Union chairperson, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in his capacity as chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), along with the leaders of Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and South Africa. 

‘The panel is a welcome proposition as long as it operates within the constitution of Côte d’Ivoire,’ said Ivorian Foreign Affairs minister Alcide Djédjé in Addis Ababa.

‘The AU’s decision [to set up the panel] is what Gbagbo has been asking for to resolve the crisis peacefully. We think the panel comes with respect for the constitution. Anything that is against the constitution would not be accepted.’

Djédjé’s emphasis on the constitution is no accident. Gbagbo’s refusal to accept U.N.-certified results and concede defeat to Ouattara is founded on what the Gbagbo camp views as a grave violation of electoral procedures.

The release of results by the president of the Independent Electoral Commission, Youssouf Bakayoko, was delayed several times before he finally declared Ouattara the winner at the Golf Hotel on 2 December 2010. The hotel was - and is - also the headquarters of the Ouattara camp.

‘We don’t exactly know why, but we know the chief of the Commission was kidnapped by French and U.S. ambassadors to announce the provisional results as final from one candidate’s office,’ Djédjé said.

Bakayoko was reported in the media as having chosen the Golf Hotel for the security afforded it by the presence of U.N. peacekeepers. The Constitutional Council rejected the results, saying the IEC had missed a deadline for their release by a day.

Gbagbo’s campaign had challenged results from four northern districts, and the following day, Constitutional Council president Paul Yao N’dre announced that nearly a tenth of votes cast were fraudulent in the council’s view; the revised total swung the totals from 54.1 percent for Ouattara into a narrow win for Gbagbo with 51 percent of the vote.

The United Nations, ECOWAS and a large majority of governments have rejected the Constitutional Council ruling - its head is widely regarded as close to Gbagbo - and recognised Ouattara as the victor, though he remains restricted to the Golf Hotel premises where several hundred U.N. peacekeepers provide security from a blockade of Gbagbo supporters.

Several rounds of mediation between the two sides have failed, with tensions escalating steadily; Ouattara and Gbagbo have been separately sworn in as president, tens of thousands of Ivorians have been displaced and the U.N. estimates more than 200 have been killed.

The AU panel will now have a month to re-assess the situation and propose a way out of the impasse. ‘We are not dealing with “ifs”. We are not talking about vote recounting… and we stand by our decision,’ he said responding to a question by IPS in a news conference late Monday night at the end of the AU summit.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has said the United Nations will support the panel’s work. ‘The panel should work in close coordination with the U.N. in all aspects and every stage of the process. In this regard the U.N. is prepared to provide a senior official to work with the team of experts that will support the Panel.’

Ban has called for the lifting of the siege on the Golf Hotel, full support for the legitimate government and a ‘peaceful and honourable exit’ for Gbagbo; however, he rejects the challenge to the results announced by the IEC. ’Reopening the results… would be a grave injustice and set an unfortunate precedent,’ he told African leaders in Addis Ababa.

Addressing heads of state on 30 January, the outgoing AU chair, Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, called on Gbagbo to respect the will of Ivorians and hand over power to Ouattara.

‘The refusal by Mr. Gbagbo to respect the result in November 2010 elections in Cote d’Ivoire poses a serious threat to democracy in Africa,’ he said, adding that he wanted the African Union to maintain its suspension of Côte d’Ivoire’s membership of the AU until Ouattara assumed power.

But AU members are not entirely unanimously in support. South Africa, which is a member of the high level panel, has adopted a more cautiously neutral position and avoided endorsing the published results. Former president Thabo Mbeki, who visited Côte d’Ivoire as a mediator, argued in favour of a power-sharing agreement, saying the elections were flawed.

‘All peaceful solutions to end the crisis are welcome. We are against all forms of violence which will only worsen the crisis,’ André Kamaté, President of the Abidjan based Ivorian League for Human Rights, told IPS over the phone.

‘It is a good position that the AU has set up the panel to deal with crisis. But the final decision of the African Union should take into account the vote of the Ivorian,’ Desire Assogbavi, Head of Oxfam International Liaison Office with African Union told IPS. ‘That position should not be negotiated’, he added.

Decision on the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration, the assembly: 

Adopted the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration, which is a major step towards the realization of the AU Shared Values Agenda, namely in its governance component;

Called on all Member States to take the necessary measures, as soon as possible, to sign and ratify the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration;

Requested the Commission to take the necessary measures to disseminate and popularise the Charter among the people of Africa as well as assist Member States in its domestication and implementation;

Decision on the Final Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the year of Peace and Security in Africa, the assembly:

Decided that, in order to sustain the efforts to make peace happen, the steps taken and initiatives launched as part of the year of Peace and Security in Africa should be pursued and intensified;

Endorsed the recommendations made by the Chairperson of the Commission in his report for the implementation of a long term sustainability strategy, building on the achievements made and the lessons learnt from the Make Peace Happen Campaign and revolving around the following elements: 1) the institutionalisation of the celebration of Peace Day, 2) communication and outreach to publicize the efforts of the continent and sensitise all stakeholders 3) partnerships with stakeholders, in particular the private sector and civil society 4) peace education 5) support to African academic and research institutions, to enhance their capacity to explore the nature of African conflicts to investigate what succeeds and fails in conflict resolution and to arrive at African-centered solutions 6) support to peace-building activities through renewed efforts towards the implementation of the Tripoli Declaration and Plan of action and the institutionalisation of the Cairo High-Level Retreat and  7) resource mobilisation, in particular within the continent, in order to enhance Africa’s ownership and of leadership in, the quest for peace in the continent

Urged all Member States to provide the support required for the successful implementation of the Make Peace Happen Campaign sustainability strategy. The Assembly also urged all other stakeholders, including RECs/RMs, Civil Society and private sector, to work closely with the AU and take all necessary initiatives and steps in this respect. The Assembly further urged the AU partners, including United Nations, to extend the necessary support and cooperation

Decision on the Implementation of the Decisions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), the assembly:

Supported and endorsed Kenya’s request for a deferment of the ICC investigations and prosecutions in relation to the 2008 post election violence under article 16 of the Rome Statute to allow for a National mechanism to prosecute the cases under a reformed Judiciary provided for in the new constitutional dispensation, in line with the principle of complementarity, and in this regard requested the UN Security Council to accede to this request;

Underscored the need for African States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC to speak with one voice during the forthcoming negotiations at the level of the New York and the Hague working groups respectively and Requested the Group of African State Parties in New York to ensure that the proposal for amendment of article 16 of the Rome Statute is properly addressed during the forthcoming negotiations and to report to the Assembly through the Commission. In addition, they should ensure that the position of the ICC Prosecutor goes to an African during the forthcoming elections for Prosecutor scheduled for December 2011

Decision on the Outcome of G20 Summit, the assembly:

Decided that the AU Commission is an integral part of the delegation of the chairperson of the AU and would serve as the Secretariat for the two countries representing Africa-both in terms of preparation for the Summit and coordination of the African Position(s) in order to facilitate follow up on the implementation of various commitments and decisions made at these Summits.

Decision on the Theme, Date and Venue of the 17th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU, the assembly:

Recalled its decision adopted in Kampala, Uganda in July 2010 on the theme of the June/July 2011 Summit which shall be ‘Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development’;

Decided that the 17th Ordinary Session of the Assembly will be held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from 23rd -30 June, 2011;

Requested the Commission in collaboration with Member States and all relevant stakeholders to take all necessary measures to prepare all relevant documentation and materials for the Theme

Decision on the Theme of the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU in January 2012, assembly:

Decided that the theme for the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU to be held in January/February 2012 will be ‘Boosting Intra-African Trade’

Decision on the Offer of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to host the 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, June/July 2012, the assembly:

Decided to convene the 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly in the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Decision on the Appointment of Members of the Advisory Board on Corruption, the assembly:

Took note of the election conducted by the Executive Council;

Decided to appoint members of the Advisory Board on Corruption for two years term (For the list of the names of the appointed members, please visit the AU website)

Decision on the Budget for the AU for the 2011 Financial Year, the assembly:

Approved and recommended to the Assembly for the adoption the budget for the AU, for the financial year 2011, amounting US$ 256,754,447, with the total amount US$122,602,045 assessed to Member States on the basis of the new Scale assessment, which includes the balance of the Programs Budget amounting to US$10,177,417. A total amount of US$134,152,402 earmarked for the programs is secured from International Partners

Decision on the Report of Member States’ Experts Consultations on the Theme of the 16th Ordinary AU Assembly ‘Towards Greater Unity and Integration Through Shared Values’, the assembly:

Endorsed the strengthening of the African Governance Architecture, through the launch of the governance platform as an informal and non-decision making mechanism to: foster exchange of information; facilitate the elaboration of common positions on governance; strengthen the capacity of Africa to speak with one voice;

Requested the Commission to undertake periodic reviews and coordinate the monitoring of compliance to AU instruments on Shared Values;

Requested the AU Commission to ensure greater synergy and coherence between African Governance Architecture and the Peace and Security Architecture;

Declared 2012 as the year of Shared Values in Africa

Decision on the Status of Signature and Ratification of OAU/AU Treaties, the assembly:

Took note of the efforts made by the AU organs and in particular the Pan African Parliament, the AU Commission on International Law, ECOSOC, The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Committee of Experts on the welfare of the Child as well as the Regional Economic Communities, International and Regional Organisations, and Civil Society towards advocacy and sensitisation of Member States to expedite the process of ratification of/accession to OAU/AU Treaties and requested them to persist in these efforts.

The report on the implementation of previous decisions of the Executive Council comprising the ministers of foreign affairs and the conference of heads of state, notes that the AU Commission has identified 56 decisions of the Executive Council and 79 decisions of the Conference, which have not yet been executed. 

This accounts for high financial implications or technical reasons and/or lack of time, notes the document.

The AU Commission which has submitted this report for adoption by African heads of state, said it is therefore ‘extremely important’ that decisions to be taken during this session be based on a thorough assessment of their financial implications, required human resources and institutional capacities.

The African Rally of the Defence of Human Rights, known by its acronym as RADDHO, claimed that the choice of Nguema Mbasogo ‘will seriously damage the image of the African continent and the debate planned by the AU on democratic values will lack credibility.’

Known internationally as a dictator, RADDHO said, UNESCO was obliged to reject the prize offered by Nguema to that organisation, mainly because of ‘the catastrophic human rights record of Equatorial Guinea’.

According to the rights body, Equatorial Guinea is notorious for its systematic torture of political opponents and violation of human rights, with the opposition completely muzzled. Also, it neither has independent media nor space for civil society organisations.

‘More serious are the bribery cases which have corrupted the political elite, who benefit from oil revenues while the majority of the population is languishing in misery,’ RADDHO said in a press statement issued by its chairman, Alioune Tine.

According to RADDHO, governance in the country is completely opposed to the values and principles promoted by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the Constitutive Act of the AU.

‘This unfortunate choice [of Nguema Mbasogo] ignores the deep aspiration and determination of African people, greatly mobilised to fight for their dignity, the promotion of liberty and fundamental human rights like the case now in Tunisia and Egypt.

‘It is now time that heads of state in Africa understand that the dawn of dictators is over in Africa,’ the statement added. 

The PSC has been following the implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which provided for the referendum on independence of South Sudan.  

The organisations, which are supporters of the Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative (CRAI), a campaign dedicated to ending statelessness and the arbitrary denial of citizenship in Africa, deplored the failure of the representatives of the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan to come to an agreement on nationality rights.  ‘The denial of the right to a nationality has been at the heart of many of Africa’s most intractable conflicts’, said Dismas Nkunda, director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative, one of the lead organisations in the CRAI coalition. ‘The PSC should do what’s necessary to avoid Sudan becoming another case.’

The CRAI submission to the PSC welcomed statements by President Bashir indicating his commitment to protect southerners in the North from violence, and his promise to allow them to retain residence and employment in the private sector. They also welcomed similar commitments from the Government of Southern Sudan that the rights of northerners in the South will be protected, while those pastoralists whose home base is in the North will preserve their traditional rights to move cattle through the South.  

However, they highlighted the serious risk of statelessness if existing Sudanese nationality is withdrawn, as is the current negotiating position of the Government of Sudan, on the basis that a person is a member of one of the ‘indigenous communities’ of Southern Sudan.  The grant of nationality in law or practice on the basis of ethnicity creates the likelihood that the right to nationality of those whose status as ‘indigenous’ may be in doubt will not be respected, however long their families may have been resident on the territory concerned.  Among the groups most likely to be affected are those that have members on both sides of the north-south border and people of mixed ethnic parentage.

The signatories to the CRAI submission called on the PSC to ensure that, in the interests of the peace and security of the region, both the Republic of Sudan and the future government of South Sudan rapidly adopt nationality laws that, at minimum:

Do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, religion, gender or any similar ground prohibited by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;

Provide those who have a connection to both states with a right to opt for their preferred nationality during a transitional period;

Provide for dual nationality between north and south; and, at minimum, permit dual nationality by naturalisation following the option for an initial nationality;

Provide for due process in the process of withdrawal or grant of nationality; and

Provide guarantees against statelessness.

News from Ethiopia of Mugabe’s drafting in has angered human rights activists and his political foes in Zimbabwe. Reports say Mugabe, 86 joins in the expanded mediating team that includes South Africa leader, Jacob Zuma, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and the President of Mauritania. 

The AU on Friday announced the setting up of a five-member heads of state panel to make binding recommendations on the Ivory Coast rivals within a month. AU Commission chief Jean Ping said Saturday the panel would help Ouattara ‘exercise power’ through a negotiated deal, reports say.

African Union leaders began talks Sunday to reach a common strategy on resolving Ivory Coast’s protracted crisis and tackle other continental trouble spots.

The drafting in of Mugabe has been seen by his rivals as an endorsement of being ‘legitimately elected’ by African leaders. ‘This is a travesty of justice. How does Mugabe whose country is under South Africa Development Community (SADC) mediation be chosen to be a peace broker in another country whose problems are similar his?’ asked Steven Chivero of Stand Up for Zimbabwe. Chivero said this shows that African leaders ‘fear Mugabe’.

Other groupings said Mugabe’s appointment would ‘have a negative bearing on SADC mediation role’ in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe, who participated in Friday’s Peace and Security Council decision kept power through a negotiated agreement after an apparent electoral defeat.

Ivory Coast has been gripped by a political crisis since the Election Commission named Alassane Quattara, 69, as the winner of presidential elections in November 2010. But incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, 65, has refused to concede defeat, alleging voter fraud.

Last week, a Harare based think tank, Mass Public Opinion Institute said Mugabe still wields too much political influence despite the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that’s stipulate that he should share it with premier Morgan Tsvangirai.

The think tanks survey says the majority of Zimbabweans felt that the government has failed to ensure a fair distribution of power, with Mugabe wielding excessive power compared to his counterparts in the coalition.

‘Power was not shared equally in this inclusive government as an overwhelming 76 per cent believe that the President has real executive power compared to the prime minister,’ reads part of the findings of the survey conducted between 18 and 23 August 2010.

Thirty-one per cent of the respondents felt that the partners in government were not co-operating, while 25 per cent were in between and 14 per cent felt the partners were working together fairly well.

About 16 per cent felt that the inclusive government was working ‘very well’, 27 per cent felt Zanu-PF was not committed at all to the GNU. Public opinion showed that 11 per cent thought that the MDC-T was not committed at all, while 25 per cent said the MDC-M was also not committed.

On free political activity, 35 per cent of those polled felt the GNU performed badly.

Currently, the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has a force strength of 8,000 troops providing protection to institutions of the Transitional Federal Government in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country.

‘Our next step is to bolster the force up to 14,000 troops, with additional battalions expected to be deployed from Guinea and Ghana,’ Ping told journalists on the sidelines of the 16th Ordinary Assembly of AU heads of state and government.

With an improved mandate, the force would be able to react militarily in case it came under attack by armed rebel groups in the country.

Ping explained that increasing the AU presence in Somalia, while efforts progressed to bring that country back to normalcy ‘is a question of mandate, troops contribution by member states and availability of the necessary equipment’ for the troops.

He said the AU force in Somalia would be one of the biggest peacekeeping deployments around the world and only second to the UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping mission in western Sudan’s Darfur region that stands at 26,000 troops. 

More than 70 farmers’ representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas will take part in this forum, a place where social movements and civil organisations are going to debate alternatives for a better world, pursuing their thinking, formulating proposals and sharing their experiences. 

At a time of rising food prices and upcoming food crisis, La Via Campesina will defend Food Sovereignty as the solution to the food and climate crises. 


La Via Campesina will join the caravan organised by the social movements from Lomé (Togo) to Dakar (Senegal). The Caravan will depart on 23 January and is expected to arrive in Dakar on 5 January, to participate at the opening ceremony of the World Social Forum on 6 February. During the World Social Forum, La Via Campesina will launch its campaign against violence towards women in Africa.

In the context of the WSF, the international farmers movement will also showcase African farmers’ food products and seeds at FIARA, a dynamic place for the integration of African people through local markets and exchange, as well as debates on issues challenging peasants’ lives in Africa.

With its allies, La Via Campesina will organise a debate at FIARA on ‘Land grab in the context of food and climate crises - the need for land policies that protect peasant production for local markets’. Land grabbing, as an integral part of the dominant corporate agribusiness model with large-scale industrial monoculture, is affecting peasants from Africa, Asia and the Americas.

For the first time, FIARA will also provide spaces for conferences and debates on food sovereignty.

The farmers’ movement, with allies, will organise several debates, such as ‘Defending peasant seeds against genetically modified organisms, transnational companies such as Monsanto and initiatives such as AGRA’ and ‘Food Sovereignty, violence against women and Climate Change’. It will also be actively involved in the debate on the preparation of the Social Movements’ mobilisation for the next UN Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa, in December 2011.

La Via Campesina will have a stand at the World Social Forum where printed information can be found. The stand will also be a meeting point with La Via Campesina’s people.


More on http://www.viacampesina.org