Meeting on Democracy Charter

Press Release—The Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission will from 29 – 31 May 2008, hold a regional meeting grouping East African countries, to brainstorm on the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, in the presence of Mrs. Julia Dolly Joiner, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC). It is aimed at promoting and encouraging Member States to ratify the Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance.

The meeting will equally serve as a forum to sensitise the decision makers as well as African leaders on the contents and importance of the Charter while promoting the role it can play in enhancing good governance in Africa. The popularisation of the Charter and the strategies to mobilise as many signatures as possible during the ratification process are some of the main objectives of organising regional meetings on the Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance. With Regard to the ratification practices amongst Member States, participants at the meeting will discuss the Status of Ratification and the AUC procedures on ratification, Legal Affairs.

During the meeting in Kigali, Ambassador, Emile Ognimba, Director for Political Affairs of African Union Commission (AUC) will present an overview of the Charter Process (History and Evolution). Meanwhile, Dr Khabele Matlosa, Senior Advisor at the Research, Electoral Institute of South Africa will do a brief presentation of the content of the Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance.

On the other hand, Mr. Ebrahima Kane, African Union Advocacy Director, Open Society Initiative of East Africa (OSIEA), is expected to elaborate on the available strategies for popularization of the Charter, while the draft Action Plan will be presented by Dr. Mamadou Dia, Head of Division, Democracy, Governance Elections and Human Rights (DGEHR), Political Affair, African Union Commission

It is worth recalling that the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance was adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union at its Eighth Summit held from 29 – 30 January 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, the regional meeting on the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance is a follow-up of a seminar that took place in Windhoek, Namibia, on 28 and 29 October 2007. The seminar was aimed at accelerating the ratification of the Charter. The meeting is also the follow-up of the Lesotho workshop that took place from 20 – 22, December 2007, which aimed to finalise the strategies to speed up the implementation of the Charter. The last regional meeting on the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance took place from 17 – 19 March 2008, in Bujumbura, Burundi.

Journalists are invited to cover the open sessions of meeting.

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