Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 25 July 2016: The African Union Commission seeks to clarify that the Kingdom of Morocco did not attend or address the 27th Assembly of Heads of State and Government that was held on 17-18 July 2016, in Kigali, Rwanda.

However, President Idriss Deby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad and current Chairperson of the African Union informed the Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, that he had received a correspondence from the King of Morocco, H.M. Mohammed VI, regarding the intention of Morocco to join the African Union (AU).

This issue was neither an agenda item of the Summit nor a subject of discussion during the proceedings of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

In this regard, the AU Commission wishes to recall Article 29 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and relating to “Admission to Membership,” which states that:

Any African State may, at any time after the entry into force of this Act, notify the Chairman of the Commission of its intention to accede to this Act and to be admitted as a member of the Union.
The Chairman of the Commission shall, upon receipt of such notification, transmit copies thereof to all Member States. Admission shall be decided by a simple majority of the Member States. The decision of each Member State shall be transmitted to the Chairman of the Commission who shall, upon receipt of the required number of votes, communicate the decision to the State concerned.

In addition, the AU Commission wishes to recall that the AU Constitutive Act does not have any provision for the expulsion of any Member State of the Union.

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Jacob Enoh Eben | Spokesperson of the Chairperson | Bureau of the Chairperson | African Union Commission | Tel: +251-11-5517700 | Fax: | E-mail: EnohEbenj@africa-union.org | Web:www.au.int | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia