Events

NAMIBIAN CIVIL SOCIETY EMBRACES THE CHALLENGE OF PARTICIPATION IN ECOSOCC AND THE AFRICAN UNION

Windhoek. Namibia 20th August 2014 –Namibian Civil Society have been called upon to embrace the challenge of effective participation in the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union ((ECOSOCC) as an entry point for enabling the integration and development agenda of the continent as well as the progressive growth of the Namibian State and Society.

The call came in the opening statements of both the Director and Chairperson of NANGOF-TRUST, the umbrella organizations of NGOs in Namibia, Mr. Irvin Lombadrt and Mr Sandie Tjaronda, in the course of the sensitization and motivation campaign on ECOSOCC held in Safari Court Hotel Conference Centre, Windhoek, Namibia today.

The Chairperson of NANGOF-Trust, Mr Tjaronda observed:

ECOSOCC supports policies and programs that promote peace, security and stability in Africa and foster development and integration on the continent as well as promote and defend a culture of good governance, democratic principles and institutions, popular participation, human rights and social justice... In this context, I agree that this visit is timely and relevant in making civil society visible and it endorses the relevance of civil society to the development of Namibia and the continent at large.

Thus he added " Civil Society is an integral component of our societies and this position must be internalized in our Organs of Government and other key machineries such as the African Union and SADC."

In the same vein, Ambassador Lazarus Kapambwe, the Advisor to the AU Chairperson noted that " ECOSOCC provides a barometer for assessing the state of health of African Civil Society and the overall development of the continent. It is an Organ that embraces the active involvement of non-state actors in the continent in the policy-making environment. The ECOSOCC Assembly represents but does not replace civil society"

Mr. Chilengi, a member of the Ist ECOSOCC Permanent General Assembly (2008-2012), observed that while Namibia through NANGO-Trust hosted the last regional consultation leading to the formation of the 1st Permanent ECOSOCC Assembly, it was ironic that it had no representative in the same Assembly and that the time had come to correct that disconnect. The apparent vigor of the the civil society community in Southern Africa must be reflected in the context of ECOSOCC and the African Union. CSOs in Southern Africa should not just seek to participate in ECOSOCC but also to play a critical role in guiding the process.

Following these presentations, Dr Adisa, the Director of the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate of the African Union (CIDO) which hosts the ECOSOCC Secretariat , then outlined the history and development of the current electoral process, related Summit discussions and decisions that paved way for this sensitization exercise and the application requirements, processes and procedures. Specifically, he underlined the eligibility requirements specified in the ECOSOCC Statutes and the timelines set for the current exercise. He urged Namibian civil society organizations to take advantage of the process not just for the purposes of electioneering but to buttress and anchor the legitimacy of the ECOSOCC experience. Accordingly, they should seek to establish national ECOSOCC chapters that would serve as mechanisms for consultation, responsive representation and accountability. They should also seek to ensure that the next ECOSOCC Assembly develops, as a first order of business , a framework for observer status for all CSOs on the continent to ECOSOCC so that they can be directly associated with the conduct of their elected representatives and appreciate how that conduct conforms to the mandate that they give to them.

In the course of the interactive session that followed issues were raised regarding the requirement that fifty per cent of the resources of the intending Organizations must be internally derived. Some felt that this was very restrictive and did not take full cognizance of the realities of the African continent that did not provide appropriate funding support for Civil society activities. Indeed it was argued that the provision may be supportive of NGOs favored by Governments. It was however" noted that the provision challenged civil society groups to seek to broaden their resource base and "Africanize" funding sources but the challenge would only be reasonable in a context where governments and continental and regional organizations also assumed critical responsibility and obligations.

The issue of the urbanization of civil society universe in Africa was also an aspect of concern. CSO groups observed that attention of the CSO community was generally focused on regional capitals and related concerns whereas the majority of the people lived in rural areas. Thus rural issues that were of major concern to the broad generality of the people were often overlooked or neglected. If ECOSOCC is therefore to be truly representative it must avoid the phenomenon of concentration on urbanism.

The meeting was concluded with agreements on next steps and the way forward. It was agreed that the civil society organizations present at the workshop would serve as a vanguard or inner concentric circle for spreading the message to the wider rank and file as in Zimbabwe. In the same vein, the AU was invited to send a delegation to the Namibian CSO expo that would be organized by NANGOF-Trust very soon as a secondary outreach mechanism to support the ECOSOCC process.

For any further information please contact :

Ms. Afrah Thabit, Directorate of Information and Communication, E mail : Thabitma@africa-union.org, afraht@hotmail.com

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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Media Advisory

AU CAMPAIGN MISSION IN NAMIBIA TO ADVOCATE FOR THE ECOSOCC ELECTIONS

INVITATION TO MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

What: The Mission of the African Union (AU) Sensitization and Motivation Campaign for the election of the 2nd General Assembly of the AU Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC).

When: 20th August 2014

Where: Hotel Safari, Windhoek, Namibia

Who: African Union Commission

Objective: The main objective of the AU Campaign in Namibia is to encourage and motivate the Namibian civil society community to register and participate in the continent-wide process of elections into the 2nd ECOSOCC Permanent General Assembly.

Background:
The African Union (AU) Sensitization and Motivation Campaign comes in compliance to Decision EX.CL/ 849(XXV) of the AU Executive Council, of June 2014 in Malabo, that mandated the Commission to conduct the campaign and to ensure that a new ECOSOCC Assembly is established before the end of the year 2014.

Namibia is a third stop of the Campaign that was previously undertaken in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The sensitization meeting with Namibian CSOs would include interactive session and presentations on the history, role, election process of the ECOSOCC, the summit decisions, application processes and procedures and the future of ECOSOCC as an organ.

Media representatives in Namibia are invited to take part and cover the Campaign.

For any further information please contact :

Ms. Afrah Thabit, Directorate of Information and Communication, E mail : Thabitma@africa-union.org, afraht@hotmail.com Cell: 081-0383606

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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AU Sensitization and Motivation Campaign in Zimbabwe for the 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly

Harare, Zimbabwe, 15 August 2014 – Representatives of various civil society organizations in Zimbabwe met in Kariba Conference Room of Holiday Inn in Samora Machel Avenue, Harare, to participate in the awareness and motivation campaign organized by the African Union through its Citizens and Diaspora Organizations Directorate (CIDO). The campaign was held in compliance with Decision EX.CL/Dec.849(XXV), adopted at the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea fro, 24-27 June 2014. The Decision called on the AU Commission to conduct a sensitization campaign among Member States that did not have a sufficient number of eligible candidates for elections into the 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly that will be established before the end of 2014.

The deliberation began with opening remarks by Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe the Advisor of the AU Chairperson. He urged the government and people of Zimbabwe to work closely in partnership with ECOSOCC and CIDO to achieve the objectives of the sensitization campaign and noted that participation in ECOSOCC offered African civil society the opportunity and privilege to share power and responsibility for guidance of the continent.

Subsequently, Mr. Joseph Chilengi, a member of the 1st ECOSOCC General Assembly highlighted the benefits of CSO participation in the ECOSOCC framework and the need for the Zimbabwe civil society community to organize itself adequately to assume responsibility for determining the direction of the continent. He discussed the achievements of previous ECOSOCC Assemblies and acknowledged that some mistakes were made in the processes of their operations. He called on the African civil society to learn from the achievements and the mistakes and to use both as a lesson for mapping the way forward.

In turn, Dr. Jinmi Adisa, the Director of CIDO, focused on the difficulties associated with the current ECOSOCC election process, the progress report submitted in this regard by the Commission to the Summit in Malabo, options considered by the African leaders and their decision that called for a continent-wide sensitization and motivation campaign for ECOSOCC. He elaborated on how CSOs can and should take advantage of this process and related application procedures, processes and the eligibility criteria outlined in the ECOSOCC Statutes.

The presentations were followed by a very active and intense interactive sessions in which CSOs asked questions and made comments and observations.There was concern among delegates that Zimbabwean CSOs were not represented in the last ECOSOCC General Assembly (2008-2012) and a keen sense of determination that this should not be the case in the 2nd ECOSOCC Assembly.

The consequent discussion reflected on broad range of issues. These included the requirement for registration and the danger that it could be politicized, the criteria that fifty percent of the internal resources of CSOs should be internally derived, which some participants felt had not taken account of the special circumstances of countries such as Zimbabwe and South Sudan and the functioning of their economies, as well as the need for continental ECOSOCC to be complemented and interlinked to correspondent regional structures at RECs levels. Some CSOs also stressed the need to balance obligations arising from participation in policy-making processes with normal watchdog responsibilities of CSOs.

Finally, the discussion was concluded with agreement on a strategy for moving forward. The Harare deliberation was well attended. Even so, the CSOs resolved to form a Steering Committee that would carry the message forward horizontally and vertically to all CSO groups across the country in Zimbabwe. The AU delegation was also requested to send representative(s) to the civil society expo in Harare on 4-5 September 2014 that would attract CSOs from all nooks and corners of the country.

The meeting which was attended by a Representative of the Foreign Ministry of Zimbabwe ended on this high note.

For any further information please contact :

Ms. Afrah Thabit, Directorate of Information and Communication, E mail : Thabitma@africa-union.org, afraht@hotmail.com

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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2ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF ECOSOCC: TOGOLESE CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONDS TO THE APPEAL BY THE AFRICAN UNION

Lome, (Togo) - 14 August 2014 : The history, role and the functions of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union (AU), its activities and procedures, especially the eligibility criteria for election to the Second General Assembly, aroused keen interest from a large number of Togolese civil society organizations at a meeting organized on the initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) on 14 August, 2014 at the Agora Senghor centre in Lome, Togo.

Representatives of eighty civil society organizations (CSO) from all spheres of activity responded to the invitation by the African Union Commission to participate actively in the sensitization and motivation campaign being organized for CSOs of the continent in preparation towards the 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly elections.

The sensitization campaign, initiated by the Directorate of Citizens and Diaspora Organizations (CIDO) in pursuance of Executive Council Decision EX.CL/Dec.849(XXV) adopted by the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, kicked off in Lusaka, Zambia on 12 August 2014. The sensitization campaign will continue till September at the end of which all the five regions of Africa will have been covered

At the opening session Mr Jalel Chelba, Head of Civil Society Division of CIDO/AUC, explained that ECOSOCC had a total membership of 150 comprising two representatives from each of the 54 Member States, 8 continental representatives, 10 sub-regional representatives, 20 members of the Diaspora and 6 representatives chosen by the African Union Commission in consultation with Member States and based on specific criteria. He added that ECOSOCC was an organ whose membership was elected by civil society and which represented civil society. ECOSOCC was an embodiment of the principle of democracy at its highest level since it was tasked with leading grassroot civil society organizations to the corridors where decisions were taken, thus enabling them to contribute their quota to the integration and sustainable development efforts of the continent.

Mr Chelba also stated that the AUC was expediting action with a view to finalizing the elections before the end of this year so as to inaugurate the ECOSOCC Assmbly by December 2014, at the latest. The organization was therefore focusing its campaign on the States that did not have sufficient number of eligible candidates for election (read the full speech on the African Union website: www.au.int .)

Officially opening the session, the Representative of the Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Director of International Organizations, Mr Sébadé Toba, stated that organized civil society was very critical to ensuring good economic and political governance. He expressed his happiness with the initiative taken by the African Union to organize the sentization and mobilization tour which would not only lead to the enhancement of the prominence of ECOSOCC, but also give a fillip to the activities of civil society organizations in the interest of the population and the common organization that is the African Union. He urged Togolese civil society organizations to show keen interest in the discussions engaged and to participate in the ECOSOCC electoral process so as to ensure the quality representation of Togo on the important body.

The meeting was characterized by extensive and frank discussions which was widely covered by the media. The discussions focused primarily on the practical modalities for developing partnership with ECOSOCC as well as the procedures for the submission of applications. The participants enquired extensively about the relevance of the eligibility criteria. All were unanimous on the need to mobilize and join ECOSOCC but at issue was how many of them could meet the criteria, especially those relating to funding. That was the main question that had and continues to agitate the minds of most of them.

For more information contact:
Mr. Jalel Chelba, Head of Civil Society Division, AUC| Citizens and Diaspora Organizations Directorate|E-mail: Jalelc@africa-union.org
Mrs Habiba Mejri Scheikh| Director of Information and Communication| Directorate of Information and Communication AUC| E-mail: habibaM@africa-union.org

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CIVIL SOCIETY IN ZAMBIA CALLED UPON TO PLAY GREATER ROLE IN THE AFRICAN UNION THROUGH THE ECOSOCC

Lusaka, Zambia, 12th August 2014: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) of Zambia called upon to participate in the election of the 2nd General Assembly of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union. This comes during a sensitization and motivation Campaign kicked off today by the African Union Commission (AUC), at the COMESA Conference Center, Lusaka, Zambia.

Opening the event, Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe, Advisor to AU Chairperson, highlighted the importance of African CSOs participation in the ECOSOCC. He noted that this campaign on the AU brings the partnership of governments and civil society to new heights, as the governments of the African Union through its highest policy organs, the Executive is mobilizing the civil society to organize itself for leadership of the continent and to share power and responsibility with governments.

Speaking earlier, Amb. Dr. Kipyego Cheluget, Assistant Secretary General (Programs) of the COMESA, underlined the importance of collaboration with civil societies and other Non state actors such members of parliament, private sector organizations and other relevant groups for effective regional integration. “COMESA has been working closely with CSOs and Non state actors in Climate change, CADDP, ACTESA and Governance and Peace and Security programme” he added.

Welcoming the delegations, H.E. Amb. E.Kabanshi MP, Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, Republic of Zambia, noted that it is important that Zambian civil society should take up the challenge of effective representation in ECOSOCC as a mark of patriotism, duty and continental obligation. He stressed the need for Zambia CSOs to participate in the ECOSOCC election process with enthusiasm in a manner that will surpass all expectations.

The Campaign featured presentations on the history, role, functions and importance of ECOSOCC by a former member of the ECOSOCC Assembly, Mr Chilengi , and the Malabo Summit Decision on ECOSOCC , the purpose of the sensitization and motivation program and details of the application procedure and process by Dr Adisa, the Director of CIDO. This was followed by a very active and lively interactive question and answer session.

Organized by the Citizenship and Diaspora Organizations Directorate of the AU Commission, the Campaign comes in compliance with the Decision EX.CL/Dec.849(XXV), adopted by the 23st Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 20-27 June 2014, which called AU to conduct a sensitization and mobilization campaign with the aim of encouraging greater participation and gathering a sufficient candidatures from the African CSOs in the Member States for the election for the ECOSOCC 2nd General Assembly.

Zambia field mission is first of similar missions the Commission will conduct in the AU five regions during August and September 2014.

For any further information please contact :

Ms. Afrah Thabit, Directorate of Information and Communication, E mail : Thabitma@africa-union.org, afraht@hotmail.com Cell: +26097395740

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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