Events

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission appoints the Judges of the Trial Chamber of the African Extraordinary Chambers within the Courts of Senegal

Addis Ababa – 6 April 2015: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma appointed the Judges of the Trial Chamber of the African Extraordinary Chambers (AEC) within the Courts of Senegal in accordance with Article 11 of the Statute of the AEC. As recommended by the competent authorities of the Republic of Senegal, the Chairperson of the Commission appointed for a period of ten (10) months the following Judges:

1) Mr. Gbertao Gustave KAM, Presiding Judge (Burkina Faso);
2) Mr. Amady DIOUF, Judge (Senegal);
3) Mr. Moustapha BA, Judge (Senegal); and
4) Mr. Pape Ousmane DIALLO, Alternate Judge (Senegal).

Justice Gbertao Gustave KAM, the President of the Trial Chamber of the AEC is from Burkina Faso. He is a professional Judge who held important positions in the past, both in the Judiciary of Burkina Faso and within the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He is currently the Technical Adviser of the Minister of Justice of Burkina Faso. Furthermore, the Senegalese Judges appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission are also professional Judges who held recently important positions in the Judiciary of Senegal.

It should be recalled that vide Assembly Decision/AU/Dec.401 (XVIII) adopted on 31 January 2012, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union requested the African Union Commission and the Government of Senegal to examine the practical modalities as well as the legal and financial implications for the prosecution of those most responsible for international crimes committed on the territory of Chad from 7 June 1982 to 01 December 1990 including Mr. Hissein Habré, former President of Chad. To implement this decision, the African Union and the Government of the Republic of Senegal signed in Dakar, Senegal, on 22nd August 2012, the Agreement on the establishment of African Extraordinary Chambers within the Courts of Senegal.

The establishment of the AEC is one of various concrete steps taken by the African Union and its Member States to fight against impunity on the continent in accordance with the Constitutive Act and other relevant instruments of the AU. In this regard, it should be noted that the fight against impunity –including the crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity- constitutes a fundamental principle in the basic law of the African Union, and is part of the shared values of the Union to which all Member States have committed themselves. Indeed the Constitutive Act of the Union characterizes the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide as unacceptable to AU Member States and as a sufficient legal basis for intervention by the Union in a Member State, without the consent of the concerned State in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 (h) of the Constitutive Act of the AU.

Additionally, the Commission wishes to recall the adoption on 27 June 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea by the Assembly of the Union of the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights which gives criminal jurisdiction to the African Court of Justice to try international and transnational crimes on the basis of the principle of complementarity with national criminal jurisdictions.

Mr. Hissein Habré, Former President of Chad is charged by the African Extraordinary Chambers with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture during his presidency from 1982 to 1990. On 2 July 2013, he was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention in Dakar (Senegal). The investigation stage and the confirmation of charges in the case the Prosecutor V. Hissein Habré were closed on 13 February 2015. Thus, the investigating judges decided that there was sufficient evidence to send Mr. Habré to trial.

Following the confirmation of charges and appointment of the Judges of the Trial Chamber of the AEC, the Trial of Mr. Hissein Habré will begin in earnest as may be decided by the Judges of the Trial Chamber. In this regard, the Commission reiterates its support for the African Extraordinary Chambers and wishes to thank the Investigating Judges, the Judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber and Police Officers of the AEC whose term of office came to an end on 15 February 2015.

Finally, the Commission wishes to commend the Government of the Republic of Chad for its continuous support to the AEC and for recently organizing in Ndjamena (Chad) the trial of the top security agents, some of whom were indicted with Hissein Habré but were still held in Chad.

For more information, visit: http:www.chambresafricaines.org or http://www.au.int

For more information, please contact the Office of Legal Counsel of the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Interview requests should be addressed to Ms. Esther Azaa Tankou, Head of Information Division, Directorate of Information and Communication of the African Union, Tel: +251 911361185 E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org / esthertankou@yahoo.com

Addis Ababa, 2 April 2015: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack against the campus of Garissa University College, in north eastern Kenya, perpetrated today by the al-Shabaab terrorist group and during which scores of innocent students and staff were killed, while many others were injured.

The Chairperson of the Commission is appalled by such barbaric act. She offers the AU's heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wishes speedy recovery to all those injured. She expresses AU's solidarity with the people and Government of Kenya and full support to their efforts in combatting the scourge of terrorism. She reiterates the AU's deep appreciation to Kenya for its outstanding contribution to the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the huge sacrifices made towards stabilizing that country, as part of the overall efforts to promote peace and security in the region and the continent as a whole.

The Chairperson of the Commission underlines, once again, the need for renewed and coordinated African efforts to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism, within the framework of the relevant continental and international instruments. She reiterates the AU's determination to continue supporting the effforts being deployed in this respect by the countries of the region, both through AMISOM and the Djibouti Process on the Enhancement of Security Cooperation in East Africa launched by the 1st meeting of the Heads of Intelligence and Security Services of the member states of the Inter-Governemental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community (EAC), held in Djibouti a month ago.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 27 March 2015: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, concluded on Friday 27 March 2015, a two-day official visit to Burundi.

During her visit, the Chairperson held consultations with various Burundian stakeholders, including the Head of State President Pierre Nkurunziza, the minister of interior, leaders of political parties, representatives of women, youth and civil society organizations, religious communities, the Elders known as Bashingantahe, as well as the President of the National Independent Electoral Commission. The Chairperson also met with the African diplomatic corps, as well as the Ambassadors of Belgium, China, France, Russia, the United States, and the representative of the European Union. The Chairperson also visited the UNDP-run the Data Processing Center to acquaint herself with the status of preparations of the voter registers.

In her meetings and address to the media, the Chairperson insisted that “Burundi remains at the heart of AU because it is a country that has gone through a lot of challenges. Therefore, everything should be done to ensure that there is peace before, during and after the elections.”

The Chairperson also urged all Burundian stakeholders to respect the laws of the country and adhere to the constitution, the Arusha Peace Agreement, and the electoral code as they prepare to go to the polls.

The Chairperson also called on all the parties to engage in dialogue as the only way to deal peacefully with all contentious issues, including insecurity in the country, the credibility of the electoral process, and the tension over a possible third term for the incumbent Head of State. She appealed to political parties to increase women’s representations in all the branches of government and assured the people of Burundi that the AU will continue to stand by them as it had done in the past.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 24 March, 2014: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, H.E. Salem. O. Salek. They exchanged opinions on a range of topical issues relevant to the Western Sahara issue.

During their meeting, they laid special emphasis on the implementation of the UN Peace Settlement Plan, the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and OAU/AU decisions and declarations, aimed at providing for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people.

The Foreign Minister maintained the right of Sahrawi people to self-determination and the decolonization of their territory. He especially lamented the grave human rights abuses committed against the Sahrawi citizens and the illegal exploitation of their natural resources.

The Chairperson assured the Foreign Minister that the AU will take the necessary steps, as a guarantor of the process, to ensure that the UN and the Security Council take the necessary decisions to ensure progress, and facilitate a resolution that will provide for self-determination of the Saharawi people, based on the UN Charter and international legality.

Jacob Enoh Eben
Spokesperson of the Chairperson

Africa – Arab Partnership Meetings

Cairo, 17, March,2015 - Today a three-day Technical Consultative Meeting started at the premises of the of the League of Arab States, in Cairo, Egypt, between the African Union Commission and the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. The objective of the meeting is to review the draft Concept Notes and Terms of References of the 4 Joint Sectoral Working Groups on Transport, Trade and Investment, Communication, Energy. This Joint Meeting was also attended by AUC/LAS Focal Points in the field of Migration to review the joined program and the Roadmap of their planned meeting in the Month of May.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Department of Africa And Africa Arab cooperation of the League of Arab States and the African Union Permanent Delegation to the League of Arab States.

At her Opening remarks, Mrs Hadia Sabry, Co-chair of the meeting on the Arab Side, welcomed the African Union Delegation to the meeting and emphasized the importance of the meeting which is called to finalize the working document or the creation of the Joint Sectoral Working Groups and wished productive deliberations to the meeting.

On his Part, Mr Nadir Fath Elalim, Co-chair of the meeting on Behalf of H.E Ambassador Abdelhamid Bouzaher the Head of the African Union Permanent Delegation to the League of Arab States, extended his gratitude and thanks to the League of Arab States for hosting the meeting during this busy time of the year, just before the Arab Summit, and appreciated the usual cooperation of the League of Arab States with the African Union.

After a general debate, the meeting decided to form five joint teams to examine the draft Terms of References of the Working Groups.

At the end of their deliberations, the Working Groups made presentations at the plenary sessions and the documents were finalized with the input from participants.

The draft Terms of References will be presented to the 8th Senior Officials Meeting of the Coordination Committee planned to be held in Addis Ababa in August 2015.

For any inquiry please contact

Mrs. Eglal Abd El Halim, Cultural and information Officer, African Union I Permanent Delegation to the League of Arab States I
Tel: +201143333288,
E-mail: EglalA@africa-union.org