Events

Addis Ababa, May 8, 2015 – African Union Commission (AUC) and United Religions Initiative – Africa (URI-Africa) have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthening their working cooperation to promote interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue in Africa.
The MoU was signed at the Headquarters of African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by the Director of Civil Society and Diaspora (CIDO) of the African Union Comisison, Dr. Jinmi Adisa and Regional Director of URI for Africa and Representative of URI to AUC, ECA, UNEP and UN office at Nairobi H.E. Ambassador Mussie Hailu on May 8, 2015.
According to the signed MoU, AUC and URI-Africa will cooperate to explore opportunity for cooperation and non-exclusive partnership in the following areas:
• To collaborate and maintain close and continuing working partnership to enhance the effort of promoting peaceful co-existence among followers of different religions and cultures in Africa
• To implement jointly the declaration of the African Union Interfaith Dialogue Forum.
• To counter violent extremism, radicalizations and terrorism in Africa and to combat hatred, prejudice, intolerance and stereotyping on the basis of religion and culture
• To promote and facilitate a culture of peace, inter-religious and intercultural dialogue, harmony and cooperation in Africa
• To put a spotlight on helping religious leaders in Africa to understand the important role they must play in promoting inter-religious cooperation for peaceful co-existence, reconciliation, security, environmental pretention and sustainable development
• To promote constructive dialogue and peaceful co-existence among followers of different religions, culture and ethnicities group in Africa through the teaching of the Golden Rule which says “Treat others the way you want to be treated” as the Golden Rule is affirmed in many religions, traditions, indigenous cultures and secular philosophies as a fundamental principle of life and moral. It is also the foundation upon which the global ethic is founded and addresses critical issues such as democracy, human rights, respect for one another, gender equity, social justice and inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony.
• To joins hand together to bring different religions, faith-based and interfaith organizations in Africa to work together on Agenda 2063 and post 2015 Development
• To promote peace education in Africa as part of the school curriculum
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After signing the agreement, Dr. Adisa said “I highly appreciate the recommendable work of URI-Africa in promoting daily interfaith cooperation among followers of different religions and faith traditions to promote a culture of peace, justice and healing. The work of URI Africa is very relevant to address the issue of counter violent extremism, radicalization and to end religiously motivated violence in Africa. CIDO is happy to partner and work closely with URI Africa to promote inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue for peaceful co-existence in Africa”.
Dr Adisa added: “I want to thank Amb. Mussie Hailu for his exemplary effort in assisting us to organize the highly successful Interfaith, Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue at the African Union Commission”. I also duly appreciate him for his commitment, dedication, vision, passion, reaching out mechanism, public relation skill, lobbying ability, high diplomacy and leadership in facilitating partnership and building bridges among grass roots practitioners, interfaith organizations, religious & traditional leaders and policy makers on the issue of a culture of peace, inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony and cooperation in Africa. Amb. Mussie is a champion and spokesperson for the African Union Interfaith Dialogue Forum throughout Africa and the rest of the world. It is a great pleasure for us to work very closely URI-Africa ”.
On his part Amb. Mussie Hailu said “URI Africa acknowledged the initiative of African Union Commission and African Religious Leaders for establishing the African Union Interfaith Dialogue Forum to harness the work of religious communities in Africa” He further said “As a bridge building organization, URI-Africa also appreciate the work of AUC, Department of CIDO for facilitating the participation of non-state actors and civil society in Africa with the African Union, for enhancing the collaboration between the African Union, Member States, and Civil Society organizations, for engaging the African Diaspora community on the issue of Africa and for its commitment to ensure that the African Union represents not only African Governments but also the totality of its people”.
“On behalf of members of URI, I want also to recognize the work of the Economic, Social and Cultural of the African Union (ECOSOCC) for giving the opportunity for African civil society to play an active role in charting the future of the Continent and fostering partnership for civil societies in Africa to work with African governments to contribute to the principles, policies and programmes of the African Union”. He added.
URI is interfaith organization with consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council and it is working to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.
URI-Africa is cultivating peaceful co-existence among different religions and cultures through its 157 member organizations in over 28 African countries by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world.
URI Africa’s vision is to see a united, prosperous, and peaceful Africa where followers of different religions live together in harmony and respect each other based on the teaching of the Golden Rule which says, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

PRESS RELEASE: ECOSOCC CONDEMNS XENOPHOBIC "AFROPHOBIC” ATTACKS ON AFRICAN CITIZENS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

The Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC) condemns the Xenophobic and/or Afrophobic attacks on African citizens of different nationalities in the Republic of South Africa. ECOSOCC is sad to learn that such incidents have occurred in a country for which Africans on the continent and the Diaspora sacrificed so dearly to ensure independence and black majority rule.
ECOSOCC perceives all Africans as sharing a common African citizenship, albeit of different nationalities, carved up by departing colonial powers to perpetuate their own interests and influence. ECOSOCC is therefore appalled to see gruesome pictures of African citizens of South African extraction brutally assaulting, killing, looting and burning the properties of their kith and kins from other parts of the continent. This is a blot on the African landscape which negates the very essence of the African Union and its purpose, principles and values. This deplorable situation makes a mockery of the people- centric orientation of the African Union in general and ECOSOCC in particular and ECOSOCC offers a sincere apology to all victims of this shameful exercise.

Beyond this, ECOSOCC recognizes the need for timely and appropriate action to ensure that this episode ends immediately and never recurs. Accordingly, the Organ proposes a framework of action embracing the following measures:
1. The Government and people of South Africa must take timely and immediate action to ensure the cessation of all acts of hostilities in this context and to assure the security of lives and property of all Africans and indeed all people in South Africa regardless of their state of origin. As a logical corollary, the instigators and perpetrators of the gruesome acts must be brought to justice, irrespective of their status in the community. The South African government should also encourage all stakeholders and the broad strata of South Africa Society to embrace civil dialogue rather than violent interactions as a means of expressing opinions.

2. Compensation should be paid to all victims while political, economic and psychological policies and programs of restitution and reinsertion should be put in place to ensure the reintegration of victims in society. The policies and programs should be conceived in the immediate, short, medium and long terms. Psychological measures are required immediately to address related traumas associated with the impact of this terrible and nauseating experience.

3. The Commission of the African Union as the Secretariat of the Union should convene an Extra-Ordinary Emergency session of the Union to discuss the situation and authorize a framework of action for addressing it on a collective basis. They should also use the experience to conceive Pan-African programs and policies that will prevent its recurrence.

4. The episode draws attention to the need to fast track the integration and development agenda of the African Union and to move more rapidly towards the creation of the United States of Africa. For it is only when Africans are living together in this political and economic context envisioned by the founding parents of the African Union that we can be rest assured that this shameful exercise will never occur again.

In conclusion, ECOSOCC on its own part will be sending a follow-up mission to South Africa to consult with the Government and the African civil society community in South Africa on what should be done now and in the longer term. In the course of the mission, ECOSOCC will also do its best to promote order and tranquility. We kindly request the support of the AU Commission, the Pan-African Parliament, the Court of Justice, the African Commission in Banjul, other AU organs and the African people in particular to take appropriate measures to support our activities and efforts in this regard.

Joseph Chilengi,
Presiding Officer, ECOSOCC.

Press Release

Douala, 11 March 2015

ECOSOCC Presiding Official on Working Visit to Cameroon.

The Presiding Officer of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC), the Honorable Joseph Chilengi, paid a working visit to the Republic of Cameroon from 08-11 March 2015. He went to Cameron to honor the invitation of the Cameroon Business Forum as a high profile guest of the Prime Minister and Head of Government of the Republic of Cameroon, HE Mr. Philemon YANG.

He was received on arrival by his host, government representatives and Cameroon’s elected delegates in ECOSOCC, Mr. Ngalim Eugine Nyudine, the Chairperson of the Peace and Security Cluster Committee of ECOSOCC and his colleague Mr. Allan Blaise Bantongue.

Subsequently, Mr. Joseph Chilengi participated in the Cameroon Business Forum (CBF) held on 9 March 2015 at the Sawa Hotel in Douala at which HE The Prime Minister presided. In the course of the meeting the Prime Minister introduced his noted guest and invited him for follow-up discussions that took place later at the seat of government in Yaoundé. His Excellency, the Prime Minister expressed his joy that ECOSOCC was back in the service of the continent’s integration and development agenda and stressed the readiness and eagerness of the Government and people of Cameroon to offer it the fullest support.

The CBF is a gathering of the Business Community involving leaders of the private sector. The invitation to the ECOSOCC Presiding Officer highlighted the need to ensure that the needs of the people will guide the map for progress and sustainable economic development in Member States of the Union. Related issues that came up for discussion included the continental strategic roadmap, Agenda 2063 and African common position Vis a Vis the Post 2015 development agenda. The discussion highlighted the contribution that ECOSOCC and its national chapters can make and how annual interaction between Business leaders and the wider civil society can consolidate and drive the development process in Cameroon in particular and the continent in general

After the CBF meeting, the Presiding Officer held consultations with his ECOSOCC counterparts, the Cameroon civil society and representatives of the business community. He also took part in a Press Conference that was focused on the decisions of the January AU Summit held in Addis Ababa and the process of their implementation.

The Presiding Officer proceeded from this meeting to Luxor, Egypt to attend the Luxor African Film Festival on the invitation of the former Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Asiam Sharaf, who is now the President of the Egyptian Council for Africa that seeks to improve relations among African countries and the African Union. In the course of his visit to Egypt Mr. Chilengi will honor various invitations to confer with various political personalities and give a public lecture on “ Rethinking Education” on the margins of the Festival.

MEDIA ADVISORY
Orientation and Induction Meeting for Newly Elected members of the 2nd Permanent ECOSOCC General Assembly
INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA
What: Orientation and Induction Meeting for Newly Elected members of the 2nd Permanent ECOSOCC General Assembly

The opening ceremony will feature the following:

- Welcome Statement by Director CIDO and Head of ECOSOCC Secretariat (11:00-11:10)
- Statement by Amb Lazarous Kapambwe, Advisor to the AUC Chairperson and Chairperson of ECOSOCC IDC (11:10-11:20)
- Keynote Address by Mr. Joseph Chilengi, ECOSOCC Presiding Officer (11:20-11:40)
- Opening Address by Representative of the Egyptian Government (11:40-11:55)

When: 26 February - 1 March 2015

Where: Cairo, Egypt (Hotel Nile Fairmont)

Objectives: National, Regional and Continental Consultations for ECOSOCC Internal Elections and Orientation Exercises including: The Constitutive Act, AU Organs and Structure, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC); A people-centred Union: the CSO Agenda in the framework of the AU as well as the Agenda 2063 and the AUC Strategic Plan 2014-2017; the Theme of the 2015 Summit: Year of Women Empowerment toward Agenda 2063 and the Role of ECOSOCC.
The meeting will also discuss the NEPAD in the African Union; APSA and AU Policy Frameworks including the AU Communication Strategy and the Role of Media and CSOs in advancing the Development Agenda, the African Governance Architecture; the Election Observation and Monitoring Processes; the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Policy (CAADP) and the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA)
The meeting intends as well to present the AU Rules and Regulations comprising the Structure of AU Commission and Administrative Rules and Regulations of the African Union; the Financial Rules and Regulations of the African Union and the Role of CIDO as ECOSOCC Secretariat

Media representatives are invited to cover the meeting. (Programme of work attached)

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

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The inaugural session of the 2nd Permanent General Assembly of ECOSOCC that commenced in Nairobi on 21 December 2014 elected Mr. Joseph Chilengi of the Africa Internally Displaced Persons Voice of Zambia as its Presiding Officer. He was sworn in formally into office on 22nd December 2014 at a ceremony attended by Her Excellency, Ms. Amina Mohammed, the Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Kenya and H.E. Mr. Erastus Mwencha, the Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission. The pronouncement of his election brought all the delegates to their feet and was cheered with a deafening applause.

Mr. Chilengi thus assumes office with a strong popular mandate that he would need to promote the vision and purpose of his high office. He brings to the office a track record of credible civil society activism of long standing that puts him at ease with his foundations in the grassroots, familiarity with ECOSOCC operations as he was a prominent member of the 1st ECOSOCC General Assembly which he served as the Chairperson of the influential Political Affairs Cluster and deep knowledge of the African Union, governments and international organizations to which he was previously attached at various times in his working career.

The new Presiding Officer was the Chairperson of the African Continental Steering Committee of the Africa-EU partnership and Co-Chair of the Intercontinental CSO forum. He has served on several AU Electoral Observer Missions and was one of the architects of the African Governance Architecture on Democracy, Governance and the Human Rights Strategy for Africa. He has also served as a facilitator in the negotiation by Member States of the Union of the Kampala IDP Convention and the Great Lakes Peace Process.

In his inaugural address to the Assembly, Mr. Chilengi offered a democratic, collective decision-making process that would be people-oriented and people-driven. He also promised that the Bureau and Assembly that he is leading will hit the ground running. He outlined three immediate priorities of the Assembly as including a one-week orientation program for General Assembly Members to situate them appropriately in the demands of the African Union family, sensitization and mobilization of African grassroots support for AU program and activities including Agenda 2063 and the Post- 2015 development agenda and third and foremost, the effective operationalization of ECOSOCC Sectoral Cluster as a fulcrum for AU policy and decision-making processes.

He lauded the AU Commission, particularly, its Chairperson, Dr. Dlamini Nkosazana Zuma, for prioritizing ECOSOCC as a main concern and thus enabling the inauguration of the 2nd ECOSOCC Permanent General Assembly. He also thanked the ECOSOCC Secretariat in CIDO and its Director for the commitment, vigour and inspiration that made it happen under her leadership.

Finally, he promised that the ECOSOCC Assembly under his watch would not be developed as a Trade Union that is out to service the interest of its elected members. He declared “we came here to serve the continent and we shall do so honestly and diligently. Accordingly, I have been sincere and candid in my appraisal of tasks, challenges and even persons, activities and programs. In doing so, I have reflected the ethics of civil society where we say things as they are… Our promise to you is that we shall deliver on the promise of ECOSOCC in the time allocated for us to carry out our mandate. I and my colleagues ask for your sincere and collective support for this venture. I am certain that you will give us such support. Long live the African Union.”