The fourth African Union Summit in session
Last month marked the fourth African Union Summit, held January 23rd to 31st in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Exploring the theme of “2015 Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063,” leaders and visionaries from around the African Union collaborated on the best methods of achieving economic and political growth in harmony with fostering peace and understanding between cultures and religions.
African Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and other prominent leaders met to address the matters most acutely affecting the African Union, including:
- Supporting the African Union mandate to prosecute former Chadian president Hisséne Habré in a fair trial, on behalf of Africa
- Assisting countries affected by the Ebola virus and prioritizing the search for a vaccine
- Mobilizing funding and development for the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC)
- Launching continental free trade area negotiations stemming from the High Level African Trade Committee (HATC)’s report on trade issues
- Achieving Africa’s strategic structural transformation and regional integration agenda in collaboration with the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Assisting the African Group of Ambassadors in Washington, USA towards the reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
- Implementing Africa’s engagements at the UN climate summit and Lima global Climate Change Conference (COP2O/CMP 10)
- Creating an African Centre for Information and Communication Technologies in N’djamena, which is critical for the continent’s development process
- Participating in the African Games in Brazzaville as a demonstration of solidarity with Congo and a testimony to continental unity
- Joining in continent-wide solidarity against the terrorist group Boko Haram
- Collaborating with UNESCO to organize a biannual Pan-African Forum for a culture of peace in Africa
- Supporting the African Education Initiative for Peace through Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue
- Furthering peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction in cooperation with the Peace and Security Council
- Endorsing the African Group of Negotiators as a single body acting on behalf of the continent
- Addressing the African capacity for immediate response to crises and the African standby force rapid deployment capability
- Financially contributing to and pursuing alternative sources of financing for the African Union
- Supporting small-holder farmers, promoting inclusive agricultural value-chains, and strengthening natural resources governance
- Maintaining and safeguarding Africa’s interests in the ongoing Intergovernmental Negotiation on Security Council reform
The fourth African Union Summit was attended in person by URI African Continental Coordinator Mussie Hailu, who graciously compiled a report that is available to read in full.
