Brazilian president invited to the African Union summit

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been invited as a special guest to participate at the 13th ordinary session of the assembly of heads of State and government of the African Union (AU) themed ‘Investing in agriculture for economic growth and food security’ that is scheduled to take place in Sirte, Libya, from 1 to 3 July 2009. During this summit, African leaders are expected to adopt a framework and guidelines on land policies in Africa, a document that was produced by the AU in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank. Relevant to the theme of the summit, the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development suggested, ahead of the three-day World Economic Forum meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, that investing in small-scale agricultural projects in developing countries would be a ‘safety net’ as the world struggles to limit the impact of the economic crisis.

Elsewhere, the chairperson of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, met with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and other government officials in Caracas to prepare for the Africa-South America summit scheduled to take place in Caracas, Venezuela. In addition, the AU Commission chairperson announced African countries’ interest in exploring possibilities and advantages of a closer cooperation between both regional organisations and that African Union intends on closely monitoring the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas to learn from its experiences in social and economic spheres.

The AU, expressing deep concern at the increased presence of armed groups in Somalia, condemned foreign jihadists who undermine the peace and reconciliation process in the country by helping local insurgents to fight President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s government and AU peacekeepers. The AU, considering the report of the mission undertaken by its peace and the security council to West Africa to evaluate the political and security situation there, has urged Guinea Bissau armed forces to refrain from any interference in political issues and to take the necessary measures to guarantee the security of the candidates and the electoral process. The Southern African Development Community has called on Madagascar’s political rivals to consider peaceful dialogue to end months of political crisis and has delegated Joaquim Chissano, former Mozambican president, to lead the country’s all-party dialogue. The chairperson of the AU, Libyan leader Mouammar Kadhafi, addressing prominent Italian women on his first visit to Italy since the Libyan revolution, called for ‘a ‘women’s revolution’ worldwide to correct the false notion of equality between men and women. On the day of the African child commemorating thousands of Black school children who were maimed and killed during the 1976 Soweto uprising, the UN Millennium Campaign called on African states, civil society organisations and the private sector to tackle child and maternal mortality and gender inequality in universal primary education among others.

In other news, finance ministers and governors of central banks of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) approved a report of the inter-institutional working group on the ECOWAS single currency that articulates a strategy for realising a single currency for the region by 2020. The East African Community has started a series of public sessions to gage views from the private sector on issues of trade in services ahead of the signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union. More than half of the 14 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa free trade area members opted out of the regional economic bloc’s ceremonial customs union stating that ‘they are either not ready for it, indifferent, or not convinced by the trade creation potential of the new arrangement’, which many feel was launched prematurely.

As some countries approach the second round of reviews, analysts examine the performance of the African Peer Review Mechanism underlining the slow pace of renewing the membership of the panel of eminent persons and of its secretariat as well as the lack of transparency of both processes. In a report recently launched by the Africa Progress Panel, the panel stresses that most of the problems that Africa faces such the current global crisis and climate change are creations of the North, but that it is Africa, which is worst affected and least able to cope. The report adds, however, that the main responsibility for tackling those challenges lies with Africa’s own leaders. Moreover, the Action Group of Africa gives a critical view of ‘malpractices going on at the Pan African Parliament’ and suggests using the principle of adult suffrage to make the process of electing African legislators more transparent and democratic.

Finally, AfriMAP invites submissions of papers with proposals of implementation of the African Youth Charter, which was adopted by the assembly of heads of State and government of the AU in July 2006.