| Notice and Information for CSOs on the Summit |
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The Citizens and Diaspora Organisations Directorate of the
African Union Commission (CIDO) has the honour to inform African Civil Society
and Diaspora Community that the next Summit of the African Union will be held
in Addis Ababa from 25 January to 2nd February 2010. The theme of the Summit will be “Information
and Communication Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for
Development”.
The schedule of meetings are as follows:
The
schedule of meetings are as follows:
a) Permanent
Representative Committee of Ambassadors (PRC):25-26 January 2010
b) 16th
Ordinary Session of the Executive Council: 28-29 January 2010.
c) 14th
Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments: 31 January
to 2 February 2010.
It
is also our expectation that depending on availability of resources, a civil
society pre-summit event will be held before the Summit itself. We will be
communicating precise dates, if approved, in due course.
This
is to kindly invite interested members of the African Civil Society Community
to apply for Observer Status at the Summit and/or indicate interest in
attending the Pre-Summit event.
It
is important to note that access to AU meetings is not automatic. It is based
on rules and procedures of the AU as authorized by the Chairperson of the
Commission in accordance with the Statutes of the Commission. This is normal practice
in all international organizations. CIDO has to submit a list of CSOs for
accreditation to the Secretary of the Commission by 26th October
2009 and we therefore insist that all interested applicants must submit their
application at least one week before on 17th October 2009 in order
to enable us collage properly and send the list in time for processing.
In
general, it is important also to underline that the AU evolved from the OAU as
an inter-governmental organization that is moving toward an integration
organization. Our emphasis is on having a people-driven organization but the
composition of “the people” is multivariate. There are several important actors
and CSOs have to correlate with other actors and share available facilities
with them. Our Summit is a meeting of government leaders that come together
twice a year to make policy decisions affecting the Continent. Each State
therefore has a delegation of 1+4 at various meetings. The Commission and other
organs will also be represented as of right. There would also be
representatives of various countries, invited guests and partner institutions-
the Arab League, OAS, the UN, WHO, ILO etc. CSOs must compete with such
organizations, for the limited positions that are available. The AU Conference
Centre where the meetings of PRC and Executive Council will be held has very
limited seating prospects. All of this will impact on the number of CSOs
observers that can be accredited. The Office of the Chairperson and the
Secretary of the Commission will direct CIDO on the number of accreditation
vacancies available to CSOs and we shall have to make choices based on
relevance to the Summit theme, timing of application, role envisaged in Summit,
history of association with AU etc. The bottom line is that not all applicants
can be accredited. We shall however, do our utmost to ensure that we can get
accreditation for as many CSOs as possible. We urge a sense of realism among
willing participants in this regard.
It
is important to note that the AU will bear no responsibility for travel and
maintenance costs of CSOs accredited through our Office in CIDO remains
available to assist CSOs or Diaspora representations with seeking appropriate
facilities.
ECOSOCC
has 5 representations 1+4 as an organ of the AU. Thus desiring ECOSOCC
participants should send their application directly to the President of
ECOSOCC, H.E. Mr. Akere Muna for consideration in this regard. Those chosen on
the list of 5 will be funded from ECOSOCC budget. The Organisation of African
Trade Unions (OATUU) also has its special representation facilities including
through the AU-Trade Union Forum. CIDO bears no responsibility for ECOSOCC
member participation. As Secretariat, we shall be acting fully in accordance
with the Direction of the Presiding Officer.
We
shall be offering similar information regarding the Pre-Summit in a latter
notice. Suffices to note here that the Criteria for representation is based on
the outcome of the Abuja Summit as refined thereafter.
It
is our expectation that this short notice will assist the African Civil Society
Community in preparation for the Summit. Accreditation for the Summit is open
to both local and international NGOs, with preference given to relevant
grassroot organizations, where required.
Citizens
and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO)
AU
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