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Tag: AU

  • Food security: AU Commission trains 90 organic farmers

    Food security: AU Commission trains 90 organic farmers

    The African Union Commission (AUC), said on Tuesday that it had trained 90 organic farmers, practitioners and exporters from East and West Africa, in order to enhance food security in the continent.

    Mr Jonathan Ocran, the Policy Officer, Livestock, Rural Economy and Agriculture of the Commission, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    “To date, 90 organic farmers, practitioners and exporters from the East African community and ECOWAS, have been trained.

    “By this undertaking, organic agriculture platforms in these regions have also been strengthened.

    “The African Union (AU) has been supporting organic agriculture and in 2011, a decision was passed by the Heads of States and Governments of African Union to promote organic agriculture on the African continent.

    “The AU is also supporting and playing pivotal role in the formation and functioning of the continental ecological organic agriculture steering committee.”

    Ocran recalled that a recent study by researchers at the New Castle University had revealed that organically grown produce and cereals have 90 per cent and 69 per cent more anti-oxidants than pesticide residual and conventional grown ones.

    “A 30 year side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional agricultural systems has revealed that organic system match or even out-performed conventional system in terms of yield, profitability and energy efficiency.

    “The research equally showed that organic agriculture also have positive effect on soil water, water quality and also rural communities,’’ he added.

    Ocran also said that the AUC committee on organic agriculture has developed an action plan to for the development and promotion of organic agriculture in the continent.

    “This committee has met thrice since its inauguration in October 2013 and it has revised the action plan and also developed strategic plans for the year 2015 to 2025.

    “This plan has provided guidelines for the promotion and development of organic agriculture in Africa.

    “The African Union has also been organising training workshops for participants for member states.

    “The training workshops are in two parts: one is on organic standard and certification system and the other one is on modern organic production and marketing,’’ he said.

  • UN, AU, EU raise alarm on Burundi crisis

    The United Nations, African Union and European Union warned on Thursday that political division in Burundi threatened to create a deep and violent regional crisis and called on both sides to meet for mediated talks.

    “Alarmed by the widening divisions, the threat for many more lives and a deep regional crisis, we pledged to work closely together and to mobilise all our means and instruments to prevent a further deterioration of the situation,” Reuters quoted senior officials of the three bodies as saying in a joint statement.

    UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, who met EU foreign policy, chief Federica Mogherini and African Union Commission chair, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, at an EU-Africa summit on Malta, told Reuters that the institutions were not setting deadlines for talks but wanted to “raise the level of concern.”

    In their statement, they spoke of the “urgency” of a meeting between President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government and the opposition, either in Addis Ababa, where the AU is based, or in the Ugandan capital Kampala, where President Yoweri Museveni would chair talks. “No effort can be spared to achieve an end to the violence and to foster a political solution.”

    The statement was released four hours before the UN Security Council was due to vote on a French-drafted resolution that would ask UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to report back on options for boosting the UN presence in Burundi.

  • AU Troops capture senior al-Shabaab commanders

    A top Al-Shabaab Commander and two other senior members of the Islamist group have been captured by Somali and AU troops in the country, intelligence sources said on Monday.

    The three were captured near the central town of Elbur late Sunday, senior Somali intelligence officer Mohamed Hasan said.

    Commander Ali Yusuf, also known as Ali Ganey, who is thought to be responsible for the killings of civilians and attacks against Somali and AU troops in the area, was also among those captured, Somali military commander Mohamed Kahiye said.

    Al-Shabaab is yet to react to the development.

    The AU has more than 22,000 troops in Somalia to help the government battle al-Shabaab, which has campaigned for nearly a decade for a state governed under the strictest interpretation of Islamic law.

  • Mbeki panel to Nigeria, others: stop illicit financial flows

    Nigerian and other continental leaders have been warned about huge and rising cases of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from Africa from initially estimated $50 billion yearly.

    AFRICAN Union (AU)/ United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) led by former South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and key policy-makers made the observation at a two-day “First Sub-regional Workshop on Curbing IFFs from Africa”, in Nairobi, Kenya.

    The panel members and delegates said new and innovative ways of generating IFFs were emerging and African leaders must stop the menace through political measures.

    The forum, which stressed the need for transparency in tackling IFFs, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo for declaring their assets and urged other African leaders to follow their steps.

    The ex-South Africa’s president and other speakers contended that commercial routes of IFFs need closer monitoring.
    They said there is need for capacity and institutional building, and stricter legislations since African countries depend mainly on their extractive industries.

    The Director of UNECA’s Capacity Development Division, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, who presented the panel’s new findings, noted that new and innovative means of generating IFFs were emerging.
    “Tax incentives granted by African countries are not usually guided by cost-benefit analyses; corruption and abuse of entrusted power still remains a continuing concern.

    “African countries need to stimulate and expedite the asset recovery and repatriation,” he said.
    Dipeolu added: “Money laundering continues to require attention; weak national and regional capacities in Africa impede efforts to curb illicit financial flows; absence of global and continental frameworks for addressing IFFs that speaks to African interest.

    He said financial secrecy jurisdictions must come under closer scrutiny while development partners must have an important role in curbing IFFs from Africa.

    According to him, IFF issues should be incorporated and better coordinated across UN processes and frameworks; weak national and regional capacities in Africa impede efforts to curb IFFs; there is absence of a global and continental frameworks for addressing IFFs that speaks to African interests; financial secrecy jurisdictions must come under closer scrutiny; and development partners have an important role in curbing IFFs from Africa.”
    The Executive Secretary of African Capacity-Building Foundation (ACBF) Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, one of the key organisers of the workshop, said the AU’s agency would contribute to the validation of the programme document under preparation to tackle IFFs.

    “ACBF wishes to play a critical role in coordinating and building capacity of countries in their efforts to stem IFFs.

    “It will also support joint activities with partners such as sub regional workshops, implement capacity needs assessment initiatives to curb IFFs, design appropriate capacity development intervention, and contribute to the efforts for resources mobilisation,” he said.

    The workshop was organised by UNECA, ACBF, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and others to consider ways of implementing the findings of the panel and seek global cooperation.
    The Mbeki panel, which included nine members, was created by the Joint AU and UNECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and inaugurated in February 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
    It was urged to determine the nature and patterns of IFFs; establish the level of such outflows and assess their complex and long-term implications.

    The panel was also asked to consult and sensitise African governments and other stakeholders, including development partners, on the scale of the issue and propose policies and mobilise support for practices that would reverse these outflows.

  • Coup: AU suspends Burkina Faso, threatens sanctions

    The African Union has suspended Burkina Faso and will impose sanctions on coup leaders if they do not restore the interim government and release its leaders, it said on Friday.

    Soldiers from the elite presidential guard (RSP) stormed into a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and abducted President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Zida, disrupting a transition period due to end with polls next month, Reuters reported.

    Gen. Gilbert Diendere, a former spy chief, was named junta head the next day.

    The AU statement followed a meeting of the Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa. It gave coup leaders 96 hours, or until September 22, to restore the transitional government or face travel bans and asset freezes.

    “Council decides to suspend, with immediate effect, the participation of Burkina Faso in all AU activities,” it said, adding that members of the RSP linked to the kidnappings would be held legally accountable for their actions.

    Burkina Faso, whose citizens toppled President Blaise Compaore last year as he sought to extend his 27-year rule, had been seen as a model by pro-democracy campaigners across sub-Saharan Africa.

    The coup has been condemned by the United States, former colonial power France and the United Nations.

  • AU rakes in $70m for counter- insurgency operations

    The African Union has raked in $70 million to fight insurgency on the continent.

    AU also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for redeeming Nigeria’s pledge of $21million to the union.

    The AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Amb. Smail Chergui, spoke on Wednesday at a press briefing to mark the end of a three-day retreat for AU and regional bodies held in Abuja.

    The contributions, he said were necessary for the takeoff of the multinational force.

    Chergui, who also reacted to recent attacks in the Northeast, noted that dealing with the attacks on innocent citizens was a priority to the continental body.

    He said: “This issue is not for Nigeria alone but for African continent. When it comes to Nigeria and I think since the election of President Buhari, this is as a witness, and as a person who is working on a daily basis with the government of Nigeria on the issue this is now the first priority for the government.

    “I mean dealing with unspeakable terrorist attacks and their effects on the population is really a priority here in Nigeria. And we are coordinating and helping also so that not only that the insurgency can be stopped.

    “As we speak, we have almost 9, 000 persons from Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin engaged. So now we are really working on improving that force, not only through the contribution of Nigeria which is effective. “

  • Osinbajo tasks AU, ECOWAS on peace, security

    Osinbajo tasks AU, ECOWAS on peace, security

    The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has challenged the African Union and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to focus on conflict early warning and action.

    Osinbajo also called for a unified approach in order to eliminate parallel initiatives in tackling conflict in Africa.

    He spoke on Monday at the opening of a retreat for members of the AU Peace and Security Council and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) focusing on the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa holding at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Abuja.

    The vice president said, ‘’I would like to remind you that attention should be focused  on how the PSC and the RECs can enhance effectiveness and efficiency using their comparative advantages and various capacities within the context of subsidiarity and complementarity in the areas of early warning and early action, conflict prevention, peacemaking, post-conflict peace building, reconstruction and development, strengthening of democratic practices and governance, as well as in combating terrorism and violent extremism.

    “It is when all of these are comprehensively addressed that all the weak linkages and gaps that often pose risk to parallel initiatives and contractions will be eliminated thereby achieving our delineated objectives under the APSA (African Peace and Security Architecture).”

    Prof. Osinbajo noted that “today, almost on a monthly basis there is a fresh conflict situation, or a relapse of post-conflict situations.

    “At the same time terrorism and violent extremism present fresh problems, including large numbers of IDPs and refugees going across the borders of neighbouring countries,’’ he added.

     

  • AU to consult Sudan’s armed groups

    AU to consult Sudan’s armed groups

    Thabo Mbeki, Head of AU High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) has said the body would meet to consult with representatives of armed groups on their positions regarding a national dialogue.

    He said on Wednesday that he would also convey Khartoum’s stance on the subject to them.

    Sudan’s First Vice-President, Bakri Saleh, had earlier told a news conference that dialogue abroad was not allowed,” urging the armed groups to take part in the dialogue in Khartoum.

    He pledged that the Sudanese government would provide all required guarantees for the leaders of the armed movements to enable them participate in the process.

    In January 2014, Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, declared an initiative calling on the opposition parties and the armed groups to join a national dialogue to end the country’s crises.

    Al-Bashir’s invitation found a relative acceptance from political forces but the process faced difficulties that slowed it down.

    The armed movements in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions refused to join the dialogue, insisting that a parallel forum should be established under the supervision of the AUHIP

  • AFRIMA, AU, ONE mark day of African Child in Soweto

    AFRIMA, AU, ONE mark day of African Child in Soweto

    ALL Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in partnership with Africa Union Commission, AUC, and ONE commemorated the Day of the African Child (DAC) on August 15 with a special event as part of the programme of events of the 2015 Africa Union (AU) Summit held from June 7 to June 15.

    The DAC event which came up at the Soweto Hotel, Soweto, South Africa took place under the theme “Ending Child Marriages”. It was attended by South Africa’s Minister of Social Development, Ms. Bathabile Dlamini; Director of Social Affairs of the AUC, Ambassador Olawale Maiyegun; Representative of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the AU, Jane Okello; and Commissioner, Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistics Communities, Sheila T. Khama, among other delegates.

    Nigerian film star, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, who is also ONE’s “Poverty is Sexist” campaign ambassador, was part of the panel of an intergenerational dialogue on the theme. In line with the AU declaration of 2015 as the Year of Women Empowerment and Development, “Poverty is Sexist” is ONE’s global campaign to push African leaders to step up with a clear set of policy reforms and budget commitment in their declaration at the 2015 AU Summit. The main digital asset of the campaign is a song titled “Strong Girl” produced in collaboration with some of the continent’s top female artists namely; Yemi Alade (Nigeria); Waje (Nigeria); Gabriela (Mozambique); AFRIMA 2014 winner of Best Female Artiste in Eastern Africa, Vanessa Mdee (Tanzania); Victoria Kimani (Kenya); Arielle T (Gabon), Judith Sephuma (South Africa) and a new teen rapper known as Blessing (South Africa).

    At the after the plenary cocktail, AFRIMA Jury member (representing Southern Africa from Zimbabwe) Delani Makhalima, reinforced AFRIMA’s commitment to working closely with ONE and the AUC to achieve the social change through creative arts.

    “Children are at the heart of our epicentre as music revolves around young people,” Makhalima said. “AFRIMA encourages the continued use of musicians and the AFRIMA platform to send positive messages of discouraging Child Marriage in Africa. Such initiatives need to involve AFRIMA more so that we can collectively run and implement year round campaigns across the continent.”

    The cocktail culminated in a performance of ‘Strong Girl’ by Yemi Alade, Selmor Mtukudzi and AFRIMA 2014 winner, Vanessa Mdee.

    AFRIMA, the continental awards in partnership with AUC and ONE amongst other institutions, is conceptualised to celebrate, showcase and reward the musical culture of the African race in 34 award categories.

    Entry submission for the awards is currently ongoing and will close on July 20, 2015.

  • Buhari chairs AU’s Security council meeting

    Buhari chairs AU’s Security council meeting

    R: Deputy Secretary General UN Jan Eliasson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of African Union (AU) Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari, Commissioner for Peace and Security AU Amb. Smail Chergui.
    R: Deputy Secretary General UN Jan Eliasson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of African Union (AU) Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari, Commissioner for Peace and Security AU Amb. Smail Chergui.