African Union & Nepad: briefing by Minister

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International Relations

12 November 2003
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Meeting Summary

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Meeting report

FOREIGN AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
12 November 2003
AFRICAN UNION & NEPAD: BRIEFING BY MINISTER

Chairperson:
Dr Z P Jordan

Documents handed out:
African Union Summit and Progress of NEPAD projects briefing by Minister

SUMMARY
The Committee was briefed on the current status regarding the progress of the African Union and NEPAD. Members expressed concern that the African Union was not monitoring the illegal movement of arms from foreign sources into the African continent effectively. Other areas of concern included the relationship between the AU and the Union Nations and the AU's stance on "outside interference" in conflicts within Africa.

MINUTES
Mr Aziz Pahad (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs) explained that the presentation would only deal with some of the key elements that arose from the last AU Summit, but added that a comprehensive report from the Summit and on NEPAD would be made available to the Committee. He stated that the greatest achievement of the Summit was continued efforts to operationalise the structure of the AU.

Please refer to attached document.

Discussion
Mr Pheko (PAC) queried the AU's investigation into weapons used in Africa. What were the urgent needs of the AU and if the Deputy Minister foresaw a situation where the AU would come into conflict with the UN, especially in regards to the AU Security Council and the UN Security Council? What relationship would there be between the AU Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice?

Ms Maunye (ANC) asked the Deputy Minister to detail the AU's programs for arms control.
She wanted elaboration on the extraction of conflict diamonds and minerals.
What was the unilateral invasion of Iraq as there had been different responses from countries on the African continent? Did women would make up at least 50% of the AU's sub-structures?

Dr Geldenhuys (NNP) asked if the Protocol on Human Rights referred to by the Deputy Minister would replace the existing African Charter on Human Rights. He then inquired as to South Africa's bid to host the Pan African Parliament. Was there an agreement with the Zimbabwean Government that, the property of SADC citizens would not be effected by its land reform program.

Mr Pahad (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs) in responding stated that South Africa had played a significant role in stabilising the situation in Sierra Leone and also added that troops had now been requested. Although the Government had agreed to this request in principle, the Defence Ministry still needed to assess its capabilities. In regard to the needs of the AU, the Deputy Minister said that the first imperative was that the various structures of the AU be made functional as quickly as possible. Beyond that the most urgent need for the AU was the procurement of peace and security on the African continent. The Deputy Minister added that through the AU conflicts would be resolved through a more "hands-on" approach and thus he believed that conflicts could be prevented before they broke out. However, he conceded that one of the greatest challenges facing the AU was obtaining funding.

As to the AU's relationship with the UN Security Council, the Deputy Minister said that everything done on a continental basis would be done within the framework of international law and therefore the UN Security Council. While the AU would have to work very closely with the UN Security Council, that the Council had accepted that the AU, in being a wholly African institution, would be better equipped to deal with African problems.

In relation to the programs on the monitoring of arms, the Deputy Minister conceded that there was some resistance, especially from overseas. To this he added that it was clear that the arms were not coming from within Africa.

In response to the query on conflict diamonds, the Deputy Minister stated that this issue had not been discussed specifically. However, he added that it was impossible to discuss conflicts in Africa without touching on this issue as all conflicts on the continent had been related to its mineral wealth. As to the invasion of Iraq, the Deputy Minister agreed that there had been differences of opinions among African countries, however pointed out that this had been a contentious issue worldwide and not just within Africa.

In relation to the representation of women, he stated that the AU's position was that there had to be a 30% representation rate for women. As to South Africa's bid to host the Pan African Parliament, the Deputy Minister stated that although South Africa had placed a bid to host the Parliament that there had not been sufficient ratification and that in any case for the first five years the Parliament would rotate amongst the sub-groupings within the African continent. Therefore, he added that no decision had been taken at this stage.

In regards to the question on the property of SADAC citizens, the Deputy Minister said that the issue had been discussed on a consistent basis. He stated that the Government had been informed that a commission had been established and that once the commission had made its report, then the Government would be able to take a closer look at the issue. However, he pointed out that this issue had been discussed at the Foreign Affairs bilateral discussions in 2002 and that the Government had been given an undertaking that this matter would be addressed. This issue was one of the main items set for a forthcoming joint commission with Zimbabwe.

Adv Madasa (ACDP) enquired what was the process for executive appointments within the AU.
What was the Government's position on allegations that Charles Taylor was fuelling violence in Liberia? Had there been any official agreement that had been set up with the EU and other Western countries that they would not supply arms to Africa? Was there any truth to the allegations that the South African Government had been working on arranging a successor for Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe? Finally in regard to the peer review for NEPAD, Adv Madasa inquired if there were any incentives to encourage countries to volunteer for the review.

Mr Bapela (ANC) asked what the role of the AU in the Sudan negotiations would be, as he thought that to date the organization had not played an active enough role. Could the Deputy Minister update the Committee in regards to the current situation with negotiations on Somalia?
Would the AU be monitoring upcoming elections set for 2004 in a number of African countries to ensure that they would be "free and fair"?

Ms Mahomed (ANC) asked the Deputy Minister why there had been a delay in the ratification of the Peace and Security Council. What was the stance of the AU with regards to "outside interference" in conflicts within Africa, such as what happened with the US and Liberia.

Mr Pahad (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs) in responding to the question regarding the process for executive appointments to the AU, stated that he was presently unaware of any recommendations. As to allegations involving Charles Taylor, the Deputy Minister acknowledged that he had seen several reports that had noted Taylor's continuing activities to destabilise the situation in Liberia. However, he argued that what was required was that the international community needed to move more decisively after achieving their objectives to prevent further problems occurring.

In regards to the supply of arms, he suggested that the AU should follow the UN route to find a mechanism to effectively monitor the supply of arms to the African continent. As to South Africa's involvement in the situation in Zimbabwe, the Deputy Minister stated that he was unaware of any such allegations. In response to the question regarding incentives for countries to submit to peer reviews, he argued that there was no better incentive than the fact that by submitting to review countries would be more able to attract donor funding to aid with development in their own countries.

As to the negotiations involving Sudan, the Deputy Minister stated that the AU was actively involved. The situation with the conflict within Somalia was complicated, but that the talks had been progressing well. In regards to the Peace and Security Council, the Deputy Minister said that he was not able to understand the delay in its ratification, but that the process was on going.
Concerning "outside interference", he said that he believed that many of Africa's problems could have been solved more quickly if there had been no "outside interference". However, he pointed out that, especially with regards to the situation in Liberia, that Liberia had called upon the US to intervene. Thus he argued that unless the AU "got its act together" quickly, there would always be calls from within Africa for "outside interference".

In response to the question of monitoring elections, the Deputy Minister said that the Constitutive Act and the discussions of the AU had called for the establishment of a unit within the AU that would specifically deal with monitoring elections. However, he stated that the problem now was that countries were being faced with a situation where there were too many observers, as he quoted was currently the case with Mozambique, which he argued created suspicions.

The Chair agreed with the Committee that the African continent faced a major problem with the supply of arms. Africa needed to work more closely with the EU specifically to ensure that arms did not make their way to Africa.

Meeting was adjourned.

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