What: African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC)’s high-level multi-stakeholder dialogue on Civil Society Organisation engagement with the African Union (AU) on the European Union (EU) Support Programme on the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA)
Who: ECOSOCC, African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms (RMs)
When: 11 - 13 October 2022
Where: Landscope Mauritius Conference Hall, Ebene.
Speakers: Mr. Denise Kodhe, Presiding Officer, ECOSOCC; Mr. Dharmraj Busgeet Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mauritius to the African Union and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mr. Christna Rao Appadoo, Member ECOSOCC 3rd General Assembly; Mr William Carew, Head of Secretariat, ECOSOCC; Mr. Raymond Kitevu, Conflict Early Warning Expert - Governance, Peace and Security, COMESA; and the Representative, Bureau of the Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission.
Objectives:
The overall objective of the meeting is to facilitate a high-level multi-level dialogue with AU member states CSOs, RMs, and experts, in order to promote conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict reconstruction and development.
In particular, the meeting will increase CSOs' knowledge of the mechanisms put in place to fortify their engagement with the AU, as well as their participation in AU programmes related to conflict prevention, management and resolution, democracy, governance, constitutionalism, the rule of law, human rights, and transitional justice.
The meeting will bridge the gap between the AU, RECs, RMs and CSOs; and build on the expertise and capacities of CSOs in conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict reconstruction and development.
Background:
ECOSOCC, as the AU's civil society Organ, has been instrumental in shedding light on the role of CSOs in various thematic areas, particularly in the area of peace, security, governance and human rights.
Within the scope of the Organ's mandate, ECOSOCC has established a platform for CSOs to participate in efforts to promote peace, security, stability, good governance, and protect human rights in Africa. Article 8, sub-articles 10, 11, and 20 of the AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol, as well as the Livingstone Formula and the Maseru Conclusions — all of which are important components of AU Agenda 2063's Aspiration 4, which envisions a peaceful and fully functional and operational African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) — guide ECOSOCC's initiative to strengthen CSOs capacity in these areas.
Dialogues with key stakeholders have become pivotal in better informing how ECOSOCC can deliver on innovative initiatives aimed at strengthening the APSA and forge ways to improve CSO participation and capacity in the architecture's priority areas. Concurrently, such dialogues assist in informing key stakeholders on the nexus between peace and security, democracy, governance, constitutionalism, rule of law, and human rights, as well as how the current state of these issues may impact the successful implementation of the APSA.
Furthermore, as part of the ongoing consultations on the ECOSOCC National Chapter Framework, Harmonised Accreditation Mechanism, Diaspora Framework, and AU CSO Accreditation Portal, participants will be required to provide input into these mechanisms, thereby contributing to their full operationalization, and subsequently setting the tone for future engagements of African CSOs within the AU and its programmes, such as the APSA.
The media are invited to cover the opening ceremony on 11th October 2022 at 09.30 a.m. at Landscope Mauritius Conference Hall, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower, Ebene.
