Decisions of the seventy-first ordinary session of the Council of Ministers

6 - 10 March 2000
Addis Ababa
CM/DRAFT/Dec.21(LXXI)Rev.1

Draft decision on the implementation of the Sirte Declaration

Council:

1. RECALLS the Sirte Declaration adopted by the Fourth Extra Ordinary Summit in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999;

2. TAKES NOTE of the Progress Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Sirte Declaration;

3. COMMENDS the Secretary-General for the efforts which he has undertaken to-date to implement the Sirte Declaration and, in particular, welcomes the preparation by the General Secretariat, with the assistance of expert consultants, of the necessary draft instruments for the establishment of the African Union and Pan African Parliament;

4. URGES all Member States to support and participate fully in the proposed experts and ministerial meetings which will be convened in April and May, 2000 respectively, to examine the draft legal instruments for the establishment of the African Union and Pan-African Parliament.

5. FURTHER COMMENDS the Steering Committee charged with the responsibility of preparing for the proposed Ministerial Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSCDA) for the efforts deployed for the preparation of the Ministerial Conference;

6. ENDORSES the recommendations of the second meeting of the Steering Committee held in Pretoria, South Africa on 28-29 February, 2000 on the CSSCDA and encourages the Committee to continue with its work;

7. EXPRESSES ITS APPRECIATION to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for its offer to host the Conference scheduled to be held in Abuja, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on 8 -9 May, 2000 and URGES to all Member States to participate effectively at the CSSCDA;

8. WELCOMES the efforts undertaken by the Current Chairman, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa on the negotiations with AFrica's external creditors on the question of the African External Debt;

9. FURTHER EXPRESSES ITS APPRECIATION to the Governments of Libya and Togo for the generous contributions US$1 million and CFA Francs 3 million respectively which they have provided to the General Secretariat in support of the Activities relating to the implementation of the Sirte Declaration.