Madame Speaker

Fellow parliamentarians

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a privilege and pleasure for me, on behalf of the President of the Republic of South Africa, to open this vitally important first meeting of representatives from the parliaments of Africa.

South Africa will shortly be hosting the first Summit of the African Union (AU) from 1 to 11 July 2002 in Durban. In addition to hosting the inaugural Summit and the 53 Heads of State and Government and their delegations, South Africa will also become the first chair of the AU in the person of President Thabo Mbeki.

The core organs of the African Union will include the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the Executive Council of Ministers, the Permanent Representatives Committee, the Commission and of greatest interest to this gathering, the Pan-African Parliament.

In preparation for the advent of the AU, we must be fully cognisant of the priorities we have set ourselves:

The African Union will be the continent’s principal organisation for the achievement of political and socio-economic integration between its states and peoples. The AU will not be a mere continuation of the OAU under a different name. Its structure and capacities must therefore enable the realisation of the objectives of enhancing the economic, political and social integration and development of the people of Africa.

The mandate of the AU is much broader than that of the OAU. It includes the principles contained in the Charter of the OAU, as well as the goals entrenched in the Abuja Treaty regarding social and economic development. In addition, it reflects a greater openness and willingness to be mutually scrutinised and assisted in areas such as human rights.

The OAU as an organisation reached a the critical stage of needing to be in a position to actively address the pressing needs of the continent, in particular regarding social and economic development. The intention is that the AU will indeed begin to fulfil this role. In addition, it will have greater capacity to deal effectively with the political challenges of peace, security and stability issues. The AU has come at the ideal time as the instrument for implementing NEPAD and bringing about an age of prosperity and progress.

Fourteen objectives of the African Union, as contained in the Constitutive Act, are to:

• Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa;
• Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States;
• Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;
• Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;
• Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
• Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent;
• Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance;
• Promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;
• Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations;
• Promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies;
• Promote cooperation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples;
• Coordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union;
• Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; and
• Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.

Movement towards the establishment of the AU effectively commenced at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 1999 in Algiers. Two months later, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi convened the 4^th Extraordinary Summit of the OAU in Sirte to amend the OAU Charter in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the OAU. The theme of the Sirte Summit was "Strengthening OAU capacity to enable it to meet the challenges of the new millennium". This Summit concluded on 9 September 1999 with the Sirte Declaration aimed at:

• Effectively addressing the new social, political and economic realities in Africa and the world;
• Fulfilling the peoples’ aspirations for greater unity in conforming with the objectives of the OAU Charter and the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community;
• Revitalising the Continental Organisation to play a more active role in addressing the needs of the people;
• Eliminating the scourge of conflicts;
• Meeting global challenges; and
• Harnessing the human and natural resources of the continent to improve living conditions.

To achieve these aims the Summit decided to:

Establish an African Union in conformity with the ultimate objectives of the Charter of our Continental Organisation and the provisions of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community.

and to

Accelerate the process of implementing the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. In particular the aim was to:

• Shorten the implementation periods of the Abuja Treaty,
• Ensure the speedy establishment of all the institutions provided for in the Abuja Treaty; such as the African Central Bank, the African Monetary Union, the African Court of Justice and in particular, the Pan-African Parliament.
• Strengthen and consolidate the RECs as the pillars for achieving the objectives of the African Economic Community and realising the envisaged Union.
• Convene an African Ministerial Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in the Continent, as soon as possible.

To this end, the AU has been designed around three pillars, which are constituted by

1. Partnership with Civil Society
2. Promotion of Peace, Security and Stability on the Continent
3. Socio-economic development and integration of the Continent

Let us examine each of these pillars:

Firstly, the AU is based on the common vision of a united and strong Africa and by the need to build a partnership between governments and all segments of civil society, in particular women, youth and the private sector, in order to strengthen solidarity and cohesion amongst the peoples of Africa. As such, the active involvement of African non-governmental organisations, socio-economic organisations, professional associations and civil society organisations in general, must be required in Africa's integration process as well as in the formulation and implementation of programmes of the AU.

Secondly, the AU as a continental organisation must be seized with the promotion of peace, security and stability on the continent as a prerequisite for the implementation of the development and integration agenda of the Union. Therefore, the AU will be responsible for the peaceful resolution of conflicts among African states through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly, who may give directives to the Executive Council on the management of conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace.

The OAU mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution will be revised and restructured as the AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC). Decisions about the scope of its functions will be guided by:

Article 3(f) of the Constitutive Act, which states that it should be responsible for the promotion of peace, security and stability on the continent;

Additionally, the PSC will play a role in the establishment of a common defence policy for the African Continent in terms of Article 4(d) of the Constitutive Act and it is likely to be tasked with the management of special programmes such as combating illicit drugs, small arms trafficking as well as demining.

Thirdly, the AU will be the principal institution of the African continent responsible for promoting sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels, as well as the integration of African economies. The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are recognised as the building blocks of the Union, necessitating the need for their close involvement in the formulation and implementation of all programmes of the AU. To this end the Union must coordinate and take decisions on policies in areas of common interest to the member states, as well as coordinate and harmonise policies between the existing and future RECs, for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union.

The long-term goals of the AU are encapsulated in its objectives. In brief the AU is intended to accelerate the political, social and economic integration of Africa. In the words of the Abuja Treaty, this will entail:

• Promoting economic, social and cultural development and the integration of African economies in order to increase economic self-reliance and endogenous and self-sustained development;
• Establishing, on a continental scale, a framework for the development, mobilisation and utilisation of the human and material resources of Africa in order to achieve a self-reliant development;
• Promoting co-operation in all fields of human endeavour in order to raise the standard of living of African peoples, and maintain and enhance economic stability, foster close and peaceful relations among Member States and contribute to the progress, development and the economic integration of the Continent; and
• Coordinating and harmonising policies among existing and future economic communities in order to foster the gradual establishment of the Community.

The roots of the AU are already demonstrating a departure from the old:

Wide and broad participation, including civil society, is encouraged;

RECs’ participation and the crucial role they will play as implementing mechanisms for the programmes of the AU is being emphasised;

RECs - in particular SADC - are playing a much stronger role in the development and operationalisation of the AU, than it has ever done in the case of the OAU;

There has been agreement regarding the right to intervene in member states under specific circumstances;

and the creation of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) allows for an interactivity not previously experienced.

NEPAD is a mandated initiative of the OAU/African Union. NEPAD is the socio-economic development blueprint for the AU to implement its objectives. It is the mechanism for accelerating implementation of the Abuja Treaty. The management structures are particularly designed to ensure follow-up and implementation in the transition phase from the OAU to the AU.

The NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee has to report annually to the OAU/African Union Summit. The Chair of the OAU/African Union as well as the OAU Secretary General/Chair of the Commission of the Union are ex-officio members of the Implementation Committee. The OAU Secretariat/Commission of the Union is expected to participate in Steering Committee meetings.

What this translates into is that NEPAD will be the programme and the African Union the institution through which the programme will be implemented. The structures of the AU, in particular the mechanism whereby RECs will report to the AU and whereby the AU will in return assist RECs to develop and implement programmes, will ensure wide participation and implementation of NEPAD-inspired programmes.

The AU will therefore assist in the continent-wide participation in NEPAD, also in its coordination of the activities of the RECs, which, as building blocks of the AU are critical in the planning process, implementation and realisation of the NEPAD. The RECs will participate closely in the development and implementation of the detailed projects and programmes.

In preparing for the inaugural Summit of the AU, processes to be engaged with were identified at national, regional and continental level.

At national level, member states had to prepare positions on the immediate objective to put in place the core structures of the AU:

• the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the AU;
• the Executive Council of Ministers;
• the Permanent Representatives Committee of Ambassadors; and
• the Commission that will be providing the secretariat services of the AU.

These institutions were identified as the most basic requirements for the launching of the African Union. Negotiations on these core organs are largely completed. Progress has also been made on the restructuring of the Central Organ of the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention and Management.

Member states are also considering which of the organs, apart from the core organs and the Central Organ, of the AU they would like to host and the issue of the staffing of the Commission is under consideration.

South Africa as host country is engaged in the logistical preparations for the launch of the AU. This includes issues such as the identification of a theme for the Summit, the programmes we would like to pursue as chair of the AU, as well as issues which we would like to see concluded during our term as chair.

The regional process in Southern Africa consisted of a series of SADC meetings during which SADC developed positions regarding the Rules of Procedures for the core organs. The process culminated in the SADC Extraordinary Council of Ministers Meeting in Blantyre in January 2002.

The continental process is aimed at concluding the Rules of Procedures on the core organs. A series of meetings took place, the last of which was a Council of Ministers Meeting from the 9^th to 15^th March 2002 in Addis Ababa, as well as a meeting on the Central Organ that took place from the 19^th to 22^nd March 2002 at Fancourt. The Council of Ministers Meeting approved the Rules of Procedure for the core organs.

The overarching theme of the Summit will be "Peace, Prosperity and Development: The African Century". South Africa’s deliberations on the theme for the Summit are taking into account the objectives of the African Union, as embodied in the Constitutive Act. South Africa has also proposed the following three Round Table discussion themes for consideration during the AU Summit:

• Strengthening Multilateralism and its Governance;
• Implementation of NEPAD and NEPAD Partnerships; and
• Mainstreaming Gender in the AU: Empowerment of Women.

The entry point for any parliament to assist in the development of the continent is the Pan-African Parliament. The Pan-African Parliament is classified as a political and democratic institution, which will represent the citizenry of all African States. Its elected members will symbolise the democratic will of all the peoples of Africa. As stated in the Constitutive Act of the AU, the Parliament will ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent. Each member state will be represented by five parliamentarians, two of whom will have to be female, and being representative of the political spectrum of that member state.

As such, the Pan African Parliament has a role to play in the creation or maintenance of:

1. Political and social stability: This is particularly relevant given that the Pan-African Parliament will in all probability be representative not only of the ruling parties on the Continent, but also of the major opposition parties. Further it will be representative of different cultures, races and religions. Therefore xenophobia and religious intolerance would have to be addressed;
2. Strong support for democratic ideals: Democratic ideals are viewed as the sister criteria of political and social stability. This paves the way for open mindedness being present in member states’ consciousness and constitutional make-up;
3. Macro-economic stability: Without which political stability cannot be sustained;
4. Respect for the Rule of Law;
5. Respect for gender equality;
6. Efficient, competitive and supportive infrastructure:
7. Access to all modes of telecommunication services in particular to allow wide participation.

The South African Parliament has a leading role to play based on its Parliamentary infrastructure, experience, process and efficiency. Even more important, the South African Parliamentary system is accessible to the public in terms of its proceedings and procedures.

You may wish to know that South Africa was the 21^st member state to sign the Protocol. Up to now only three countries have ratified the Protocol. Article 22 of the Protocol stipulates that the Protocol will only enter into force thirty days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification by a simple majority of the Member States.

In the meanwhile the South African parliament can contribute to the process in a number of ways. The Fourth Report of the Parliamentary Working Group on the African Union considered specific tasks in which Parliament can engage itself. These programmes can greatly contribute to the success of the African Union, since they will address outstanding issues, as well as matters which have already been identified as possible subjects for review. Some of these issues include:

• Convening a meeting of African Parliamentarians on the 27^th and 28^th of June 2002, as is happening right now;
• Research on matters relevant to the AU and NEPAD, in particular:
• The role of the African Charter and Commission on Human and People’s Rights in relation to the AU
• A comparative analysis of rules of procedures of multinational legislatures and parliamentary forums
• Oversight of multinational institutions and structures by national parliaments
• Sovereignty and the full implementation of the African Union in terms of constitutional, legal and policy questions
• Developing a comprehensive strategy for public awareness and civil society involvement in Parliament’s engagement with matters related to the implementation of the Constitutive Act and the processes for the full establishment of the AU
• The African Court vis-à-vis national judiciaries and constitutions.

All of the above mentioned matters could add considerable value to the ongoing continental debate on the face of the AU.

I am confident that the deliberations that take place at this gathering will cement the foundations that are being laid for the establishment of the African Union.

I thank you.