DECISION ON THE REPORT OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE OAU LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION/MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN AFRICA (CM/Dec. 671)

Council:

1. TAKES NOTE of the Report;

2. ENDORSES the recommendations as contained in the report of the Twenty-fifth Ordinary Session of the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission/Ministerial Conference on Employment and Poverty Reduction in Africa held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from 16 – 21 April 2002;

3. CALLS UPON Member States to share experiences on building the appropriate infrastructure, reducing illiteracy, enhancing the skills and capacity of employees and surveying the labour markets with a view to creating more job opportunities in Africa;

4. REQUESTS Member States to include social protection and work safety areas in their national development priorities and facilitate the development of self-employment strategies, in collaboration with social partners;

5. REITERATES its appeal to Member States which have not yet done so to sign and/or ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as well as the ILO Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour;

6. CALLS ON Member States to include compulsory education, the elimination of child labour as well as children in conflict situations and child trafficking in their priority programmes on children;

7. ENDORSES the Plan of Action for the African Decade of People with Disabilities (1999-2009) and CALLS UPON Member States to provide the necessary resources for its implementation at national level;

8. REQUESTS Member States to accord priority to the Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA) and promote the return of migrants to their countries of origin, create job opportunities for them and encourage them to invest in their countries with a view to reducing poverty. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is called upon to assist African countries in this regard;

9. REQUESTS ALSO the Secretary General, in collaboration with the ILO and other interested stakeholders and in consultation with Regional Economic Communities, to convene a meeting at Experts level to develop a Social Policy Framework for the Continent;

10. SUPPORTS the re-election of Mr. Juan Somavia as Director General of the ILO for a second mandate during the 286^th Session of the ILO Governing Board in March 2003.

DECISION ON THE REPORT MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON DRUG CONTROL IN AFRICA (CM/Dec. 672)

Council:

1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Ministerial Conference on Drug Control in Africa;

2. ENDORSES the recommendations contained therein and MANDATES the Secretary General to follow up and monitor their implementation;

3. EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE to the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire for hosting the First Ministerial Conference on Drug Control in Africa from 6 to 11 May 2002;

4. EXPRESSES ITS APPRECIATION to, in particular, the UNDCP and all the UN Agencies and other stakeholders for their technical and financial support and assistance in the preparation and holding of the Ministerial Conference on Drug Control in Africa;

5. RECOGNIZES that illicit drug trafficking, abuse, cultivation as well as alcoholism and other related problems are fast gaining momentum on the Continent;

6. ENDORSES the revised Declaration and Plan of Action on Drug Control and Illicit Drugs Trafficking and Abuse in Africa as adopted by the Ministerial Conference;

7. FURTHER ENDORSES the African Common Position for the Ministerial Segment of the 46^th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drug (CND) scheduled to be held in April 2003, in Vienna, Austria, and CALLS UPON the Bureau of the Ministerial Conference on Drug Control, in collaboration with the OAU Secretariat, the UNDCP and the African Group in Vienna to strengthen the document as they deem appropriate;

8. INVITES Member States to renew their commitment to fight the drug scourge as contained in the Declaration and mobilize requisite human and financial resources to implement the Plan of Action at their national levels;

9. APPEALS to the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and World Health Organization (WHO) to consider further financial assistance towards implementation of the revised and updated OAU Plan of Action on Drug Control in Africa;

10. REQUESTS the Secretary General, consistent with the decisions of the 1^st OAU Ministerial Conference on Drug Control, to organize training workshops on alternative development for the eradication of illicit cultivation of cannabis in Africa, initiate measures to integrate drug control policies and activities within the NEPAD programmes and undertake studies on the effects of Drugs, HIV/AIDS and conflicts on socio-economic development in Africa.

11. CALLS UPON the Secretariat, in collaboration with its developing partners and donor countries, to explore the possibilities of establishing an African Fund for Drug Control;

12. EXPRESSES GRATITUDE to the Government of the Republic of Mauritius for offering to host the next Ministerial Conference to be held in 2004;

13. FURTHER REQUESTS the Secretary General to strengthen the Drug Control Focal Point of the General Secretariat, give it more visibility in the new structure of the African Union and provide it with necessary funds within its budget;

14. FINALLY REQUESTS the Secretary General to submit progress reports on implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action to subsequent sessions of Council.

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DECISION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH IN AFRICA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION (CM/Dec. 673)

Council:

1. TAKES NOTE of the Report;

2. REAFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT to its 1987 Addis Ababa Declaration on Health as a Foundation for Development;

3. RECOGNIZES the vital role played by human resources, in the promotion of health and general well-being of all communities worldwide and that inadequate human resources has been one of the major challenges to health systems development in Africa;

4. ACKNOWLEDGES that brain drain has compounded the shortage of human resources on the Continent;

5. CALLS UPON each Member State to develop a realistic plan for development of human resources for health, motivate existing personnel through problem-oriented training and improvement of conditions of service, as well as upgrade skills of personnel working in the health sector in order to adequately respond to existing and emerging health issues especially preventive care;

6. DECLARE year 2004 as the Year for Development of Human Resources in Africa;

7. REQUESTS WHO, OAU/AU, World Bank and other relevant partners to establish an International Partnership for Human Resources Development (HRD) for Health for the purpose of conducting Health Sector Reforms on a sustainable basis at country level, and promote a code of ethics in international recruitment of health staff especially from Africa with the view to establishing a mechanism on how African countries can be compensated for such brain drain;

8. ALSO REQUESTS WHO, World Bank and other relevant partners and Institutions to regularly provide financial support to Member States in their efforts to promote and develop Human Resources in the Health Sector;

9. FINALLY REQUESTS the Secretary General, in collaboration with WHO and other interested partners, to call for a special Summit in 2003/2004 to consider the issue of Human Resources Development and its impact on Health Sector Reforms with special focus on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

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DECISION ON AFRICAN SOLIDARITY IN THE CELEBRATION OF THE 8^TH ALL-AFRICA GAMES IN NIGERIA (CM/Dec. 674)

Council:

1. RECALLS Resolution CM/Res.1305 (LII) of its Fifty-Second Ordinary Session conferring OAU patronage on and support for the All-Africa Games;

2. RECOGNIZES the critical financial situation of SCSA caused by the non-payment by Member States of their statutory subscriptions to the budget of the Organization;

3. CALLS UPON Member States to contribute to the success of the 8^th All-Africa Games in Nigeria by ensuring the participation of their best athletes in the Games;

4. STRONGLY APPEALS to all Member States to take all appropriate measures to honour their pledges of financial contributions to SCSA in good time to enable it prepare adequately for the successful organization of the 8^th All-Africa Games in Nigeria;

5. REQUESTS the Chairman of the Commission to assist the SCSA Secretariat in its efforts to organize successful games

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DECISION ON THE PARTICIPATION OF OAU MEMBER STATES IN THE WORLD SUMMIT ON INFORMATION SOCIETY (CM/Dec. 675)

1. RECALLING Resolution 1179 endorsed by the Council of the International Telecommunications Union at its meeting of June 2001 which approved the organization of a World Summit on Information Society in two phases: Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005,

2. FURTHER RECALLING Resolution 56/183 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2001 in support of the convening of this Summit,

3. ALSO RECALLING the Bamako Declaration adopted at the African Regional Conference preparatory to the Summit held in Bamako from 28 to 30 May 2002 and the recommendations emanating from the Conference,

4. NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the final Declaration of the Ministerial Conference of the PNA held in Durban from 27 to 29 April 2002 and the appeal launched by the Ministers for active participation of developing countries in the Summit process,

5. UNDERSCORING the stakes of the second phase of the Summit to be held in Tunis in 2005 and whose deliberation will focus on major development themes particularly identification of the most appropriate ways and means of reducing the digital gap,

6. FURTHER UNDERSCORING the importance of the information society on economic, socio-political and cultural development and the strategic objectives of developing countries in this area,

7. CALLS UPON Member States to participate actively and consistently in the preparation of, and in the Tunis Summit to guarantee the adoption of a real partnership strategy that will reduce the digital gap and ensure better adaptation to this new global technological environment, and thus give the information society a stable foundation anchored on the equality of the various partners;

8. FURTHER CALLS UPON Member States to set up a national coordination and follow-up mechanism to prepare for the two phases of the Summit;

9. APPEALS to Member States to engage in brainstorming to develop a common information society approach and ensure better access to information and communication technologies within the framework of global and balanced development with due respect for diversity.

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DECISION ON THE PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE AFRICAN DECADE OF DISABLED PERSONS (CM/Dec. 676)

Council:

1. RECALLS Decision CM/Dec.535 (LXXII) proclaiming 1999-2009 as the African Decade of Disabled Persons;

2. EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN about the increasing number of people with disabilities in the Continent due to social and political crises;

3. RECOGNIZES the need to integrate people with disabilities in the society, empower them and involve them in the formulation and implementation of the social and economic development policies of the Continent;

4. ENDORSES the Plan of Action for the African Decade of People with Disabilities as adopted by the 25^th Session of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 16 – 21 April 2002;

5. URGES Member States to allocate sufficient funds to all relevant Ministries dealing with people with disabilities to ensure effective implementation of disability programmes and to establish National Coordinating Committees (NCC) to coordinate all disability issues and include people with disabilities in their national programmes;

6. CALLS UPON relevant United Nations Institutions as well as other partners to assist in the implementation of the Plan of Action;

7. CALLS UPON Member States to report to the OAU Secretariat through the African Rehabilitation Institute (ARI) on the implementation of the Plan of Action;

8. REQUESTS the Secretary General to submit progress reports to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government every two years.

Decision on the Effective Implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Countries seriously affected by drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, and its consideration during deliberations of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (CM/Dec. 677)

Council:

1. AFFIRMS that the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification constitutes an innovative and vital instrument for realizing the objectives of sustainable development as contained in Agenda 21, and the objectives of poverty elimination as spelt out in the Millennium Summit Declaration;

2. FURTHER AFFIRMS that desertification is one of the main causes of poverty due particularly to the correlation between degradation of soils and poverty in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-tropical regions, especially in Africa,

3. WELCOMES the convening on African soil of the World Summit on Sustainable Development scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002, ten years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992;

4. RECOGNISES that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), underscores desertification control as a major component of the Environment and Sustainable Development programme in Africa;

5. TAKES DUE NOTE of the conclusions of the Africa – Latin America and Caribbean Inter-regional Forum, held in Caracas, Venezuela, from 18 to 20 February 2002; the conclusions of the Eminent Persons’ Panel held in Agades, Niger, from 24 to 28 February 2002, as well as the Forum on CCD Implementation held in Praia, Cape Verde, from 5 to 8 March 2002 preparatory to the World Summit on Sustainable Development;

6. ALSO EXPRESSES APPRECIATION of the messages addressed to the Johannesburg Summit and the contents of the Caracas Declaration, the Agades Appeal and the Praia Ministerial message, all pertaining not only to the recognition of the correlation between poverty reduction and desertification control, but also to effective financing by the International Community of Desertification Control Programmes of Action in affected developing countries, particularly in Africa;

7. URGES the Second General Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) due in Beijing, in October 2002, to appoint the Facility as the Convention’s funding mechanism;

8. INVITES all participants in the Johannesburg Summit to take cognisance of the contents of this decision during their deliberations and take appropriate measures and decisions with a view to ensuring the successful implementation of a desertification control programme;

9. REQUESTS the Secretary General to follow up on the implementation of this decision in collaboration with the CCD Executive Secretary and South Africa the host country of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

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DECISION ON PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL WITHIN THE AFRICAN UNION (CM/Dec. 678)

Council:

1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Special Session of the Council of Ministers of 1 and 2 July 2002;

2. COMMENDS the Committee of Ambassadors and the General Secretariat for the work accomplished to implement the Lusaka Summit Decision of AHG/Dec.160 (XXXVII) of July 2001, on a review of the working methods, structures and procedures of the Central Organ of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, including the possibility of changing its name;

3. TAKES NOTE of the Draft Protocol on the establishment of a Peace and Security Council within the African Union and RECOMMENDS the Protocol to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, for consideration.

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Decision on the Situation in Burundi (CM/Dec. 679)

Council:

1. EXPRESSES SATISFACTION at the progress made in the implementation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, especially the establishment of Transition Institutions and the commencement of the process of repatriating Burundian refugees living in Tanzania;

2. PAYS TRIBUTE to the Facilitator Nelson Mandela for his commitment to work with the people of Burundi to ensure the return of lasting peace to the country;

3. EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERN over the continuing armed clashes in Burundi which mainly affect the civilian population and pose a serious threat to the peace process;

4. UNDERSCORES the need to intensify efforts aimed at the cessation of hostilities, followed by a cease-fire agreement. To this end, Council NOTES WITH SATISFACTION the Mediation effort under the leadership of President El Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon and the South African Vice-President, Jacob Zuma, as well as the initiatives taken by H.E. President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and his Government, the countries of the Regional Initiative under the leadership of President Yoweri K. Museveni of Uganda, and the Tanzania and the OAU Secretary General to bring the armed groups to enter into negotiations in good faith and in a constructive manner with a view to an immediate end to the fighting, and the signing of a cease-fire agreement;

5. REQUESTS the Secretary General, in close consultation with the Mediation and the Regional Initiative, to intensify his contacts with the various armed groups with a view to encouraging them to seriously pursue negotiations with the Burundian Government and contributing in a constructive manner to the search for a lasting peace in Burundi;

6. URGES the parties signatory to the Arusha Agreement to continue to exhibit the same commitment to the peace process and to demonstrate the spirit of compromise and tolerance necessary for the pursuit and consolidation of the peace process;

7. MAKES AN URGENT APPEAL to the International Community to provide the necessary assistance to enable Burundi to cope with the economic difficulties facing the country. To this end, Council RENEWS ITS APPEAL to the concerned countries and multilateral institutions to honour the commitments they had made during the Paris and Geneva meetings;

8. ALSO APPEALS to the international community to provide increased humanitarian assistance to the Burundian population and, in this regard, HAILS the efforts deployed by the General Secretariat to help alleviate the suffering of the needy population.

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DECISION ON THE CANDIDATURE OF DR. KAMIL IDRIS FOR HIS RE-ELECTION TO THE POST OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION (WIPO) (CM/Dec. 680)

Council:

1. RECALLS Decision CM/Dec.650 (LXXV) by which the Council of Ministers decided to support the candidature of Dr. Kamil Idris (The Sudan) presented by the African Group in Geneva for re-election to the post of Director General of WIPO;

2. RE-AFFAIRS that Intellectual Property is a strong tool for development and EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE to WIPO for the assistance provided by WIPO to Africa in this field;

3. WELCOMES the very positive achievements of Dr. Kamil Idris at the Head of WIPO, and the overwhelming support of the Member States of WIPO for his re-election as Director General of WIPO;

4. CALLS UPON all Member States of WIPO to support the African candidate Dr. Kamil Idris for the post of Director General of WIPO;

5. REQUESTS the Secretary General to take appropriate action in support of the candidature of Dr. Kamil Idris.