REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMISSION ON THE COMMON AFRICAN DEFENCE AND SECURITY POLICY

Transcription

1 AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA P.O.Box 3243 Tel Fax: FIRST MEETING OF THE AFRICAN MINISTERS OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AFRICAN STANDBY FORCE AND THE COMMON AFRICAN DEFENCE AND SECURITY POLICY JANUARY 2004 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA MIN/DEF.&SEC.5(I) Original: French REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMISSION ON THE COMMON AFRICAN DEFENCE AND SECURITY POLICY

2 Page 1 REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMISSION ON THE COMMON AFRICAN DEFENCE AND SECURITY POLICY I. INTRODUCTION 1. In its Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.13 (II) on the Common African Defence and Security Policy (CADSP), adopted in Maputo, in July 2003, the Assembly of the Union requested the Commission to conduct consultations with all stakeholders, including the Ministers of Defence and Security and legal experts, with a view to finalizing the documents on the CADSP in time for submission to the next session of the Assembly or the next session to be convened by the Current Chairperson, if necessary. 2. The present report is submitted pursuant to this decision of the Assembly. It briefly reviews the evolution of the CADSP formulation process and gives an account of the results achieved to date. The report also proposes, for the preliminary consideration of the Ministers of Defence and Security, a Draft Non-Aggression Pact as the first possible concrete expression of the CADSP. II. EVOLUTION OF THE CADSP FORMULATION PROCESS 3. At its inaugural session held in Durban (South Africa), in July 2002, the AU Assembly highlighted the need for a Common African Defence and Security Policy within the context of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. In addition, the Assembly requested its Chairperson, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, to set up a group of experts charged with considering all the related aspects of establishing a common defence and security policy and submit recommendations to it, for consideration at its next ordinary session. [Assembly/AU/Dec.5(I)]. 4. As part of the follow up on this decision, the Commission prepared a policy paper on the issue. The South African Government, for its part, hosted the first experts meeting on the formulation of a Common African Defence and Security Policy held in Randburg, from 27 to 29 March 2003, with a view to considering the policy paper. [Report of the Experts Meeting Exp/Mtg/CADSP/Rpt. (I)]. 5. During the meeting, discussions focused on the following themes:

3 Page 2 definition of a Common African Defence and Security Policy; the aims and objectives of a Common African Defence and Security Policy; the principles and values which should underpin a Common African Defence and Security Policy; the mechanisms and structures of a Common African Defence and Security Policy; formulation of a document on the Common African Defence and Security Policy, including its legal status. 6. At this first experts meeting, it was agreed that the Common African Defence and Security Policy should be defined gradually. This would facilitate taking on board the contributions of all the stakeholders, particularly in view of the consultations envisaged at national level. 7. During their deliberations, the experts speculated about the legal status of the document on the Common African Defence and Security Policy some delegates proposed that the document should be a binding legal instrument, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, a Convention, a Pact or a Protocol. In this regard, the meeting felt that the priority should first be given to formulating the contents of the said document, since the issue of its status would be resolved as the process evolved and in the light of appropriate directives that would be given by the AU policy organs. 8. The experts meeting requested that the AU Commission prepare a draft document on the Common African Defence and Security Policy based on the conclusions of the first meeting, as well as the expected views and comments of Member States at the end of the consultations envisaged at national level. Furthermore, it was decided that in formulating the Common African Defence and Security Policy, the pertinent parts of the policy paper and the Draft Memorandum of Understanding presented by South Africa should also be taken into account. 9. Pursuant to this request, the AU Commission prepared a document entitled «Draft Framework for a Common African Defence and Security Policy» [Document Ext/EX/CL/2 (III)], which was discussed by the second

4 Page 3 experts meeting held in Sun City (South Africa), from 19 to 20 May Subsequently, the Draft Framework was submitted to the Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of 21 to 23 May 2003, also held in Sun City. On that occasion, the Executive Council took note of the Draft Framework for a Common African Defence and Security Policy, as proposed by the experts meeting. Council recommended that consultations on this issue should be pursued with all the actors concerned, including the Ministers of Defence and Security. 10. At its session in Maputo, which took place from 10 to 12 July 2003, the Assembly of the African Union, as indicated above, took note of the Draft Framework for a Common African Defence and Security Policy, as revised by the 3 rd Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council, as well as the comments made by the Heads of State and Government during their deliberations. The Assembly requested that the Commission carry out consultations with the stakeholders, including the Ministers of Defence and Security and legal experts, in order to finalize the Common African Defence and Security Policy, for consideration at the next session of the Assembly or at an extraordinary session that could be convened by the Current Chairperson. III. NON-AGGRESSION PACT 11. Document number EXT/EX/CL/2(III) prepared by the Commission and submitted to Member States for consideration at Sun City as well as Maputo was the subject of a major consensus as far as its broad outlines were concerned. It would therefore be appropriate, simultaneously with efforts to finalize it, to work towards translating it into concrete measures. In this regard, it should be pointed out that the document on the CADSP is merely a framework, intended to facilitate the adoption of more specific measures or policies in order to attain the objectives set. 12. According to the provisions of the Draft Framework, the objectives of the CADSP are to, inter alia: - ensure collective responses to both internal and external threats to Africa;

5 Page 4 - serve as a tool for the simultaneous enhancement of defence cooperation between and among African States, and the consolidation of national defence; - eliminate suspicions and rivalry among African States, a factor that has traditionally engendered conflicts on the continent and hindered inter-state cooperation and integration in Africa; - promote mutual trust and confidence among African States; - promote a culture of peace and peaceful co-existence among AU Member States and within the regions; - develop and enhance the collective defence and strategic capability as well as military preparedness of Member States of the AU and the Continent; - facilitate the establishment of a threat deterrence and containment capacity within the AU; - encourage the conclusion and ratification of non-aggression pacts between and among African States and harmonize such agreements. 13. Furthermore, it is important to identify certain principles which should be consistent with the CADSP. This concerns mainly the affirmed Indivisibility of the security of African States. As a result of the principle thus affirmed, any attack against an African country is considered as an attack against the Continent as a whole. 14. It is in the light of the foregoing that the Commission deemed it necessary to give a concrete extension to the CASDP by formulating a Draft Non-Aggression Pact. In undertaking the drafting of such a pact, the Commission took into account not only the relevant provisions of the Draft Framework, but also the Solemn Declaration on the Conference on Security, Stability, Cooperation and Development in Africa (CSSDCA) and the Memorandum of Understanding adopted by the Durban Summit in July Indeed, throughout the discussions on the CADSP, the need to take on board the CSSDCA process, including the Memorandum of Understanding, was underscored.

6 Page The Memorandum provides for the definition, by 2005, and in compliance with Article 4 (d) of the Constitutive Act, of a Common African Defence and Security Policy in order to strengthen African capacities to resolve conflicts and face up to external aggression. Furthermore, it includes among the performance indicators agreed on by the African leaders, the conclusion by 2006 of Non-Aggression Pacts, where they do not already exist. 16. Moreover, at the Maputo Summit, the Heads of State and Government discussed the proposal of the President of the Republic of Congo, Mr. Denis Sassou-N guesso on the Pan-African Anti-Aggression Pact, which was welcomed by the Assembly. In addition, these discussions took place within the context of the proposal by the Leader of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Brother Ghadaffi, on the establishment of a single African army. 17. As formulated by the Commission, the Draft Pact, in addition to the preamble and the traditional paragraph on definitions, centres on the following points: - purpose: the objectives pursued by the Pact are listed here, namely, to prevent war or conflict of any kind in Africa, particularly among Member States, and promote cooperation among the said Member States; - commitments: under this heading, the commitments of Member States under the terms of the Pact are stated. These include, inter alia, the commitment to: refrain from the use of or threat to use force, settle all disputes or conflicts through peaceful means, consider that an armed attack against a Member State constitutes an attack against the continent as a whole, promote good neighbourliness and friendly relations; - implementation mechanisms of the Pact: these are the Peace and Security Council, the African Court of Justice and the Commission. 18. The Ministers of Defence and Security are invited to exchange views on the Draft Pact with a view to giving the Commission more detailed instructions on the steps to be taken. Thereafter, the revised document shall be submitted to the Executive Council at its session in March It will then be the responsibility of the Executive Council to decide on the next stage of the Draft Pact.

7 Page 6 IV. OBSERVATIONS 19. The present meeting should make it possible to take a decisive step in the definition of the CADSP. Indeed, it constitutes the last stage in the consultation process required by the Assembly of the Union during its session in Maputo. In concrete terms, for the Ministers of Defence and Security, it will entail: (i) considering the Draft Framework for the Common African Defence and Security Policy with a view to facilitating its finalization for submission to the Assembly of the Union; and (ii) carrying out a preliminary exchange of views on the Draft Non-Aggression Pact. It should be noted that the Draft Pact was neither first submitted to the Permanent Representatives Committee nor to government experts. 20. More specifically, concerning the Draft Pact, it will be the responsibility of the Ministers of Defence and Security to assess its pertinence and the advisability within the context of the objectives pursued by the CASDP. Should the Ministers of Defence and Security approve the steps taken, the recommendations of the Ministers will be transmitted to the Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council and the Assembly of the Union scheduled for Tripoli in February 2004, which will give additional instructions on the steps to be taken, since it will not be a question of the organs adopting the Draft Pact. The next stage will be a meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) and experts from Member States, and the conclusions thereof will be submitted for consideration to the Executive Council session due to take place in Addis Ababa in July Finally, concerning the format of the document on the Common African Defence and Security Policy, it should be recalled that during discussions on the framework of the Common African Defence and Security Policy, experts at the Randburg meeting of 27 to 29 March 2003, speculated about its legal status see Paragraphs 62 and 63 of Report Exp/Mtg/CADSP/ Rpt.(I). Taking into account the spirit of the discussions, and the fact that the document is in its final stage, the Commission proposed a document in the form of a Declaration or Charter which would be adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.