text: DECISION ON THE REPORTS OF THE PRC SUB-COMMITTEES
  The Executive Council,
  1. TAKES NOTE of the reports of the following PRC subcommittees:
  A. ON THE AUDIT OF AUC BUDGET EXECUTION ANALYSIS FOR THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY - 30 JUNE 2014 - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)iv
  2. CALLS UPON the Commission to address the issues raised by the PRC Sub Committee on Audit Matters including the following matters:
  i) the Budget Performance Report should include specific departmental programmes analysis to determine whether the sets of objectives and programmes are achieved;
  ii) the Commission should address the problem of planning of programs which keeps on affecting the implementation of the programmes;
  iii) the Office of Internal Audit should also be reporting on the programme performance and the attainment of the objectives instead of reporting only on the financial matters;
  iv) the Commission should report to Member States on all reforms done in improving internal control systems, including the implementation of the travel policy taking into consideration the AU Staff Regulations and Rules as well as the AU Financial Rules and Regulations;
  v) the Commission should carry out Systems Audit to ensure more efficiency in its operations.
  3. REQUESTS the Commission to report on the implementation of this decision during the AU Summit of January 2016;
  B. ON MULTILATERAL COOPERATION - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)v
  4. ENCOURAGES the candidate Member States to host TICAD VI Summit (The Gambia and Kenya), to finalize their consultations as soon as possible;
  5. REQUESTS the Commission to engage the co-organisers and the host country for the determination of the date suitable to all stakeholders at the Summit of TICAD VI so as to embark on necessary preparations in this connection;
  6. INVITES the Commission and the League of Arab States to mobilize the funds required for the implementation of the consolidated work plan 2014-2016;
  7. WELCOMES the efforts of the Kuwait in the implementation of this partnership;
  8. ENCOURAGES both parties to intensify their efforts in the implementation of the Plan of Action;
  9. REQUESTS the Commission to begin preparations for the joint meeting of experts slated for the first quarter 2015 in Turkey in order to finalize the operationalization of the matrix of priority projects adopted in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) in November 2014;
  Africa-South America (ASA)
  10. REQUESTS the Commission:
  i) to initiate consultations with the South American side for the implementation of the conclusions of the 3rd ASA Summit and the strengthening of this partnership to achieve concrete results;
  ii) to propose, in cooperation with the South American side, a date for the holding of the 4th ASA Summit planned in Quito (Ecuador).
  11. URGES the African side to quickly establish its own Follow up mechanism;
  12. INVITES Member States to submit their candidature to host the 4th Africa Forum- Korea;
  13. REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with Korea, to begin preparations for the holding of the meeting of senior officials in March 2015 in Burkina Faso;
  14. REQUESTS the Commission to conduct consultations with India to determine a new date for the holding of the 3rd Summit scheduled in India in 2015;
  15. URGES the Member States who have been selected to host the Pan-African institutions offered by India to accelerate their operationalization;
  Evaluation of Strategic Partnerships
  16. REQUESTS the Commission:
  i) to speed up finalization of the study on the evaluation of all Strategic Partnerships, by March 2015, for submission to the Sub-committee on Multilateral Cooperation;
  ii) to prepare a guide on the rules governing the relationship between the AU and the Strategic Partners.
  17. EMPHASISES the urgent need for strict compliance with the Banjul Formula by all Parties and STRONGLY APPEALS to the various Partners to comply with the decisions of the AU within this framework;
  C. ON THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES, RETURNEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN AFRICA - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)vi
  18. ADOPTS the Report and the recommendations therein, and TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Commission on the Humanitarian Situation in Africa covering the period July - December 2014 as well as Member States’ observations on the subject;
  19. TAKES SPECIAL NOTE of the outcomes of the missions undertaken to Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Central African Republic which demonstrate the active solidarity of the African Union and all its Member States with the countries affected by the problem of refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, and by natural disasters;
  i) the Sub-Committee, in collaboration with the Commission, to continue to organize such solidarity missions to countries affected by these humanitarian challenges;
  ii) the Sub-Committee to intensify its efforts vis-a-vis Member States at promoting AU legal instruments on humanitarian issues, particularly the AU Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa.
  i) the Sub-Committee and the Commission to continue to exert effort for active preparation of a common African position for the World Humanitarian Summit due to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2016;
  ii) the Commission to continuously update its statistics on refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons through a mechanism for coordination with all the field players, including the concerned Member States, UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations operating in this domain.
  22. REAFFIRMS the need for all the concerned players to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in conflict zones;
  23. CALLS UPON the Commission to submit a report on the situation of refugees, returnees and IDPs in Africa and on progress on the African Common position to the World Humanitarian Summit at the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council scheduled for July 2015;
  D. ON THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON CONTRIBUTIONS - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)vii
  24. CONGRATULATES countries that are up to date with their contributions and ENCOURAGES other Member States to pay fully and on time their assessed contributions;
  25. EXPRESSES APPRECIATION to the development partners for their contributions and INVITES them to release their contributions on time to allow the African Union to implement the relevant projects and programmes;
  26. INVITES Member States to pay their contributions on time and ENCOURAGES those that are in arrears to pay the amounts due;
  27. COMMENDS the Republic of Madagascar for the initiatives taken by honouring 74% of its arrears of contributions and ENCOURAGES Madagascar to maintain this momentum and request the latter to approach the Commission to work out the modalities for settling the remaining arrears, and decide to remove the temporary exemption instituted on Madagascar;
  28. REQUESTS Member States totalling two years of arrears to settle their financial commitments within the shortest time to avoid falling under the sanction regime in accordance with the rules in force; in this regard, REQUESTS the Ministerial Ad hoc Committee on the Scale of Assessment to examine the possibility of reducing the period of 2 years to 1 year in the context of the strengthening of the regime of sanctions;
  29. IMPOSES sanctions on the following Member State for non-payment of its assessed contribution:
  1) Central African Republic;
  i) the Federal Republic of Somalia to find ways and means of paying its arrears before the start of the session of Executive Council and to comply with the Decision EX.CL/Dec.788 (XXIV) of the Executive Council;
  ii) the Commission to find an alternative solution to facilitate payment by the Republic of the Sudan of its contributions to the African Union in a timely manner, taking into account the unilateral sanctions imposed on it, and URGES the AU to spare no effort in favour of lifting these sanctions;
  iii) the Commission to constantly update the status of contributions and arrears received and to inform regularly the Member States concerned inviting them to fulfil their obligations;
  iv) the Commission to review the status of contribution to reflect new contributions that would have been received to the account of the Union, before the opening of January 2015 Sessions of the Executive Council and the Assembly.
  31. COMMENDS the Republic of Sudan for its commitment to the African Union by paying USD 6,000,000 in cash to the Commission in Addis Ababa despite the unjust unilateral sanctions imposed on it;
  32. REQUESTS the Ad hoc Ministerial Committee on the Scale of Assessment:
  i) to accelerate the process of revision of the scale of contributions of the Member States, taking into account the best international practices and on the basis of the principles of equity and ability to pay;
  ii) to study the possibility of increasing the number of the major contributors from 5-10 on the basis of the principle of ability to pay.
  E. ON HEADQUARTERS AND HOST AGREEMENTS - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)x
  33. EXPRESSES its appreciation to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, for its commitment as the Host Country, for extending the necessary privileges, facilities and immunities to the African Union and its Member States, in accordance with the Agreement between the African Union and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on the Headquarters of the African Union (Headquarters Agreement);
  i) the Host Country to continue to ensure the effective discharge of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement;
  ii) the Commission, its staff members and the Member States of the African Union to respect the laws of the host country in accordance with the Headquarters Agreement.
  i) the Host Country to conduct an investigation into the complaint submitted by the State of Eritrea on the alleged violation of the privileges and immunities of its Permanent Representative and his spouse at Bole International Airport on 14 May 2014, and report back to the Sub- Committee before June 2015 and the Commission to submit its report on the incident to the Sub-Committee before June 2015;
  ii) the Host Country to look into modalities for effecting legal money transfer, foreign exchange and remittances;
  iii) Member States, the Commission and its staff members to respect the laws of the host country in accordance with the Headquarters Agreement.
  36. INVITES both the Commission and the Host Country to continue to engage with a view to ensuring mutual implementation of their respective obligations under the Headquarters Agreement in a predictable manner, and STRESSES the need for the Joint Headquarters Implementation Committee to meet regularly in order to follow-up on the effective implementation of the Headquarters Agreement as well as to resolve outstanding cases;
  i) the Commission to conduct study on Host Agreements with all countries hosting AU Organs, Offices and Institutions and present a comparative analysis of the privileges, facilities and immunities to the Sub-Committee in June 2015;
  ii) the Sub-Committee to consider implementation of Host Agreement between the AU and Member States hosting other AU Organs, Offices and Institutions.
  F. ON THE SPECIAL EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FUND FOR DROUGHT AND FAMINE IN AFRICA - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)xi
  38. WELCOMES the implementation of the Decision EX.CL/Dec.1(XVI) of the Sixteenth Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council by the Commission to expand the mandate of the AU Special Emergency Assistance Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa to include other emergencies and calamities, including public health;
  39. NOTES WITH CONCERN the declining level of the fund and the negative impact on the Sub-Committee’s ability to execute its mandate, CALLS ON Member States to urgently replenish the depleting funds and in addition to provide financial support for sustaining the Fund;
  40. REQUESTS the Commission:
  i) in collaboration with the PRC and its Sub-Committee on SEAF, to convene a Pledging Conference in favour of the Fund;
  ii) to undertake, in cooperation with the PRC and the Sub-Committees on SEAF and on Refugees, the review of the Statute of the Fund with a view to rationalizing the activities and operations of the Sub-Committee on SEAF with those of the Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees, IDPs and in charge of natural disasters.
  G. ON THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON NEPAD -DOC. EX.CL/864(XXVI)ix
  41. REQUESTS the NEPAD Agency, in collaboration with the Commission, to harmonize the activities of the partnerships it undertakes with those of the Sub- Committee on Multilateral Cooperation for greater impact and profitability to the Union;
  42. ENCOURAGES the dynamics of the already well-established interaction between the NEPAD Agency, the Commission, Member States and RECs, in particular through the software of the agency that is under development and through regular meetings with the PRC;
  i) the need for more platforms such as the Dakar Summit on Funding so as to mobilize more resources for NEPAD flagship programmes;
  ii) the need to ensure that the contributions of private entities comply with AU interests.
  44. REQUESTS the NEPAD Agency to work closely with the Commission within the framework of Agenda 2063;
  45. CALLS UPON Member States to make voluntary contributions to NEPAD;
  46. URGES Member States to help those affected by Ebola in strengthening public health systems to enable them to respond effectively to the epidemic.
  H. ON THE REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON AUDIT MATTERS ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF AU ORGANS FOR THE YEAR 2013 - Doc. EX.CL/864(XXVI)iv
  47. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Sub-Committee on Audit Matters in relation to the Financial Statements of the AU Organs for the year 2013 as well as AUC Budget Execution, and ENDORSES the recommendations contained in the AU Board of External Auditors’ Financial Reports relating to the AU Commission (AUC), the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR), the Pan African Parliament (PAP), the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) and the NEPAD Agency (NPCA), and DECIDES as follows:
  i) AU organs and institutions should provide a Matrix on the Implementation Status of Recommendations of the AU Board of External Auditors during consideration of their annual budgets;
  ii) AU organs and institutions should ensure that in the preparation of their annual budgets, the expected funding from partners are confirmed in advance before they are included in the proposed budget;
  iii) The Commission should ensure an effective implementation of the disciplinary system against staff responsible for any wrongdoing in line with the AU Financial and Staff Regulations;
  iv) The Commission should expedite the conclusions of the various on-going reforms including speeding up the Inventory of Fixed Assets and the recruitment process for vacant positions;
  v) The Commission should expedite the development of the Annual Operational Plans based on the AU Strategic Plan 2014-2017;
  vi) The Commission should harmonize and coordinate all internal audit functions of the African Union as enshrined in the Internal Audit Regulations and the Financial Rules and Regulations;
  vii) The Commission should carry out Systems Audit to ensure more efficiency in its operations.
  48. APPEALS to the AU Organs to ensure strict compliance with the AU Rules and Regulations in force;
  49. REQUESTS the AU organs to report on the implementation of this decision during the June/July 2015 AU summit.