Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XIX) Page 1 SOLEMN DECLARATION ON MALI We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, at our 19 th Ordinary Session, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 15 to 16 July 2012: DEEPLY CONCERNED AND ALARMED by the prevailing situation in Mali; NOTING that the continued occupation of the northern part of Mali by various armed, terrorist and criminal groups poses a serious threat to peace, security and stability in the region and beyond; STRONGLY CONDEMNING the serious violations of human rights perpetrated in the northern part of Mali, as well as the senseless and unacceptable destruction by the armed, terrorist and criminal groups active on the ground of the cultural, spiritual and historical heritage of this region, notably in Timbuktu; DEEPLY CONCERNED by the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the northern part of Mali, and stressing the need for urgent action to allow the delivery of food aid to the affected populations; STRESSING the urgent need to consolidate the transitional institutions established as part of the process towards the return to constitutional order, to enable Mali address the existential challenges facing it and the mobilization of the required international support to this end; EXPRESSING OUR APPRECIATION to ECOWAS, the core countries and the larger international community for their sustained efforts and contribution towards the early resolution of the crisis, and welcoming in this respect the adoption, by the United Nations Security Council, on 5 July 2012, of resolution 2056 (2012); NOTING that the situation in Mali calls into question some of the most basic principles of the AU, notably the respect of the national unity and territorial integrity of Member States, the utter rejection of armed rebellion to further political demands as well as the rejection of terrorism and related criminal activities; REITERATING the terms of all communiqués and decisions of the AU and ECOWAS on the situation in Mali; AFFIRMING OUR DETERMINATION to work collectively to address the prevailing situation and overcome the challenges at hand; AGREE AS FOLLOWS: (a) FULLY ENDORSE communiqué PSC/AHG/COMM/1.(CCCXXVII) adopted by the 327th meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council, held in Addis Ababa, on 14 July 2012, under the chairmanship of H.E. Alassane Dramane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and current Chair of ECOWAS, in his capacity as Chairperson of the PSC for the month of July 2012, which reads as follows: