PSC/PR/COMM.(DCLXXVIII) Page 2 COMMUNIQUE The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 678th meeting held on 11 April 2017, received a briefing on the prevention of hate crimes and the ideology of genocide in Africa and adopted the following decision: Council: 1. Takes note of the briefings made by the Director of the Department of Political Affairs at the AU Commission, Dr. Khabele Matlosa and by the Executive Secretary of the Rwanda National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, Dr. Bizimana Jean Damascene. Council also takes note of the statements made by the representatives of Ethiopia, in its capacity as an African Member of the United Nations Security Council, the United States of America, the European Union and the United Nations ; 2. Recalls the horror of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and reiterates its commitment to prevent the recurrence of similar mass atrocities, hate crime and ideologies of genocides throughout the African continent. In this context, Council underlines the imperative of early and appropriate responses to credible early warning signs of situations that, if not addressed in a timely and effective manner, could lead to potential genocides. In the same context, Council also underlines the importance of use of clear analysis and proper terminology in order to avoid falling into the problem of denials; 3. Also recalls all international and African instruments on the prevention of genocide, including the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the AU Constitutive Act, the 2006 AU Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Policy Framework and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2150 (2014). Council further recalls Assembly decision Assembly/AU/Dec.501 (XXII), in which the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government declared 2014-2024 as the Madiba Nelson Mandela Decade of Reconciliation. In the same context, Council also recalls the 2000 Report of the International Panel of Eminent Personalities that was appointed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity to investigate the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the surrounding events, which provides a framework of principles, strategies and policies, that, if followed, could create conditions in which genocide will become both, unthinkable and impossible to organize; 4. Acknowledges that deliberate tendencies of discrimination, marginalization, tribalism and manipulation of ethnicity often create conducive conditions for hate crimes and ideologies of genocide to thrive. In this regard, Council urges Member States, which have not yet done so, to establish necessary legal frameworks, in order to prevent violent conflicts, discrimination, hate crimes and genocide. Council also urges Member States to establish effective national