PSC/PR/BR.(CDXXXII)
Page 3
PSC/MIN/BR.1 (CCLXXV) adopted at its 275th meeting held on 26 April 2010, and
accordingly:
a)
called all AU Member States that have not already done so, to sign ratify and
domesticate the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, as well as
other related instruments, and reiterated the need for AU Member States to uphold
the rule of law and abide by their own constitutions, especially with regard to
constitutional reforms, bearing in mind that failure to respect these provisions often
lead to situations of tension with serious political and security imputation; which, in
turn, could trigger political crises;
b)
requested the Commission to collect the Constitutions of the all AU Member States
for reference and ultimate study, subject to the availability of funds in order to
identify inconsistencies with good governance and standard constitutionalism and
therefore constitute a potent threat to social order, peace and stability;
c)
agreed on the need for the Council to fully exercise the powers granted to it under
Article 7 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the PSC, which stipulates
that this body, in collaboration with the Chairperson of the Commission, shall
“follow-up, within the framework of its conflict prevention responsibilities, the
progress towards the promotion of democratic practices, good governance, the rule
of law, protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the
sanctity of human life by Member States”;
d)
stressed the need for the AU Member States to redouble their efforts in conflict
prevention and encouraged the Commission make follow-up on the effective
implementation of the recommendations made by the Panel of the Wise in its July
2010 Report on the Strengthening of the Role of the AU in the Prevention,
Management and Resolution of Elections-related tensions and violent conflicts in
Africa considering the fact that differences concerning the conduct of an electoral
process contribute to the occurrence of an unconstitutional change of Government;
e)
underscored the need to enhance efforts at preventive diplomacy, bearing in mind
communiqué PSC/PR/COMM.(CCCLX) adopted by the 360th meeting of Council held
on 22 March 2013.
Council welcomed the recommendations that all relevant AU instruments and provisions on
unconstitutional changes of government spread in various instruments be consolidated into
a single document.
Council agreed, in light of the recurrence of unconstitutional changes of Government and
the difficulties encountered at times in implementing AU’s instruments, to establish a subcommittee to undertake an in-depth review of the existing normative frameworks, with a
view to developing a consolidated AU framework on how to respond to situations of
unconstitutional changes of government and popular uprisings. Such framework should
include recommendations on how best to enhance AU’s efforts. Furthermore, it should
include the appropriate refinement of the definition of unconstitutional changes of
government, in light of the evolving challenges facing the continent, notably those related