Assembly/AU/Dec.275(XIV) Page 1 DECISION ON THE YEAR OF PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA Doc. Assembly/AU/5(XIV) The Assembly, 1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Year of Peace and Security in Africa; 2. RECALLS the Tripoli Declaration on the Elimination of Conflicts in Africa and the Promotion of Sustainable Peace [SP/Assembly/PS/Decl.(I)], adopted by the Special Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) on the Consideration and Resolution of Conflicts in Africa, held in Tripoli, Great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, on 31 August 2009, in particular paragraph 23 of the Declaration in which the Heads of State and Government decided to proclaim 2010 as the Year of Peace and Security in Africa; 3. FURTHER RECALLS that, while notable gains have been made and the number of violent conflicts on the Continent has been reduced significantly in recent years, nevertheless far too many African countries remain trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict with devastating consequences; 4. UNDERLINES the need for the full operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture, in order to enhance the capacity of the Continent to successfully address the challenges of peace and security; 5. STRESSES that the Year of Peace and Security will be an opportunity for African peoples and leaders, as well as African institutions, in partnership with the international community, to review current efforts towards peace on the Continent, with a view to strengthening them and, where appropriate, launching new initiatives, in particular by: (i) giving added momentum to peace and security efforts on the Continent; (ii) giving greater visibility to past and ongoing efforts by the African Union (AU) on the ground; (iii) speeding up the implementation of commitments made by Member States in various AU instruments relating to peace and security; (iv) making synergies between official efforts to promote peace and security with those being undertaken on the ground by grassroots communities; and (v) mobilizing resources to support peace and security efforts on the Continent. Adopted by the Fourteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 2 February 2010