Assembly/AU/11 (XIII) Annex II Page 3   INTRODUCTION Background 1. The decision of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) on the Report of the Commission on the Abuse of Universal Jurisdiction2 on 1 July 2008 in Sharm el Sheik requested, among other things, the Chairperson of the AU Commission urgently to arrange a meeting between the African Union and the European Union (EU) to discuss the issue of the exercise of universal jurisdiction by European states, with a view to finding a lasting solution to concerns expressed by the African side. Consequently, the 10th and 11th meetings of the AU-EU Ministerial Troika3 addressed the issue of universal jurisdiction in the context of the relationship between the AU and EU. 2. In the words of the Joint Communiqué issued at the close of the 11th AU-EU Ministerial Troika meeting, ‘Ministers discussed and underlined the necessity to fight impunity in the framework of international law to ensure that individuals who commit grave offences such as war crimes and crimes against humanity are brought to justice. The African side stated that there are abusive applications of the principle which could endanger international law and expressed concerns over it. The EU took note of the African concern notably as expressed at the AU summit in Sharm el Sheik. The two parties recognized that the issue has negative consequences for the relationship between the EU and the African side. Ministers agreed to continue discussions on the issue and to set up a technical ad hoc expert group to clarify the respective understanding on the African and EU side on the principle of universal jurisdiction, and to report to the next Ministerial Troika meeting, with a preliminary report to be submitted before the end of January 2009.’ 3. An advisory Technical Ad hoc Expert Group was constituted by both the AU and EU in January 2009 to inform AU-EU discussions on the principle of universal jurisdiction, in particular by assisting in clarifying their respective understandings of the principle, and to prepare a report for the attention of the 12th meeting of the AU-EU Ministerial Troika, to take place at the end of April 2009.                                                              2 3 Decision Assembly/AU/Dec. 199(XI), 1 July 2008. The meetings were held on 16 September 2008 (Brussels) and 20-21 November 2008 (Addis Ababa) respectively. Version 31 March 09(FINAL)