Assembly/AU/Res.1(XVIII) Page 1 RESOLUTION ON THE DIASPORA Doc. Assembly/AU/14(XVIII) Add.3 The Assembly, Recalling the Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, approved in January 2003 by the 1st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and in particular Article 3(q) of which invites and encourages the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union; Also Recalling Decisions: - Ext/EX/CL/Dec.6 (III) of the Third Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, held in South Africa in 2003, on the Development of the Diaspora Initiative in the African Union; and - EX.CL/Dec.221(VII) of the Seventh Ordinary Session of the Executive Council held in Sirte, Libya, in June/July 2005, on the Definition of the African Diaspora; Further Recalling Decision EX.CL/406(XII) Add.1 by which the Executive Council requested the Commission to conduct an in-depth feasibility study on the idea of having the Diaspora as the sixth region of the Continent as well as develop modalities for Diaspora participation in the organs and activities of the Union; Taking into consideration the Declaration of the 1st Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora held in Dakar from 6 to 9 October 2004, reaffirmed by the 2nd Conference held in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, from 12 to 14 July 2006, by which the intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora subscribed to the idea of making the Diaspora the sixth region of the African Union; Also taking into consideration the proposals of Africans from the Diaspora aimed at assisting the African Union and the Continent, and providing moral and diplomatic support to Diaspora initiatives designed to effectively help the Continent; Convinced of the need to build a solid foundation for reviving the African family in its entirety across the world as an effective instrument to give impetus to the African renaissance; Aware of the need to build lasting partnerships between the African Diaspora and the African continent through sustained dialogue and resilient collaboration with the governments and peoples of different regions of the world, home to the African Diaspora; Desirous of sending a strong signal to all components of the Diaspora and establishing an official mechanism for consultation between Africa and its Diaspora;