Assembly/AU/6(XV) Page 19 88. The double terrorist attack of 11 July 2010 in Kampala, which claimed dozens of innocent victims, underscored the need for greater mobilization of Africa for the prevention and elimination of terrorism. The Commission intends, soon, to present a series of measures intended to increase the effectiveness of African collective action against terrorism. (ii) Maritime Security and Safety 89. The Assembly will recall that, at its 13th Ordinary Session, held in Sirte in July 2009, it expressed serious concern at the mounting insecurity in the maritime spaces around Africa and Somalia, in particular; strongly condemned all illegal activities in these regions; and welcomed the initiatives undertaken by the Commission to develop a comprehensive and coherent strategy to combat these scourges. 90. As a follow-up to this decision, the Commission convened a Workshop on Maritime Security and Safety in Addis Ababa, from 6 to 7 April 2010. The Workshop, which was attended by AU Member States, RECs and other AU institutions, as well as by the UN and other multilateral and bilateral partners, provided an opportunity to review the challenges facing Africa in terms of maritime security and safety. In this respect, emphasis was placed on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU Fishing), dumping of toxic wastes, arms and drugs trafficking, human trafficking, oil bunkering, piracy and armed robbery at sea, etc. 91. Given the importance of this issue to the overall security of the African Continent, the Assembly may wish to lend its support to the conclusions of the Workshop. In particular, the Assembly should call for renewed efforts at national, regional and continental levels to promote maritime security and safety and ensure that Africa takes responsibility and full advantage of its maritime domain, as part of the overall efforts towards the development of the Continent. On its part, the Commission is planning to undertake a series of other activities aimed at raising awareness among the key stakeholders of the Continent, mobilizing the indispensable political will, enhancing capacity at all levels, securing the required resources, as well as building partnerships. A “strategic framework for the security of Africa’s maritime domain” will be developed to these ends. (iii) Unconstitutional changes of Governments 92. Over the past few years, after years of steady progress towards democratization, our Continent has witnessed an unfortunate resurgence of the scourge of coups d’état and other forms of illegal seizures of, or maintenance in, power. Clearly, this trend undermines the ongoing democratization processes and constitutes a serious threat to peace and security on the Continent. 93. It is against this backdrop that the Assembly adopted, in January 2010, a landmark decision enhancing the AU instruments for dealing with unconstitutional changes of Governments. Significantly, this decision articulates a comprehensive approach based on zero tolerance for coups d’état, but also for violations of democratic standards, the persistence and recurrence of which could result in unconstitutional changes of Governments.

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