Assembly/AU/Dec.269(XIV) Rev.1 Page 1 DECISION ON THE PREVENTION OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES OF GOVERNMENT AND STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF THE AFRICAN UNION TO MANAGE SUCH SITUATIONS Doc. Assembly/AU/4(XVI) The Assembly, 1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Prevention of Unconstitutional Changes of Government and the Strengthening of the Capacity of the African Union (AU) to Manage such Situations; 2. RECALLS its previous decisions on the issue of Unconstitutional Changes of Government, particularly Decisions Assembly/AU/Dec. 220(XII) and Assembly/AU/Dec. 253 (XIII) adopted at its Twelfth and Thirteenth Ordinary Sessions held, respectively, in Addis Ababa, from 1 to 4 February 2009, and in Sirte from 1 to 4 July 2009, as well as the Tripoli Declaration on the Elimination of Conflicts in Africa and the Promotion of Sustainable Peace, especially paragraph 8 thereof, adopted by the Special Session of the Assembly of the Union held in Tripoli, Great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, on 31 August 2009; 3. REITERATES the African Union’s total rejection of Unconstitutional Changes of Government, and its determination to put a definitive end to this scourge which undermines the progress achieved in the ongoing democratization processes in the Continent and constitutes a threat to peace and security in Africa. To this end, the Assembly REAFFIRMS the importance of the Algiers Decisions of July 1999, the Declaration on the Framework for an OAU Response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government adopted by the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU held in Lomé, Togo, from 10 to 12 July 2000, as well as the relevant provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council; 4. TAKES NOTE of the initiatives taken by the Commission to follow up on Decision Assembly/AU/Dec. 253 (XIII), including the consultations with the various stakeholders to seek their views on the issue, including the strengthening of coordination with the AU, and the conclusions of the Peace and Security Council Retreat held in Ezulwini, Swaziland, from 17 to 19 December 2009; Adopted by the Fourteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 2 February 2010