Assembly/AU/11 (XIII) Annex II Page 8   jurisdiction as an essential weapon in the fight against impunity for serious crimes of international concern. They appear to consider the exercise of universal jurisdiction as an important measure of last resort which is necessary to ensure that perpetrators of serious crimes of international concern do not go unpunished whenever the state where the crime has allegedly been committed and the state(s) of nationality of the suspect and victims are manifestly unwilling or unable to prosecute. 2. The independent experts appointed by the EU understand the concern expressed by AU Member States. In their view, however, these concerns should not be overstated. Criminal proceedings initiated against African state officials on the basis of universal jurisdiction represent only a part of the total number of exercises of universal jurisdiction by EU Member States. Proceedings have been instituted or sought against nationals, whether officials or otherwise, from states of most other regions of the world. (e) Recommendations According to the terms of reference, the experts were to make recommendations with a view to fostering better mutual understanding between the AU and EU regarding universal jurisdiction. The following recommendations are addressed to the governments of AU and EU Member States and to the AU and EU institutions, organs and bodies, as appropriate. R1. All states should strive to put an end to impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, and prosecute those responsible for such crimes. States are also legally bound to prosecute treaty crimes, whenever they are parties to such treaties. R2. Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union lays down the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Article 4(h) amounts to a statement that impunity for these crimes is unacceptable to AU Member States. In order to complement Article 4(h), African States should be encouraged to adopt national legislative and other measures aimed at preventing and punishing war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. To this end, the AU Commission should consider preparing model legislation for the implementation of measures of prevention and punishment. R3. To the same end, in accordance with the AU Assembly’s Decision 213(XII) of 4 February 2009, the AU Commission, in consultation with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, should examine the implications of the Court being empowered to try international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Version 31 March 09(FINAL)