Profile: Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC)
PROFILE: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL COUNCIL OF THE AFRICAN UNION (ECOSOCC)
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Contact Details
African Citizens Directorate Organisation (CIDO)
Office of the Chairperson
Commission of the African Union
PO Box 3243
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251-1-517700/513822
Fax: +251-1-519321
Website: www.africa-union.org
Member States
In accordance with Article 4 of the Constitutive Act Establishing the African Union (AU), the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) is an Organ of the Union. Different to other structures that are established through legal binding protocols or treaties, the Statutes that establish ECOSOCC were adopted by the Assembly of the Union at its Third Ordinary Meeting in July 2004. AU member states are as follows:
- Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, The Comoros, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Background
The Constitutive Act of the AU lists as one of its objectives: “…to build a partnership between governments and all segments of civil society… promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance… [and] participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union.” There are essentially three vehicles for CSO engagement with the Union, namely accreditation to the AU, representation on ECOSOCC and through the Pan-African Parliament, being comprised of members of parliament as representatives of the people.
Article 22 of the AU Constitutive Act provides for ECOSOCC as “an advisory organ composed of different social and professional groups of the member states of the union”, and that the functions, powers, composition and organization of the Council are to be determined by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Following various consultations, the ECOSOCC statutes was subsequently adopted by the Assembly at the Third Ordinary Session in July 2004, Addis Ababa and the ECOSOCC Interim General Assembly launched in March 2005 in Addis Ababa. The Assembly has adopted its own Rules of Procedure.
ECOSOCC was established to give effect to the commitment by the AU to enhance the participation of African civil society in the implementation of the policies and programmes of the Union, including those to promote and defend a culture of good governance, democratic principles and institutions, popular participation, human rights and freedoms as well as social justice.
As a result it includes a Peace and Security and a Political Affairs Sectoral Committee as two of ten cluster committees, as well as committees on Woman/Gender and a Cross-Cutting Programme. These Committees are envisioned as the key operational mechanisms of ECOSOCC to formulate opinions and provide inputs into the policies and programmes of the African Union.
Objectives and Functions
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ECOSOCC was established with the following objectives in mind:
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- Promote continuous dialogue between all segments of the African people on issues concerning Africa and its future;
- Forge strong partnerships between governments and all segments of the civil society, in particular women, the youth, children, the Diaspora, organized labour, the private sector and professional groups;
- Promote the participation of African civil society in the implementation of the policies and programmes of the Union.
- Support policies and programmes that will promote peace, security and stability in Africa, and foster development and integration of the continent;
- Promote and defend a culture of good governance, democratic principles and institutions, popular participation, human rights and freedoms as well as social justice;
- Promote, advocate and defend a culture of gender equality;
- Promote and strengthen the institutional, human and operational capacities of the African civil society.
In terms of Article 7, ECOSOCC assumes the following functions:
- Contribute, through advise, to the effective translation of the objectives, principles and policies of the Union into concrete programmes, as well as the evaluation of these programmes;
- Undertake studies that are recommended or deemed necessary by any other organ of the Union and submit recommendations accordingly;
- Carry out other studies as it deems necessary and submit recommendations as appropriate;
- Contribute to the promotion of popularization, popular participation, sharing of best practices and expertise, and to the realization of the vision and objectives of the Union;
- Contribute to the promotion of human rights, the rule of law, good governance, democratic principles, gender equality and child rights;
- Promote and support efforts of institutions engaged in review of the future of Africa and forge Pan-African values in order to enhance an African social model and way of life;
- Foster and consolidate partnership between the Union and CSOs through effective public enlightment, mobilization and feedback on the activities of the Union;
- Assume such other functions as may be assigned to it.
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Structure
Composition
The following civil society organisations are invited to join ECOSOCC: social groups such as those representing women, children, the youth, the elderly and people with disability and special needs; professional groups such as associations of artists, engineers, health practitioners, social workers, media, teachers, sport associations, legal professionals, social scientists, academia, business organisations, national chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture as well as other private sector interest groups; Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and voluntary organisations; and cultural organisations and associations.
ECOSOCC must also include social and professional groups in the African Diaspora in accordance with the definition approved by the Executive Council Meeting in Sirté, Libya in June 2005:
"The African Diaspora consists of peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union".
Membership consists of 150 CSOs, each with a 4 year mandate and may be re-elected only once. These are:
- Two CSOs from each AU Member State following an appropriate national consultation process.
- Ten CSOs operating at regional level and 8 at continental level following an appropriate consultative process to determine modalities.
- Twenty CSOs elected from the African Diaspora as defined by the Executive Council, covering the various continents of the world following an appropriate process for determining modalities;
- Six CSOs in ex-officio capacity, nominated by the Commission based on special considerations and appropriate criteria, in consultation with Member States.
With the exception of the CSOs nominated by the Commission, representation must ensure fifty percent (50%) gender equality and fifty percent (50%) of the representatives must be between the ages of 18 to 35.
Structure
The key ECOSOCC structures consist of:
- A General Assembly;
- A Standing Committee;
- Ten Sectoral Cluster Committees;
- A Credentials Committee; and
- The secretariat, housed within the AU Commission.
Figure 1: ECOSOCC General Assembly
The General Assembly – the highest decision and policy-making body of the Council, consists of all members of ECOSOCC. The Assembly meets once every two years in general session and may also convene extraordinary sessions. The functions of the Assembly are as follows:
- Elect the 18 members of the Standing Committee for a term of two years and oversee its work;
- Elect a Bureau composed of a Presiding Officer and five Deputy Presiding Officers for a term of office of two years on the basis of equitable geographical distribution and rotation, including one from the Diaspora
- Prepare and submit advisory opinions and reports as appropriate;
- Submit proposals on the budget and activities of ECOSOCC;
- Approve and amend the Code of Ethics and Conduct for CSOs affiliated to or working with the Union;
- Review the activities of ECOSOCC and propose appropriate actions and recommendations.
The Standing Committee runs ECOSOCC in between sessions of the General Assembly, consisting of the Presiding Officer and the other members of the Bureau, the Chairpersons of the ten Sectoral Cluster Committees and two representatives of the AU Commission. The functions of the Committee are to:
- Coordinate the work of ECOSOCC;
- Prepare the meetings of the General Assembly;
- Follow-up on the implementation of the Code of Ethics and Conduct developed for civil society organisations affiliated to or working with the Union.
- Prepare and submit annual reports of ECOSOCC to the Assembly of the Union.
- To determine the criteria and modalities for granting observer status to ECOSOCC in consultation with the AU Commission.
Figure 2: ECOSOCC Structure
Ten Sectoral Cluster Committees are the key operational mechanisms of ECOSOCC to formulate opinions and provide inputs into the policies and programmes of the AU:
- Peace and Security: (Conflict Anticipation; prevention; management and resolution; post-conflict reconstruction and peace building; prevention and combating of terrorism; use of child soldiers; drug trafficking; illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons and security reforms, etc).
- Political Affairs: (Human Rights; Rule of Law; Democratic and Constitutional Rule, Good Governance; Power Sharing; Electoral Institutions; Humanitarian Affairs and assistance, etc).
- Infrastructure and Energy.
- Social Affairs and Health.
- Human Resources, Science and Technology.
- Trade and Industry.
- Rural Economy and Agriculture.
- Economic Affairs.
- Women and Gender.
- Cross-Cutting Programmes.
Membership will be examined by a Credentials Committee, established by the General Assembly, and composed of the following:
- One CSO representative from each of Africa’s five regions;
- One CSO representative from the African Diaspora;
- One nominated representative for special interest groups such as vulnerable groups, the aged, the physically challenged and people living with HIV/AIDS; and
- Two representatives of the Commission.
The Secretariat services for ECOSOCC is provided by the African Citizens Directorate Organization (CIDO) within the office of the Chairperson of the African Union.
Key persons within ECOSOCC are as follows:
- Dr Jimni Adisa, Principal Coordinator
- Others
Membership Requirements
ECOSOCC membership requirements are as follows:
- Be national, regional, continental or African Diaspora CSO, without restriction to undertake regional or international activities.
- Have objectives and principles that are consistent with the principles and objectives of the Union as set out in Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitutive Act.
- Be registered in a Member State of the Union and/or meet the conditions set out in Part I of the Criteria for Granting Observer Status to the AU applicable to non-governmental organisations;
- Show a minimum of three (3) years proof of registration as either an African or an African Diaspora CSO prior to the date of submission of application, including proof of operations for those years.
- Provide annual audit statements by an independent auditing company.
- Show proof that the ownership and management of the CSO is made up of not less than fifty (50%) of Africans or peoples of African origin.
- Provide information on funding sources in the preceding three (3) years.
- For regional and continental CSOs, show proof of activities that engage or are operative in at least three (3) Member States of the Union.
- CSOs that discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, tribe, ethnic, racial or political basis shall be barred from representation to ECOSOCC;
- Adherence to a Code of Ethics and Conduct for civil society organisations affiliated to or working with the Union.
Budget
The regular budget of ECOSOCC is an integral part of that of the Union. It may also raise funds from external sources.
Peace and Security
CIDO has held three meetings to determine the modalities and ways through which civil society organisations can support the work of ECOSOCC as regards peace and security matters. These are as follows:
- Accra, Ghana, 29-31 August 2005, hosted by the African Security, Dialogue and Research (ASDR) centre
- Abuja, Nigeria meeting of 5-7 April 2006 hosted by the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF).
- Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, 28 -30 October 2006, hosted by the Africa Centre for Peace & Development (ACPD)
CIDO is currently in the process to identify around 50 NGOs and commission a consultant to work out the working procedures that should regulate the interactions between the CSOs and the AU. The process envisages hosting a meeting at which the identified CSOs meet, early in 2007 to begin concretizing the framework for providing research and analytical support from CSOs directly into the AU structures.
