Project Notice |
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| PNR | 253 |
| Project Name | Strengthening the capacity of the AU Commission in the field of good governance |
| Project Detail | The AU Commission (AUC) plays an important role in achieving Africa’s governance objectives, including the promotion of human rights. Particularly important in this respect are the Departments of Political Affairs (DPA) and Social Affairs (DSA). In the AUC Strategic Plan (2009 - 2012), activities that support good governance among the AU Member States are titled ‘shared values’, which shows how importantly a common approach in this area is viewed. The DPA, as lead department, and the DSA play a coordinating role. Their wide-ranging tasks include establishing common standards of governance. They do this using legal instruments, such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. The departments are responsible for drafting instruments such as this, and securing their adoption and ratification by Member States. They are also tasked with promoting governance processes in specific areas, such as elections and the fight against corruption. However, due to the limited human resources available in the departments, it is a challenge for them to fulfil their broad mandate. Objective The capacity of the Departments of Political Affairs and Social Affairs to raise standards of democracy, elections and human rights in the AU member states has increased. Approach With advisory services and organisational development, the programme is helping to strengthen the DPA and DSA institutionally. It also promotes processes-oriented strategic planning and budgeting activities. The programme’s activities are mainly concentrated in the following areas: Implementation of AUC institutional reform processes, e.g. the introduction of impact-oriented budget planning and execution Creation of a development platform to ensure the coherence of policies, as part of the African Governance Architecture Ratification, proliferation and implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance Support for capacity building at the Electoral Unit of the AUC to help improve electoral processes in Africa, including reforms of national electoral management bodies Anticorruption measures, especially to support implementation of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and to strengthen the AU Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Setting standards for the elimination of harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, as an aspect of the AUC’s work to promote women’s rights in a multi-faceted human rights agenda. The programme promotes capacity development at the DPA and DSA, in particular through the work of experts seconded from AU member states to the AUC, and it supports the International Conference on the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices. This includes the provision of financing, materials and equipment, and assistance with the integration of the Commission into international networks. The programme helps the Commission to cooperate more closely at different levels with relevant stakeholders, such as other AU bodies, regional economic communities, member states and civil society actors. It also provides support for a long-term planning, implementation and monitoring process. Cooperation will be encouraged to take the form of structured working relationships. Due to the scarce resources at the departments, these relationships will have to be used strategically to achieve the AUC’s good governance goals. Results achieved so far The second African Governance Report, which was produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in cooperation with the DPA, was an early achievement for the programme. Since then, some core processes of the AUC in the field of governance have been initiated. These include the elaboration of the African Governance Architecture and the promotion of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. This was followed by the development of cooperation with key stakeholders, such as Africa’s regional economic communities and representatives of the member states. A strategic plan was recently adopted by the AU Anti-Corruption Advisory Board. A Human Rights Strategy has been drafted, and ‘Shared Values’ has been designated as the theme for Africa in 2012, following the AU Summit in January 2011. As a topic that exists at the interface between governance and peace and security, gender-based violence has now been introduced as an area of cooperation with the Department of Social Affairs. |
| Funded By | Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) |
| Sector | Other Industries |
| Country | Ghana , Western Africa |
| Project Value | Plz Refer Document |
Contact Information |
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| Company Name | German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) |
| Address | Postfach 12 03 22, 53045 Bonn, Germany, Tel: +49 / 228 / 9 95 35-0, Fax: +49 / 228 / 9 95 35-35 00. |
| Web Site | http://www.bmz.de/ |
