ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, August 25, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Department of Political Affairs (DPA) of the African Union Commission (AUC) held a retreat on the preparations for the Year of Shared Values of the AU in Nazareth on 22-24 August 2011. The retreat comprised participants from AUC, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) , The Governance and Public Administration Division of Economic Commission of Africa (ECA-GPAD), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), All Africa Ministerial Conference on Decentralization and Local Development (AMCOD), Conference of African Ministers of Public Service Secretariat (CAMPS Secretariat), the Department for International Development (DFID), The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA), and experts.
The main recommendations from the meeting are as follows:
• The adopted log frame and work plan for the year of Shared Values should be finalized by DPA-AUC and circulated to stakeholders.
• DPA-AUC should assume primary responsibility of coordination and coherence.
• DPA-AUC to designate focal points to sustain communications and ensure coordination with partners and other stakeholders.
• DPA-AUC to submit bi-monthly progress reports on implementation of the work plan beginning September 2011.
• Different constituencies across the continent will be mobilized in support of the Shared Values agenda.
• DPA-AUC to organize wider consultations with AU organs and institutions, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and other stakeholders on Shared Values in November 2011.
• In support of Shared Values agenda, particularly for the Year of Shared Values, partners should provide resources specifically for realizing outputs and outcomes.
• UN Agencies through the Governance Cluster to mobilize support towards the implementation of the Year of Shared Values.
• DPA-AUC and key partners to undertake quarterly reviews of implementation of the work plan. An interdepartmental steering committee within AUC on Shared Values should be established.
At the workshop's closing ceremony, Dr. Mamadou Dia, Head of the Division of Governance, Human Rights and Elections (DGHRE) at the AUC said “collective responsibility to everybody in our society will be informed and shaped by how much we together construct a sense of common identity and destiny based on the re-affirmation of our very own cherished African values fully entrenched within the ethos of democracy and governance.
He noted that the expected outcomes of the meeting have been achieved by finalising the consultations and logframe for the year of Shared Values.
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
