EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Eighteenth Ordinary Session January 2011 Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA EX.CL/626(XVIII) Original: English

Transcription

1 AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA P. O. Box 3243 Telephone Fax: Website: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Eighteenth Ordinary Session January 2011 Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA EX.CL/626(XVIII) Original: English REPORT ON THE PROCEDURE FOR THE APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE MINISTERIAL PANEL ON THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION IN JANUARY 2012

2 Page 1 REPORT ON THE PROCEDURE FOR THE APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE MINISTERIAL PANEL ON THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION IN JANUARY 2012 I. INTRODUCTION 1. During the consideration of the draft agenda of the Executive Council in its meeting of 10 January 2010, the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) requested for inclusion on the agenda of the 18 th ordinary Session of the Executive Council an item on the Procedure for the Appointment and Terms of Reference of the Ministerial Panel for the Central Pre-selection Process for the Election of Members of the Commission in January 2012 in order to ensure that consultations are undertaken and the Panel put in place during the January 2011 Executive Council Sessions. This would enable the Panel to review and update the modalities for the election of Members of the Commission taking into account new developments and realities and submit them for consideration and adoption by the Executive Council in July II. BACKGROUND NOTES 2. Prior to the establishment of the African Union and the adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the Policy organs in Durban, South Africa in 2003, the Assistant Secretaries General of the Organization of African unity were elected directly by the Assembly and assigned and re-assigned portfolios by the Secretary General of the OAU. 3. Under the current system prescribed in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, the Executive Council and the Statutes of the Commission, there is a pre-selection exercise undertaken by the Regions, after which the short-listed candidates (two (2) candidates including a woman for each portfolio) are submitted to a Ministerial Panel made up of two ministers per Region, assisted by a team of consultants. 4. Following the adoption of the current Rules of Procedure and Statutes of the Commission in Durban, South Africa in July 2002, the Executive Council put in place the Ministerial Panel envisaged in Article 14 of the Statutes of the Commission. The Ministerial Panel is composed of two (2) Member States per Region assisted by a team of Consultants recommended by the Commission. 5. The panel, in carrying out its mandate for the first elections in 2003, met in Addis Ababa for two days, one day in Pretoria, and two half days in Sun City and one day in Maputo just before the election by Council, preceded by a meeting of the consultants who met for six continuous days. The Panel examined, with the assistance of the team of consultants, all the candidatures submitted by the Regions, taking into account the prior recommendations made by the independent consultants. Thereafter, the panel carried out a short-listing of the candidates on the basis of the two highest scores for men and the two highest scores for women on the eight (8) portfolios.

3 Page 2 6. In preparation for the second elections scheduled for July 2007 and which were deferred by the Assembly to January 2008, the Executive Council meeting in Banjul, The Gambia in July 2006, with a view to addressing difficulties encountered in the process for previous elections for members of the Commission, adopted in July 2007 a decision to establish in conformity with Article 14 of the Statutes of the Commission, the Ministerial Panel composed of two (2) Member States per Region assisted by a team of Consultants to be appointed in consultation with the Commission. The decision, in its paragraph 4, further mandated the Panel to work out the modalities and procedures for the pre-selection, selection and elections of the Members of the Commission and to submit a report and appropriate recommendations thereon to the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in January The first Ministerial Panel established for the purposes of the elections of July 2003 was composed as follows: Central Region: Congo; Burundi Eastern Region: Djibouti; Mauritius Southern Region: Mozambique; South Africa Western Region: Cape Verde; Ghana Northern Region: Algeria; Libya 8. The panel elected South Africa as chairperson. 9. The second Ministerial Panel established for the purposes of the elections of January 2008, was composed as follows: Central Region: Congo; Gabon Eastern Region: Djibouti; Kenya Southern Region: Angola; South Africa Western Region: Benin; Ghana Northern Region: Egypt; Libya 10. The panel elected Ghana as chairperson. III. COMPOSITION AND PROCEDURE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE MINISTERIAL PANEL 11. In accordance with Article 14 of the Statutes of the Commission, a panel made up of Ministers consisting of two (2) representatives per region and assisted by a team of independent consultants shall be established for the central pre-selection exercise. The members of the panel shall be appointed through consultations by the regions.

4 Page 3 IV. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE MINISTERIAL PANEL ON PRE- SELECTION OF CANDIDATES FOR POSTS OF COMMISSIONERS 12. The mandate of the Ministerial Panel shall be to work out the modalities and procedures for the pre-selection, selection and elections of the Members of the Commission and to submit a report and appropriate recommendations thereon to the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in June/July V. COMPOSITION AND TERM OF OFFICE OF THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION 13. Article 40 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly stipulates the term of office of the Members of the Commission shall be for four (4) years. It shall be renewable only once. Therefore, the term of office of the current Members of the Commission will expire in April 2012, since they took office in April It should be noted that members of the Commission who have served for one term will be entitled to stand for re-election for another term of office of four (4) years in January VI. CRITERIA 14. In electing the members of the Commission, due consideration should be given to the following criteria: a) Regional distribution: The regions from which the Chairperson and the deputy Chairperson are appointed shall be entitled to one (1) Commissioner each. All other regions shall be entitled to two (2) Commissioners. Furthermore, the Chairperson and the deputy Chairperson shall not be from the same region. It should be noted that only nationals of Member States are eligible for appointment as Commissioners, provided that no two (2) Commissioners shall be nationals of the same Member State. Therefore, each of the five (5) regions is entitled to two (2) members in the Commission. b) Gender equality: At least one (1) member of the Commission from each region must be a woman. Therefore, the Commission will be composed of five (5) men and five (5) women. c) Qualifications and Experience: the Commissioners shall possess minimum educational qualification not below the first degree, or equivalent from a recognized university. They shall also be competent women or men with proven experience in the relevant field, commensurate leadership qualities and a good track record in government, parliament, international organizations or other relevant sectors of society. d) Age: A minimum age criteria of thirty-five (35) shall apply.

5 Page 4 VII. PORTFOLIOS 15. The Commission is composed of ten (10) Members as follows: one (1) Chairperson, one (1) Deputy Chairperson and eight (8) Commissioners. The portfolios on the basis of which Commissioners will be selected are as follows: a) PEACE AND SECURITY (Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, and Combating Terrorism); b) POLITICAL AFFAIRS (Human Rights, Democracy, Good Governance, Electoral Institutions, Civil Society Organizations, Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons); c) INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY (Energy, Transport, Communications, Infrastructure and Tourism); d) SOCIAL AFFAIRS (Health, Children, Drug Control, Population, Migration, Labour and Employment, Sports and Culture); e) HUMAN RESOURCES, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Education, Information Technology Communication, Youth, Human Resources, Science and Technology); f) TRADE AND INDUSTRY (Trade, Industry, Customs and Immigration Matters); g) RURAL ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE (Rural Economy, Agriculture and Food Security, Livestock, Environment, Water and Natural Resources and Desertification... ); h) ECONOMIC AFFAlRS (Economic Integration, Monetary Affairs, Private Sector Development, Investment and Resource Mobilization). VIII. PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS 16. In the report of the ministerial panel for the central pre-selection process of commissioners that was submitted to the Executive Council in January 2008, the Chairperson of the Team of Consultants stated that in order to address the gaps in the process of pre-selection, following recommendations should be used in future - shortlisting exercises: The Commission should consider designing a standardised format for curriculum vitae from the candidates; The Commission should ensure verification of educational qualifications prior to the appointment of the Commissioners;

6 Page 5 The Panel of Ministers may wish to establish an evaluation of the performance of the incumbent Commissioners who have applied for reconsideration for a further term of office; To improve the selection process, the Panel of Ministers may consider conducting interviews for short-listed candidates. IX. RECOMMENDATIONS 17. The Commission, on the basis of the exchange of views at the level of the PRC, makes the following recommendations: i) The Executive Council should put in place the Ministerial Panel on preselection of candidates for the posts of commissioners during its 18 th Ordinary Session scheduled for January 2011; ii) iii) iv) Request the Ministerial Panel to elaborate the modalities for the election of the Members of the Commission and submit the recommendations for consideration and adoption by the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in July 2011; The Commission should start the process of identification of the team of consultants; and The Executive Council should authorize expenditure for this exercise.