IV Africa
| Author | Rachel Murray |
| Published date | 01 June 2001 |
| Date | 01 June 2001 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/092405190101900208 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
NQHR2/2001
nothingmore than a political declaration, it wouldbe quite ironical (and brave) if the Court
of Justice would rule in a British case that the rights laid down in the EU Charter might be
relied upon within the EU context.
IVAFRICA
RachelMurray
A.
The
Organization of African Unity
The Council of Ministers held its 73'd OrdinarySession in Tripoli, Libya, 24-26 February
2001.The Reportof the session1notedthe openingstatementgiven by ColonelGhaddafi and
the response by Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Namibia. Dr.
Salim AhmedSalim, Secretary General of the OAU, also gave an address to the session
noting the worryingfinancial situationof the OAU and that there had been a trend towards
fewerStateshonouringtheir obligations. He alsonoted the politicalsituation inAfrica, citing
the signing of the agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea as one important recent
development. TheSecretaryGeneral alsoexpressed hisconcernabout the Republicof Guinea
and the conflictin Sierra Leone. In its decisionon the Democratic Republic of Congo' the
Councilcondemned the assassination of presidentKabila as a violation of the principlesof
the OAU and urged the UN to take steps to ensure deploymentof military observers. In a
decisionon Somalia' the Council welcomed the establishment of a TransitionalAssembly
and the election of Mr. Abdiquassim Salad Hassan as President of the Transitional
Governmentof Somalia.
It
encouragedthe government to collaborate with leaders of the
factions not yet part of the process to ensure nationalreconciliation and for the Secretary
General of the OAU to support this transitional government. The Council also adopted a
decision on Sierra
Leone."
Speecheswere also heard from Mrs. Lalla Ben Barka, DeputyExecutive Secretaryof the
UnitedNations Economic Commission for Africa and the Acting Chairman of the Council,
Mr. Sadok Fayala. The Council considered the Report of the Secretary General.' In this
respect it discussed the situation in Palestineand all delegationsreaffirmed their support to
the Palestinian cause and the need for the Councilto take appropriate action in recognition
of the seriousness of the evolving situation in the MiddleEast. Also discussed was the
situation in the Mano River region where the Council 'condemned the acts
of
violence
perpetratedby the armed groups which had provoked a tragic situation, with thousands of
people trapped in the conflict areas'.
It
urged parties to respect the OAU Convention on
Refugees. In a decision on the ManoRiver Sub-Region" it called for respect of the Geneva
Conventions. Regarding the Comorosit hoped that the agreement signed on 17 February
2001 would be implemented quickly. In its decision' the Council called for a return to
constitutional legality and an all-inclusive process.
On the situationof refugees, theCouncil' expressedalarmat the persistent and worsening
1
2
3
4
S
6
7
202
CMlRpt(LXXIII).
Decisionon the DemocraticRepublic of Congo(ORC),
CMJDec.
573 (LXXIII).
Decisionon Somalia, CM/Dec. 578 (LXXIII).
Decisionon Sierra Leone,
CMJDec.
580 (LXXIII).
Reportof the SecretaryGeneral on the Activitiesof the Organizationfor the period July 2000 to February
2001.
Decisionon the Situation in the Mano River Sub-Region,
CM/Dec.
572 (LXXIII).
Decisionon the Islamic Federal Republicof the Comoros,
CMJDec.
571 (LXXIII).
To continue reading
Request your trial