PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL 36TH MEETING
2005
Date | 04, August 2005
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
STATEMENT
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 36th Meeting, held on 4 August 2005, reviewed the situation in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in light of the coup d’Etat that took place in that country on 3 August 2005.
Council recalls the decisions on Unconstitutional Changes of Government, adopted by the 35th ordinary of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU, held in Algiers, from 12 to 14 July 1999, and the Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government adopted by the 36th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU, held in Lomé, from 10 to 12 July 2000, as well as the relevant principles of the Constitutive Act of the African Union.
Council firmly condemns the coup d’Etat in Mauritania on 3 August 2005 and demands a prompt restoration of constitutional order. Council welcomes the condemnation made by members of the international community.
In conformity with the Lomé Declaration and Article 30 of the AU Constitutive Act, Council decides to suspend Mauritania’s participation in AU activities until the restoration of constitutional order in the country.
Council further decides to dispatch a Ministerial delegation to Mauritania, in order to reiterate the AU’s position to the perpetrators of the coup d’Etat and to engage them on the modalities for a speedy restoration of constitutional order in the country. Council appeals to the members of the international community to lend their full support to the efforts aimed at restoring constitutional order in Mauritania.
PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL 35TH MEETING
2005
Date | 25 JULY, 2005
ECLARATION ON THE SITUATION IN GUINEA-BISSAU
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 35th meeting, held on 25 July 2005, discussed the prevailing situation in Guinea-Bissau.
The Council firmly condemned the attacks perpetrated by armed elements on civil and military infrastructures on 16 July 2005 in Bissau.
The Council welcomed the efforts deployed by the current Chairperson of the AU, President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as by the ECOWAS. The Council also congratulated President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal for his mediation efforts that brought together the three leading candidates contesting in the first round of the presidential elections held on 19 June 2005, and which resulted in Kumba Yala’s acceptance of the results of the elections, thus helping to reduce tension in Guinea-Bissau.
The Council further expressed delight at the holding of the second round of the presidential elections in a relatively calm atmosphere, on 24 July 2005. The Council urged the candidates to the second round of the elections, namely Joao Bernardo Vieira and Malam Bacai Sanha, and their followers to refrain from any action likely to disturb the electoral process, to accept the results in conformity with the commitments made by both candidates, and to submit all electoral complaints to the appropriate mechanisms.
PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL 25TH MEETING
2005
Date | 25, FEBRUARY 2005
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
COMMUNIQUÉ
COMMUNIQUE OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH MEETING OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its twenty-fifth meeting, held on 25 February 2005, adopted the following decision on the situation in Togo.
Council,
1. Reiterates AU’s strong condemnation of the military coup d’état which took place in Togo and the constitutional modifications intended to legally window dress the coup d’état, as well as its rejection of any election that would be organized under the conditions enunciated by the de facto authorities in Togo;
2. Demands the return to constitutional legality, which entails the resignation of Mr. Faure Gnassingbé and the respect of the provisions of the Togolese Constitution regarding the succession of power;
3. Confirms the suspension of de facto authorities in Togo and their representatives from participation in the activities of all the organs of the African Union until such a time when constitutional legality is restored in the country and requests the Commission to ensure the scrupulous implementation of this measure;
4. Endorses the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on the de facto authorities in Togo and requests all Member States to scrupulously implement these sanctions;
5. Mandates ECOWAS, in close coordination with the current Chairman of the AU and the Chairperson of the Commission, to take all such measures as it deems necessary to restore constitutional legality in Togo within the shortest time;
6. Requests the Chairperson of the Commission to formally contact the United Nations Secretary General and Security Council, the European Union (EU), the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF) and the other AU partners to lend their unflinching support to the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS and the initiatives of African leaders aimed at resolving the crisis resulting from the coup d’état that took place in Togo;
7. Encourages the AU Commission and the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat to agree on a mechanism for monitoring strict compliance with the sanctions against de facto authorities in Togo and to determine the political measures that need to be taken to backstop the stabilization and reconciliation process in Togo once constitutional legality is re-established, including more specifically the holding of free, fair and all inclusive elections. In this respect, Council stresses the primacy of the rule of law and the need for the political leaders of Togo to agree on a consensual management of the transitional period;
8. Decides to remain seized of the situation and to re-examine it in light of new developments and the decisions that may be taken by the de facto authorities in Togo.