WHY AGA
The African Governance Architecture (AGA) is inspired by the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) that expresses the AU’s determination to ‘promote and protect human and people’s rights, consolidate democratic institutions and culture and ensure good governance and the rule of law’. The principle objective is implementation of AU Shared Values and in particular the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG).
Mandate of AGA
The African Governance Architecture (AGA) is inspired by the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) that expresses the AU’s determination to ‘promote and protect human and people’s rights, consolidate democratic institutions and culture and ensure good governance and the rule of law’. This determination is buttressed by related objectives and principles contained in Article 3(g and h) and Article 4(m) of the Act on the promotion, protection and respect for human rights, democratic principles and institutions, and good governance. These ideals are further reinforced by norms, pronouncements, decisions and instruments adopted by the AU in particular the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG).
The mandate of AGA stems from the Decision of the 15th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government (AU/Dec.304 (XV) held in July 2010 which recalled the decision adopted by the 16th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU and endorsed by the 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government to dedicate the theme of the 16th Ordinary Session of the African Assembly to the Shared Values of the AObjectives And Principles of AGAU, that was held in Addis Ababa in 2011 and provided a mandate for putting in place a ‘Pan-African Architecture on Governance’. In order to give effect to the Assembly decision on the Establishment of the Pan-African Governance Architecture, the African Union Commission (AUC) established AGA as a “platform for dialogue between the various stakeholders” who are mandated to promote good governance and strengthen democracy in Africa, in addition to translating the objectives of the legal and policy pronouncements in the AU Shared Values.
Objectives And Principles of AGA
-
Accelerate the ratification, domestication, implementation and monitoring of African Shared values instrument
-
Deepen synergy, coordination, cooperation and harmonisation of shared values instruments among AU organs, institutions and RECs on democracy, governance, human rights and humanitarian affairs.
-
Enhance the capacity of AU organs, institutions and RECs to support Member States to strengthen governance and consolidate democracy through implementation of shared values agenda
-
Enhance popular participation and citizen engagement in attainment of democracy, governance and respect for human and peoples’ rights
-
Coordinate evaluation and reporting on implementation and compliance with AU norms on governance and democracy as envisaged by article 44, 45 and 49 of the ACDEG.
-
Foster dialogue and share comparable lessons on trends, challenges, opportunities and prospects for improving governance and democracy among Member States
-
Generate, manage and disseminate knowledge on African shared values agenda, good governance and democracy in Africa.
-
Facilitate joint engagement and deepen synergy with the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in strategic interventions: preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and post-conflict, reconstruction and development in Africa
The Institutional Framework: The African Governance Platform
In an effort to operationalize AGA, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government affirmed the importance of establishing an African Governance Platform in Assembly/AU/Dec.1 (XVI), a basis for facilitating harmonisation of instruments and coordination of initiatives in governance and democracy. Consequently, the Platform was established as the institutional framework of the AGA, composed of AU Organs, Institutions and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) with a formal mandate for the promotion and sustenance of democracy, governance and human rights in Africa. The Platform serves as a first concentric circle that draws inspiration and inputs from representative of AU Organs, Institutions and RECs and a second circle of continental stakeholders in the private sector, development partners, civil society and the diaspora. The Platform serves as the coordinating arm or catalyst for the achievement of the goals of AGA. In this role, it does not assume or duplicate the functions established by other policy organs, rather it provides a framework for interaction, active engagement, synthesis and convergence.
Workings of The Platform
The Platform offers a flexible and dynamic meeting point that facilitates information flows, exchanges and dialogue; and promotes synergies, mutual complementarity, close coordination, collaboration and concerted action on democratic governance issues. In this capacity, it performs the following specific functions:
-
Coordinate efforts by Platform Members to accelerate the elaboration, popularisation, domestication and reporting of African Shared Values on democracy, elections, governance, human rights and humanitarian assistance across the continent;
-
Facilitate the harmonisation of instruments and coordination of initiatives in governance and democracy amongst Platform Members;
-
Evaluate implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance as envisaged by Article 45(c) of the Charter;
-
Encourage the active participation of African peoples in democratic governance initiatives and programmes;
-
Foster a systematic exchange of information on democracy, governance, elections, human rights and humanitarian assistance across the continent;
-
Create a framework for dialogue and cross-fertilization of ideas and comparable lessons and experiences among the Platform Members and key stakeholders in the promotion of good governance and strengthening of democracy in Africa; and
-
Strengthen the capacity of Platform Members to track compliance and implementation of the AU Shared Values by AU Member States.
The Platform serves as the coordinating arm or catalyst for the achievement of the goals of AGA. In this role, it does not assume or duplicate the functions established by other policy organs, rather it provides a framework for interaction, active engagement, synthesis and convergence amongst them.
The Platform is organised along five clusters and these are:
