Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe@onduhungirehe
RULES GOVERNING AFRICAN CANDIDATURES WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
In my posting of Friday, I recalled, in relation to the submission by the AU Chairperson of an African candidate to the position of UN Secretary General (UNSG), that the African Union is governed by the rule of law. This is also true for the AU endorsement of African candidatures within the international system. Here is the historical background and the regulatory framework of this matter:
1. On 18-20 July 1985, the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) adopted, in Addis Ababa,“Resolution [AHG/Res. 144 (XXI)] on the Committee for Nominating an African Candidate for the Post of U.N. Secretary-General”. This Nominating Committee consisted of ten (10) countries, two per each of the five OAU regions;
2. Following the transformation of the OAU into the AU, the 8th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council (Council of Ministers), held in Khartoum on 21 January 2006, established, through Decision EX.CL/213 (VIII), a 15-member “AU Ministerial Committee on Candidatures within the International System”, and adopted its rules of procedures. Rule 3 of this new text broadens the mandate of the old OAU Nominating Committee to “candidatures for elective posts within the United Nations System as well as other International Intergovernmental Organisations”.
3. On the procedure, Rule 11 states that “All candidatures shall be submitted to the Committee, through the AU Commission, […] at least two (2) months prior to the Sessions of the Executive Council, which shall consider them”. In addition, Rule 14 provides that the Ministerial Committee adopts its recommendations on candidatures, for endorsement by the Executive Council. This Council shall then take its decisions “by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States eligible to vote”, as per Rule 33 of its own rules of procedure.
These aforementioned rules are clear and straightforward:
FIRST, all African candidatures to the UN, including for the position of UNSG, must go through the AU Ministerial Committee on Candidatures within the International System. Therefore, any unilateral decision by the AU Chairperson to immediately submit, to the UN Secretariat in New York, an African candidature to the position of UNSG, without going through the Ministerial Committee, is irregular.
SECOND, the Ministerial Committee adopts, after deliberation, its recommendations and submit them to the Executive Council (AU Ministers of Foreign Affairs). The latter shall take its decisions by consensus or by a 2/3 majority of the Member States eligible to vote. In other words, a direct rush to a 24-hour “silence procedure”, through which the AU Chairperson would wish to force a 2/3 “silent” majority endorsing his solo and irregular decision, without any attempt to seek an open discussion and a consensus on the African candidate for the position of UNSG, is also a gross breach of AU rules and regulations.
Thank you.
