African Union sessions begin as diplomats discuss key reports

African ambassadors, diplomats accredited to the African Union (AU), some AU organs and AU Commission staff today begin the thirty second ordinary session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC). These initial meetings, ahead of the upcoming 27th AU Summit scheduled to take place from July 10 to 18 at the Kigali Convention Center (KCC), are meant to prepare for the higher-level sessions that will follow, said Esther Azaa Tankou, the AUC director of communications. The PRC is scheduled to end Tuesday. The theme of the upcoming Summit is: “2016: African Year of Human Rights, with particular focus on the Rights of Women.” “Throughout, the agenda will be the same. Tomorrow, in the opening, the ambassadors’ level meeting will discuss matters pertaining to the agenda. And then they will later present their report to the ministers,” Tankou said on Saturday. The Ambassadors of AU Member States who constitute the PRC will discuss items on the agenda in preparation for the 27th AU Summit, to be submitted to the Executive Council for adoption. Amb. Hope Tumukunde, Rwandas envoy to Ethiopia and African Union will told The New Times that agendas of the meetings usually mirror each other. Amb. Tumukunde said: “The PRC will prepare for the higher-level meetings of ministers. It will be looking at how ready the key reports are and we shall also look at the budget and if it is ready as per our previous inputs. On the budget, it is the normal budget process; normal budget principles that we follow.” During the Summit, the AU is expected to launch the AU Passport, a flagship project of Africa’s Agenda 2063 with the view to facilitate free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent in order to foster intra-Africa trade, integration and socio-economic development. Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years. African editors meet Mid-week, African editors are scheduled to hold a session organized by the Bureau of the spokesperson and Communications Department on popularization of Agenda 2063 through the African editors forum. Berna Namata, The EastAfrican newspaper’s editor in Kigali will participate and, she told The New Times that the session is timely. Namata said: “I think the roundtable is timely because African media has to be part of the Africa rising narrative. For a long time, the narrative on Africa has been dominated by foreign press. This has to change.” “And it can only be done if the African media become deliberate about it in terms of how they portray Africa as well as challenge stereotypes about the continent. We have the responsibility to improve how Africa is covered.” In June, a two-day meeting of African editors, managing editors, media owners, representatives of journalists’ unions and African media organisations was held in Accra, Ghana. At the time, the more than 30 top level African media personalities agreed on how the media can use its agenda setting role to tell the story of Africa to the continent and internationally. The meeting was organised and sponsored by the State of the Union (SOTU) and Oxfam, with support from the African Media Initiative (AMI) and the AU Commission. Participants reportedly underscored their total commitment to playing their part in the development of the continent through objective reporting and analysis of the AU’s work through Agenda 2063. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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African Union sessions begin as diplomats discuss key reports