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The Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), the civil society advisory organ of the African Union, has unveiled its year-long plans to commemorate its 20th anniversary of fostering citizens’ engagement within the work of the Union. The ECOSOCC Team addressing the press on the planned ECOSOCC@20 in Accra, Ghana Established…

Raila Odinga’s bid to chair the African Union Commission (AUC) received a significant boost on Friday [March 15] as African foreign ministers dismissed the “rotational gender” requirement, which implies that Odinga’s candidacy remains on track unless he is disqualified during the vetting process. The 55 foreign ministers convened in Addis…

The African Union (AU) heads of state ratified a motion proposing a 15-year ban on the donkey skin trade on February 18 which could go a long way in protecting African donkeys, but there is no timeline or mandate that requires African countries to implement the new regulation.  Doubt and pessimism cloud…

Migration experts at a recent webinar by the African Union Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), have dispelled the notion of securitization of migration, arguing that the fears are more imagined than real. Migration governance experts at a recent webinar on balancing…

Research findings on African migration governance by the New South Institute’s (NSI) Migration Governance Reform Project (MIGRA) reveal new patterns and realities as well as dispelling long-held myths and prejudices about migration in Africa.      The Johannesburg-based New South Institute (NSI) is a think-tank which provides evidence-based policy and applied…

Rwanda exported its first consignment of goods to Ghana, on September 30, 2022, under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Guided Trade Initiative aimed to kick off commercially meaningful trade across the continent.     The first AfCFTA Certificate of Origin for Rwanda was issued to Igire Coffee –…

Africa faces numerous security threats, from terrorism and insurgencies to political instability and transnational crime, hence the necessity for African countries to come together to create a peaceful and prosperous continent as envisioned by the African Union’s Agenda 2063.     Africa’s security issues are both complex and complicated! Therefore,…

Last week, the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) held the third edition of its National Dialogue Series (NDS) on the Free Movement Protocol (FMP), to create awareness and accelerate the ratification of the Protocol in Nairobi, Kenya.     The National Dialogue Series (NDS) is being held…

In May, the African Union (AU) Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmBH hosted the second edition of their National Dialogue Series (NDS) on the AU Free Movement Protocol (FMP) in Port-Louis, Mauritius.     Migration in Africa is synonymous with…

The now-defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was relaunched as the African Union (AU) in 2002, was created by a charter signed by 32 heads of independent African states on May 25, 1963, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.     While Article I of the Charter says the OAU shall…