COMMUNIQUÉ

Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1147th meeting held on 6th April 2023, on the Prevention of the Ideology of Hate, Genocide and Hate Crimes in Africa.

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling all its previous decisions and pronouncements on the prevention of the ideology of hate, genocide and hate crimes in Africa, particularly, Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1088 (2022)] adopted at its 1088th meeting (open session), held on 7 June 2022; Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1084 (2022)] adopted at its 1084th meeting (open session) held on 17 May 2022 and also Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.(CMLXXXIX)] adopted at its 989th meeting (open session), held on 12 April 2021;

Also recalling Articles 4(h),(j) and (o) of the AU Constitutive Act and Aspirations 4 and 5 of Agenda 2063 and; reaffirming the respect for the sanctity of human life as enshrined in the AU Constitutive Act, the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948;

Bearing in mind the fact that Africa is a Continent rich in diversity and value systems and with a complex context of historical, social, economic and political interactions, which requires concerted efforts to promote mutual trust, tolerance and respect, in order to inculcate a culture of peacefully coexistence among its people anchored on values enshrined in Ubuntu;

Noting the opening remarks by H.E. Ambassador Abdelhamid El Gharbi, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tunisia to the African Union (AU) as the Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council for the month of April 2023, and the statement by the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye; also noting the statement by the representative of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E. Ambassador Hope Tumukunde and the Presentation by the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, H.E. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, as well as the statement by the Representative of EU Delegation; and

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:

1. Commends all Member States that have already acceded to all regional, continental and international instruments, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, and encourages Member States that have not yet done so, to also accede to these instruments;

2. Also Commends the UN and all international partners and organizations, including the International Police (INTERPOL), for their efforts and cooperation with Member States in preventing the ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide and in tracking fugitives;

3. Further commends the AU Commission for its efforts in the prevention of the ideology of hate, genocide and hate crimes in Africa; and in this vein, encourages the AU Commission to continue using the African Union Transitional Justice Policy and the Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Policy to promote national reconciliation, justice and Unity in order to comprehensively address all factors that can trigger hate ideology, hate crime and genocide in Africa;

4. Expresses deep concern over, and strongly condemns, the persistent trend and perpetration of the ideologies of hate, hate speech, identity-based conflicts, including religious, inter-ethnic and inter-tribal violence, xenophobia, racism, which collectively constitute drivers of the ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide; and emphasizes the need for Member States to enhance early warning mechanisms and pay more attention to early warning signs of looming inter-tribal or inter-ethnic conflicts and to timeously prevent their escalation;

5. Pays tribute to all victims of genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the ideologies of hate, and hate crimes, and expresses solidarity with all victims of the ideologies of hate, hate crimes and genocide in the Continent;

6. Reiterates its strong condemnation of genocide denialism, justification, and in particular, the trivialization of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, as it threatens perpetuation and its continuation and its manifestations through hate speech and hate crimes; in this regard, once again encourages all Member States to condemn any form of denialism of the Genocide including not allowing denialists any space and or platform for denial activities in their territories; and requests the AU Commission to develop a shared working definition of what constitutes ‘hate speech’ and ‘hate crimes’, in order to enable Member States to enact necessary legislation to combat these scourges;

7. Reiterates the importance of awareness raising campaigns through various media, informal and formal education; and in this vein, encourages Member States to include in their education curricula, the culture of peace, leadership, reconciliation, tolerance of diversity, togetherness, justice and democratic values, as well as to formulate inclusive policies which reflect the diversity of the population in their countries;

8. Re-emphasizes the urgent need for expeditious implementation of all relevant Assembly Decisions, including in particular, the construction of the AU Human Rights Memorial dedicated to the victims of human rights violations in Africa, such as the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, apartheid rule in South Africa, colonialism and the Slave Trade; and encourages Member States to renew their commitments towards the realization of the objectives of the project, with a view to promoting awareness and preventing the recurrence of similar crimes;

9. Underlines the importance of early warning and early response in preventing hate crimes and genocide; and in this regard, underscores the need for the establishment of an African Centre for the Study of Genocide, as well as enhancing/strengthen the institutional capacities of national, regional and Continental early warning systems and mechanisms to ensure that they also include, in their scope, the scourge of ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide;

10. Also underlines the need to consider the Rabat Action Plan as the basis for establishing an Annual African Forum, in coordination with the AU Commission, on the prevention of ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide, which will be an annual forum that will bring together all concerned actors within the framework of Council meetings to address the scourge, as well as all relevant AU instrument for fighting the ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide;

11. Stresses the need to effectively regulate and closely monitor the misuse and abuse of the conventional and non-conventional media and, in this respect, stresses the need for Member States to adopt necessary policies to effectively monitor the media and to promote professionalism, ethical and factual reporting, as well as to effectively prevent the exploitation and abuse of the media for propagating extremist messages that incite hate crimes and genocide;

12. Encourages all Member States, working in close collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), to redouble efforts on prevention strategies that holistically address the root causes and drivers of violent conflicts; and in this regard, underlines the critical role of women and youth, as well as civil society organizations, community, traditional and religious leaders in preventing and combating the scourge of ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide at the community levels;

13. Reaffirms the need for enhanced cooperation amongst the Member States, RECs/RMs and the international community in information sharing, and in preventing and combating the ideology of hate, hate crimes and genocide and, in this context, emphasizes the importance of extradition agreements between and among Member States; also emphasizes the importance of fighting impunity, among others, by bringing to justice all perpetrators of ideologies of hate, hate crimes and genocide, with a view to deterring potential instigators and perpetrators of similar crimes; in this regard, urges all Member States, which have not yet done so, to investigate, arrest, prosecute or extradite the genocide fugitives currently residing in their territories;

14. Requests the Chairperson of the AU Commission to expedite the appointment of an AU Special Envoy on the Prevention of Hate Crimes and the Crime of Genocide, to drive all the pertinent AU agenda on the matter and identify risk indicators of the ideology of hate, genocide, and hate crimes, and ensure timely interventions on the Continent;

15. Looks forward to the holding of the 30th Commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda (Kwibuka30) in April 2023;

16. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS