2 February 2017: The 28th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) addressed the alignment between Africa’s Agenda 2063, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. With a focus on the theme, ‘Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investment in Youth,’ the Summit also discussed opportunities for enhancing the role of young people in development
Addressing the Summit, which convened from 22-31 January 2017, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “we have much to gain from African wisdom, African ideas, African solutions.” He emphasized his openness to ideas on how to strengthen cooperation between the AU and the UN, underscoring the importance of an AU-UN partnership for building sustainable development and promoting peace and security and human rights. While Guterres recognized the need for increased assistance for the AU to tackle conflict and counter-terrorism, he stressed that inclusive and sustainable development is the most effective means of prevention and the surest way to achieve peace. When Guterres returned to New York, he reported that “there will be a total cooperation between the UN and the AU” on implementing and monitoring the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, and said “there will be only one line of reporting.”
The Summit recognized the role of Africa’s young people in the region’s development, with speakers supporting efforts to mainstream youth programs in all socio-economic activities. Participants also discussed the importance of education, training and jobs for youth.
The Summit launched the Africa CDC, to help governments respond to public health emergencies.
On health, the Summit launched a continent-wide public health agency, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which aims to help governments in the region respond to public health emergencies. The Africa CDC will also contribute to surveillance of public health threats and share information with international networks of public health institutions.
The Summit also addressed: the African Peer Review Mechanism’s (APRM) contribution to improved governance; regional integration and trade, including enhanced partnership between the UN and Africa’s eight Regional Economic Communities; and UN peacekeeping operations, among other topics. Among its substantive and procedural decisions: the Summit decided to readmit Morocco into the AU; the Summit elected Alpha Conde, President of Guinea, as the AU Chairperson and Moussa Faki Mahamat as AU Commission (AUC) Chairperson; and the AU, the AU Foundation and Mauritius signed an agreement for Mauritius to host the Inaugural African Economic Platform in March 2017, which will discuss Africa’s development in the context of Agenda 2063. [UN Press Release] [UN Press Release on Secretary-General’s Visit to Africa] [UN Secretary-General Statement] [UN Secretary-General Press Encounter] [Summit Website] [AU News] [AfDB Press Release] [AfDB Press Release on Scaling Up Support for Africa’s Development]