[This is the version of this document from 17 May 2019.]
THE PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENTCONSIDERING Article 17 (1) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union on the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent;CONSIDERING ALSO Article 3 of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Pan-African Parliament, and Rule 4 (a) of the Rules of Procedure of the Pan-African Parliament, which empower the PAP to inter alia to facilitate the implementation of policies, objectives and programmes of the African Union and to oversee their effective implementation;RECALLING the African Union Charter for African Cultural Renaissance (2006); the Universal Declaration of Principles of International Cultural Co-operation; the Pan-African Cultural Manifesto of Algiers; the Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage; the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions; and the Decision of OAU Summit on the establishment of the African Academy of Languages (2006);RECALLING ALSO the African Union Agenda 2063, adopted by the AU Assembly in 2015, specifically its Aspiration 5, which envisages ‘an Africa with a Strong Cultural Identity, Common Heritage, Values and Ethics’ and its goal for a fully entrenched Africanism;CONVINCED that arts, culture and heritage are the pillars to build a strong African cultural identity and renaissance;CONVINCED FURTHER that culture, heritage including the African creative economy if developed, and promoted can provide a potential and strong contribution to the economy of the continent;NOTING the presentation on the Ratification and Implementation of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance made to the Second Ordinary Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament in May 2019;DEEPLY CONCERNED by the slow pace of ratification and implementation of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance adopted by Summit of Heads of States of the African Union in Khartoum, Sudan on the 24th January 2006;IN ACCORDANCE WITH Rule 5 (d) of the Rules of Procedures of the PAP, which authorizes the PAP to make recommendations and formulate resolutions on any matter relating to the African Union and its organs, Regional Economic Communities and their respective organs, Member States and their organs and institutions;NOW HEREBY RECOMMENDS TO:1.The African Union Member States that have not yet ratified the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance:(i)Accelerate their processes of ratification of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance to ensure that it enters into force before the end of 2019;(ii)Commence implementation of the Charter after its ratification through the Charter’s Implementation Guide in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC); Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Pan-African Cultural Institutions and other stakeholders;(iii)In collaboration with the African Union Commission and the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance Champion Member States, carry out national campaigns on the importance of the ratification of this continental policy instrument.2.The National Parliaments to continue advocating for the acceleration of the ratification processes of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance at national and constituency levels;3.The Pan-African Parliament and the African Union Commission (AUC) to develop a framework to guide the collaboration with National Parliaments in the monitoring and evaluating progress of the ratification and implementation of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance.Adopted at Midrand, Republic of South Africa on 17 May 2019
