AU representatives committee starts session

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 23, 2004 (PANA) — The Permanent
Representatives Committee (PRC) of the African Union
Wednesday began its eighth ordinary session here to
pave the way for the third ordinary summit of the
AU due to be held 6-8 July in the Ethiopian capital.

During the four-day session, the PRC will discuss the
status of implementation of the decisions passed by
African heads of state and government at the second
ordinary summit held July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique.

The committee’s wide ranging agenda includes
consideration of reports of AU Commission Chairperson
Alpha Oumar Konare on various activities undertaken
over the past year and the Commission’s proposed
budget for 2005.

Recommendations of a group of experts on alternative
sources of funding of the AU and a report on regular
contributions by member States will also be considered
during the session.

The committee’s rules of procedure do not allow access
to its sessions.

On economic and political matters, the PRC will
consider, among other issues, the report on the
activities undertaken to launch a Unified Numbering
Space of Telecommunications in Africa, the report of
the African Civil Aviation Commission and the report
of the meeting of experts on elections, democracy and
governance in Africa.

The PRC will thrash out the agenda for the fifth
ordinary session of the AU Executive Council, which is
due to be held here from 30 June to 3 July.

On the sidelines of the AU summit, African first
ladies will meet at the UN Conference Centre to
discuss issues affecting women’s progress on the
continent, with a particular focus on the HIV/AIDS
pandemic, AU sources confirmed.