MALAWI ATTENDS THE 31ST AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

Malawi is attending the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State & Government of the African Union (AU) which is underway in Nouakchott, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
The 36th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives' Committee (PRC) which began on Monday 25th June and runs up to the 26th June, 2018 has marked the start of the Summit and will be followed by the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council which will run from 28th-29th June, 2018; while the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union will run from 1st - 2nd July, 2018.
Opening the session of the PRC, the Permanent Secretary of the Mauritanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ahmed Mahmoud Ould Soueid'Ahmed, said the challenges facing Africa "require joint efforts, energies and capacity building, to achieve the noble goals set by the founding fathers of the union."
"The sacrifices of these founding fathers compel us to continue the path they have cleared for Africans,"
Pointing out that in recent years, there have been several important milestones, including the advent of the African Continental Free-Trade Area and the Institutional Reform of the AU with a view to achieving sustainable and effective means for funding the African Union.
The Chairperson of the 36th Session of the PRC, Hope Tumukunde, who is Rwanda's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the AU, hailed the decision of the Heads of State and Government to dedicate the Nouakchott Summit to the fight against corruption, as a sustainable pathway to Africa's transformation.
The PRC two-day agenda includes: the review of a number of reports, including that of the joint meeting of the Sub-Committees on Programs and Conferences and the overall supervision of the budget and financial and administrative affairs.
The Committee has already considered other reports as follows:
• The African Court on Human and Peoples Rights;
• The African Union Advisory Board on Corruption;
• The African Union Commission on International Law; and
• The African Committee of Experts on The Rights and Welfare of the Child;
On child rights, the Malawi delegation to the PRC confirmed Malawi Government's committment towards full protection of children rights more so considering the youth constitute the majority of the Malawi population.
The delegation informed that the high court of the Republic of Malawi has invalidated the definition section of Child Care Protection and Justice Act which defined a child as any person under the age of 16 years. The court has held that a child is any person under the age of 18 years.
• The Pan African Parliament
On the Pan African Parliament, the Malawi delegation sought clarification on the dismissal of a Malawian citizen, Mr. Vipya Harawa who worked as Clerk of Parliament of the Pan African Parliament.
In addition, the delegation joined other delegations in calling for full accountability and value for funds contributed by Member States and partners to the African Union.
The 31st African Union Summit is being held under the theme, "Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation".
Apart from reaffirming Africas commitment to tackling corruption, Heads of State and Government are expected to adopt the Annexes to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, (AfCFTA) Agreement which was signed on March 21, 2018 in Kigali.