UNIÃO AFRICANA

AFRICAN UNION	                  UNION AFRICAINE
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA	P. O. Box 3243	Telephone:  517 700	Fax: 5130 36
 	website:  www.au.int

DECISION ON ITEMS PROPOSED BY MEMBER STATES
Doc. Assembly/AU/17(XXV)Add.1-4
Decision No: Assembly/AU/Dec. 572(XXV)

The Assembly,

1.	TAKES NOTE of the Items proposed by Member States and STRESSES the need to strictly observe the rules of procedure regarding submission of items to AU Policy Organs;

A.	On  the  naming  of  African  Union  Garden  under  the  name  of Professor Wangari Maathai - Doc. Assembly/AU/17(XXV)Add.1

2.	RECOGNIZES the importance of environmental conservation and protection, and the need to promote democracy and human rights, and APPRECIATES the contribution made by the late Professor Wangari Maathai to the African Continent and the whole world in supporting these endeavours;

3.	ENDORSES the proposal by the Republic of Congo to name the AU Garden after Professor Wangari Maathai in appreciation by the African Union for her contribution to the African Continent and the whole world;

4.	REQUESTS the Commission to work with the Republic of Congo to ensure the formal naming of the African Union Garden under the name of Professor Wangari Maathai by 2015;

B.	On the outcomes of the Dakar Summit on Higher Education - Doc. Assembly/AU/17(XXV)Add.2

5.	EXPRESSES its high appreciation for the outcomes of the Dakar Summit on Higher Education, including the Declaration on revitalization of Higher Education for Africa’s future;

6.	STRESSES the importance of the revitalization of the Higher Education and its role the realization of AU Agenda 2063;

7.	REQUESTS

i)	the Commission to take lead in building the African common space for higher education and research according to AU Strategy for Harmonization of Higher Education, with a view to promote intra- African academic networking and mobility of teachers and students;

ii)	Member States:

a)	to strengthen their support and investment in higher education in order to develop a critical mass of high level intellectual capital, and promote youth employability through entrepreneurship skills and innovation;

b)	to work towards the elimination of inequalities and the promotion of gender parity in higher education;

c)	to make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in higher education to increase access to and promote quality in higher education;

d)	to align national education strategies with the African Union post 2015 Strategy for Education in Africa.

8.	COMMITS to the establishment of a team of ten Heads of State and Government (two from each geographic region) as African champions of education, science and technology, to meet and report on the status of education, science and technology in Africa, to the AU Summit once a year;

9.	ENDORSES H.E. President Macky Sall of Senegal as the first coordinator of the group champions.

C.	On the state of progress and accelerated implementation of Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.465(XX) on the Establishment of the South-South and Triangular Coalition in support of Africa Post-2015 Development Agenda- Doc. Assembly/AU/17(XXV)Add.3

10.	EXPRESSES its high appreciation for the follow-up actions undertaken by Guinea in the implementation of the Assembly/AU/Dec.465(XX) decision on the establishment of the South-South and Triangular Coalition; and ADOPTS the Concept Note and the new Road Map on its establishment;

11.	REQUESTS the Commission to organize, in collaboration with ECA, UNDP, AfDB, World Bank and the European Union, the Conference of Partners of the Coalition before the end of December 2015;

D.	On the Polio Eradication in Africa: “Our Historic Legacy to Future Generations” - Doc. Assembly/AU/17(XXV) Add.4

12.	EXPRESSES its high appreciation to Nigeria for this worthy initiative and its great achievement in eradicating Polio on its territory in 2014 in line with relevant AU Health policies;

13.	ENCOURAGES all Member States to emulate the best experiences and practices in the eradication of Polio on the continent as an important legacy to leave to Africa’s future generations. In this regard, CALLS ON Member States to allocate adequate resources in the fight against Polio.