The 17th Ordinary African Union Summit was held 28 June 2011 through 1 July 2011 in Malabo, the capital city of the Equatorial Guinea. In addition to the meeting of AU heads of state, the AU summit in Malabo included the 19th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC).
In January 2011, Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s election to the African Union presidency was announced by his predecessor Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika at a heads-of-state summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Under AU rules, the bloc’s political leadership rotates annually between Africa’s five geographic regions. [1] In a resolution adopted at the close of their 16th summit, the heads of State and government said African foreign affairs ministers would meet in the Equatorial Guinea’s capital, Malabo, on 26–27 June 2011. [2] Held under the theme: "Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development", the Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union officially began on Thursday June 23, 2011, with the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC). [3]
Delegates at the summit were accommodated in a purpose built deluxe "city", which according to Human Rights Watch was built at a cost of $830 million, [4] located 20 minutes from Malabo. The complex included "52 luxury presidential villas, a conference hall, artificial beach, luxury hotel and the county's first 18-hole golf course" as well as "a landing strip, heliport, hospital and buildings for banquets and events". NGOs criticised the development, calling it a "misplaced priority" for the government, considering the average income of people in Equatorial Guinea is below $1 a day. [5]
At the invitation of the African Citizens and Diaspora Organization Directorate of the African Union Commission (CIDO), the following organizations had observer status for the 19th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 17th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union: [9]
Held under the theme: "Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development", the Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union began Thursday June 23, 2011, with the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC). The Ambassadors of the AU Member States met 23–24 June 2011 at their 22nd Ordinary Session. There they shared views on the report of the PRC sub-committees, budgetary and financial matters on the draft budget for 2012, and on the status of implementation of the new AU staff regulations and rules. [10]
The 19th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council included Ministers of External Affairs who exchanged views on various reports of the ministerial meetings organised by the AU Commission during the last six months. The Executive Council proceeded to the election of one member of the African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL) and five Members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). [10] During the discussions, Ministers considered reports issued by the following African Union entities:
Heads of States convened from 30 June - 1 July 2011 in Malabo to adopt decisions and recommendations of the 19th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council as well as the declarations of the summit. Presidents also agreed on the date and venue of the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union. [10] Prior to the meeting, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told Bloomberg's Franz Wild of his intention to discuss with the AU delegation from Algeria a timeline for constructing a trans-Sahara pipeline to take natural gas to Europe. [11] Among the decisions reached by African Union leaders was to propose ceasefire talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between the Libyan government and Libyan rebels. [12] The proposal for Libya called for international peace keepers to monitor the cease-fire and asked the United Nations Security Council to lift a freeze on Libyan assets. [13]
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location near both the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2024, the country had a population of 1,795,834, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko. In 2018, the city had a population of approximately 297,000 inhabitants.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is an economic development program of the African Union (AU). NEPAD was adopted by the AU at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. NEPAD aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries.
The Community of Portuguese Language Countries, also known as the Lusophone Community, is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across five continents, where Portuguese is an official language. The CPLP operates as a privileged, multilateral forum for the mutual cooperation of the governments, economies, non-governmental organizations, and peoples of the Lusofonia. The CPLP consists of 9 member states and 33 associate observers, located in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, totaling 38 countries and 4 organizations.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and considering individual complaints of violations of the Charter. This includes investigating human rights violations, creating and approving programs of action towards encouraging human rights, and set up effect communication between them and states to get first hand information on violations of human rights. Although the ACHPR is under a regional government facility, they don't have any actual power and enforcement over laws. This ends up in them drafting up proposals to send up the chain of command to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and they will act accordingly.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent.
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. Seated in Arusha, Tanzania, it is the judicial arm of the AU and one of three regional human rights courts.
The Economic Community of Central African States is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise the standard of living of its populations and maintain economic stability through harmonious cooperation".
The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, is an international human rights instrument established by the African Union that went into effect in 2005. It guarantees comprehensive rights to women including the right to take part in the political process, to social and political equality with men, improved autonomy in their reproductive health decisions, and an end to female genital mutilation. It was adopted by the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2003 in the form of a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
The Second Africa-South America Summit took place in September 2009 on Margarita Island, Venezuela. It aimed to develop South-South Cooperation.
The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union (AU) elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term. It rotates among the continent's five regions.
The United States–Africa Leaders Summit 2014 was an international summit held in Washington D.C. from August 4–6, 2014. Leaders from fifty African states attended the three-day summit, which was hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama. The summit primarily focused on trade, investment and security of the continent. Leaders from 50 of the 54 existing African sovereign nations were invited to attend. After the summit, the White House produced a number of Fact Sheets that summarized major outcomes.
The Africa-South America Summit is a tri-annual bi-continental diplomatic conference between the leading politicians of countries in South America and Africa. It was first held in 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria, followed by iterations in 2009 on Isla Margarita, Venezuela and in 2013 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The 12th African Games, also known as Rabat 2019, were held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in January 2017.
The following lists events that happened during 2011 in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
The African Governance Architecture (AGA) is a mechanism for dialogue between stakeholders that are mandated to promote good governance and bolster democracy in Africa. In the book entitled The African Union Law (Ed. Berger Levrault, 2014, p. 29) Blaise Tchikaya established the link between conceptual platform called AGA and the modernisation of International Law applicable to African states. The AGA is fundamentally one aspect – probably the most significant – of recent international law of governance. Furthermore, it is a key actor in promoting the domestication and implementation of the objectives outlined in the legal and policy pronouncements in the African Union (AU) Shared Values. Established in 2011 AGA is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the AU Headquarters with the AGA Platform Members based Africa wide. In February 2016 the rules of Procedure on how the AGA legally functions were adopted by Member States during the African Union Summit.
Equatorial Guinea and India maintain diplomatic relations.