APPLY! To Join AU ECOSOCC 4th Permanent General Assembly

The African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC), which is mandated to actively engage civil society in the processes and work of the Union, will in December 2022 hold the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) elections to constitute its fourth Permanent General Assembly (PGA).

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DEADLINE: June 30th, 2022

The Economic, Social, and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC) was established under the provision of Articles 5 and 22 of the AU Constitutive Act. Its Statutes, adopted by the AU Assembly in July 2004, define it as an advisory organ composed of different social and professional groups of AU Member States.

Under Article 4 of the ECOSOCC Statutes, ECOSOCC is composed of 154 Civil Society Organization (CSOs): two (2) CSOs from each Member State; ten (10) CSOs operating at regional level and eight (8) at continental level, twenty (20) CSOs from the African Diaspora, as defined by the Executive Council and covering the continents of the world; and six (6) CSOs, in ex-officio capacity, nominated by the AU Commission and based on special considerations, in consultation with Member States.

Article 4 (2) provides that the elections for members of ECOSOCC at member state, regional, continental and diaspora levels shall ensure fifty percent (50%) gender equality provided that fifty percent (50 %) of the representatives shall consist of youth between the ages of 18 and 35. Members are elected for a term of four (4) years and may be re-elected only once.

Since its inception, the organ have had three successful General Assembly terms and the tenure of the current Third General Assembly will come to an end in December, 2022.  The decision to open the application process for elections into the 4th Permanent General Assembly from 01st April to 30th June, 2022 was made at a joint ECOSOCC Credentials Committee and African Union Commission (AUC) interdepartmental meeting, held from 21 to 23 March 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia.

The interdepartmental meeting was premised on the Decision of the 40th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council of February 2022, which requested the ECOSOCC Secretariat in collaboration with the relevant departments of the AU Commission to launch the call for applications of the 4th Permanent General Assembly of ECOSOCC during the second quarter of 2022 and ensure strict compliance with eligibility criteria of ECOSOCC membership as provided for in the Statutes of the Organ.

​During the meeting, the Credentials Committee of ECOSOCC and the AUC Interdepartmental Team developed a roadmap for the election of the 4th Permanent General Assembly. The meeting was officially opened by Mr. Diaby Moustapha Mamy, Senior Advisor, ICT and Digital Transformation, in the Cabinet of the AUC Deputy Chairperson who called for the meeting to define an appropriate tech-savvy roadmap for the election of the members of the ECOSOCC PGA.

Consequently, the call for elections for CSOs to take part in the PGA was opened on April 1, 2022 and will close on June 30th, 2022. The ECOSOCC Secretariat will make available to the AU Member States and through social and traditional media, the details of the elections and criteria for CSOs to take part.

The ECOSOCC General Assembly is the highest policy making body of the Organ. Elections into the 4th PGA will be held by virtual means at national, regional and continental levels and the first Ordinary Session of the 4th PGA will be held physically in December 2022. During the First Ordinary Session the 4th General Assembly will elect from amongst the representatives of its members, the Bureau consisting of the Presiding Officer and four Deputy Presiding Officers.

​In order to allow for greater representation of CSOs from the fifty five (55) Member States of the Union and the five (5) Regions of Africa, the ECOSOCC is encouraging the civil society community including but not limited to social groups, professional groups, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, voluntary organizations and cultural organizations to apply for ECOSOCC membership by filling the application form and providing all relevant supporting documents as indicated on the application form.

Applications will be screened by the ECOSOCC Credentials Committee followed  by the AUC Interdepartmental Committee for Verification and Appraisal of Eligibility of candidates and elections will be conducted for qualified candidates in December 2022. The applicants should refer to the application form and ECOSOCC Statutes in order to submit a successful application. Completed application forms with all relevant documents should be sent to the ECOSOCC Secretariat by email via elections.ecosocc@africa-union.org before/or on 30 June 2022.

For all relevant information about elections into the 4th PGA (including the Statues and Code of Compliance) in the various AU working languages visit the AU ECOSOCC website here.