Addis Ababa – Angola is committed to the re-election of its candidate for member of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC), the Deputy Attorney General, Pascoal Joaquim.
The commitment was announced by Angola’s permanent representative to the African Union (AU), Ambassador Francisco da Cruz, when speaking to the press Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian.
The diplomat considered the country’s presence at the AUABC as crucial, stating that Angola itself has been focused on crackdown on corruption.
He noted that Angola can share what it is doing with other Member States of the AU and, within this common effort, attack corruption and its effects on governance for the development of the continent.
“That’s why we are doing our best to ensure the re-election of our candidate and continues to do his best and share Angola’s experience at the level of this African Union Advisory Board on Corruption”, he pointed out.
According to the criteria of equal representation of gender and geographic rotation in the bodies and institutions of the AU, there are two vacancies for the Austral Region, to which Angola belongs, one for a female candidate and another for a male candidate.
Two candidates are running from Botswana (Mophutholodi Molatudi and Érica Ndlovu), one from Zambia (Yvonne Diakhate – for re-election) and one from Angola (Pascoal Joaquim – for re-election).
Pascoal Joaquim, a magistrate for about 44 years, is a member of the Committee of Magistrates of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) and of the Superior Council of the Magistracy of the MP. He was elected, for the first time, on February 4, 2021 for a two-year term.
The election of the members of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption is based on the provisions of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combat Corruption, adopted in July, 2003, as well as the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council.
The AUABC is tasked with promoting and encouraging States Parties to adopt and enforce anti-corruption measures with a view to preventing, detecting and eradicating corruption and related offenses in Africa.
It also regularly present a report to the Executive Council on the progress achieved in each State Party in complying with the provisions contained in the Convention.
Return to PSC
The Republic of Angola should return to the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) in March 2024, within the principle of rotation of regional representation.
The Angolan ambassador to Ethiopia, Francisco da Cruz, declared, in Addis Ababa, that the country is preparing, with great care, its return to the AU Peace and Security Council, where it will have the opportunity to, at least twice, chair the PSC for two separate months.
The African Union, which comprises 55 countries, is governed by a commission and its annual rotating presidency, chaired by the Head of State of one of the Member States.
The 36th AU Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will mark the handover of the current presidency from Senegal to Comoros.
Source: Angola Press News Agency