2012 DECLARATION OF THE FIRST GLOBAL AFRICAN DIASPORA SUMMIT

WE, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, the Caribbean and South America RECOGNIZING the important presence of Heads of State and Government from the Caribbean Community, South and Latin America and representatives of the African Diaspora;

EXPRESSING our appreciation to His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma, the Government and People of the Republic of South Africa and the African Union for the warm reception and for hosting and conducting this Summit;

TAKING COGNIZANCE of the dialogue carried out between Africans on the Continent and representatives of the African Diaspora in various regions of the world, including North America, South and Latin America, Europe and elsewhere;

RECALLING the Constitutive Act of the African Union that is guided by a common vision of a united and strong Africa based on a partnership between governments and all segments of society in order to strengthen cohesion and solidarity among its peoples;

RECALLING the struggle of the Founding Fathers and combatants for Panafricanism in Africa as well as in the Diaspora; ALSO RECALLING the Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the

African Union adopted by the First Extra-Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2003, and in particular Article 3(q) which invites the African Diaspora to participate as an important component in the building of the African Union;

FURTHER RECALLING relevant African Union Decisions including Decision EX.CL/Dec. 5 (III) on the Development of the Diaspora Initiative adopted by the Third Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Maputo, Mozambique, in July 2003, Decision EX.CL/Dec. 221 (VII) on the Africa-Diaspora Process adopted by the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in January 2006 and Decision EX.CL/Dec. 406 (XII) on the First African Union Diaspora Ministerial Conference adopted by the Twelfth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January2008 on the modalities for Diaspora participation in the organs and activities of the Union and Decision Ass/AU/Dec.205(XI) adopted by the Eleventh Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in July 2008 on the Africa Diaspora Summit, Decision, Ass/AU/Dec 354 (XVI) of the Sixteen Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2011 on the Roadmap for the Diaspora Summit, including the convening of a Technical Experts meeting in Pretoria, South Africa in February 2011 and Decision Ass/AU/Dec 367 (XVII) of the Seventeenth Ordinary Session of Assembly of the Union on the convening of a second Ministerial Conference on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2011 as well as Decision Assembly/AU/Dec. 393(XVIII) endorsing the outcome and conclusions of the Second Ministerial Conference held in New York in September 2011.

RECALLING the commemoration in 2007 of the bicentennial of the trafficking in Africans, an obligation to remember the legacy of history, particularly the era of slavery and colonialism and the enforced separation of African people as a result of that experience, as well as the Declaration of the United Nations of 2011 as the year of the of people of African descent.

ENDORSING the initiative led by Member States of the African Union, the Caribbean community and other States in the International community for the establishment of a permanent memorial at the United Nations to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade in fulfilment of paragraph 101 of the 2001 Durban Declaration;

EXPRESSING appreciation for contributions made to the voluntary Trust Fund established in this regard;

TAKING INTO account the need to put African history in its proper perspective and harness this towards rebuilding the global African family.

RECOGNIZING the need to build sustainable partnerships between the African continent and the African Diaspora through sustainable dialogue and effective collaboration with governments and peoples of different regions of the World in which the Diaspora populations are located;

COGNIZANT of the fact that culture and identity inform all facets of development;

ACKNOWLEDGING the need to celebrate and preserve the shared heritage between Africa and peoples of African descent in the Diaspora;

BEARING IN MIND that the African Diaspora represents a historical and evolving experience which calls for an approach that is sensitive to the specificities of the different regions;

AFFIRMING the need to promote South-South Cooperation as a framework for enhancing mutual development as well as Pan-African Solidarity;

REAFFIRMING the importance of women and youth as important pillars of our society that should be mainstreamed in all Diaspora discourses and actions;

LAUDING the efforts undertaken thus far to support Africa and African Diaspora process including organizational efforts, measures and strategies pursued by the African Union;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the First and Second Conferences of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora (CIAD I&II) held in Dakar, Senegal and Salvador de Bahia, Brazil in 2004 and 2006 respectively, the outcomes of the First AU-South Africa-Caribbean Conference held in Kingston, Jamaica in 2005 and the various Regional Consultative Conferences held in different regions of the world in 2007 to consolidate the results;

NOTING with appreciation the work of the Ministerial meeting which took place in Midrand, South Africa from 16-18 November 2007 and the Technical Experts meeting held in Pretoria in February 2011 and the second Ministerial Conference held in New York, USA on 24 September 2011as well as the Third Ministerial Conference held in Pretoria, South Africa on 23 May 2012;

CONVINCED of the need to build on these efforts and outcomes as the basis for establishing a solid foundation for the rejuvenation of the global African family as an instrument of wider renaissance;

REALIZING the imperative of a sustained and coordinated approach and ownership of the African Diaspora related programmes and projects so as to promote their effective implementation and impact;

COMMIT to cooperate in the political, economic and social areas outlined in this Programme of Action, and implementation and follow-up modalities.