LESSON 36 - THE COMMISSION

Hello, thank you for joining me on my YouTube channel. My name is Christiana Sagie. On this channel, I will be teaching about international law and these teachings will be in the form of short weekly lecture series. Over time, I will be surfacing varied concepts of international law. When and where applicable, these concepts will be analyzed and brought to you as it relates to current trends in international law as they arise. At the end of this lecture, you will find the transcript of the lecture in the link below. Also, for current trend and analysis in international law, you can subscribe to my blog. All the details you will find in the comment section below. For the 36th lecture in this lecture series, we will be exploring on the other organ of the AU encapsulated in article 5e of the constitutive act of the AU, the commission. In this lesson, we will be unpacking the structure of the commission, shed some light on how it organizes itself to perform its functions, as well as how it interfaces with other organs of the AU. So, let's begin. What is the commission? Simply, the commission located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is the secretariat of the AU. As an organ of the AU, the commission performs the daily activities of the AU. It is executive and administrative branch of the AU. In terms of its structure, it is comprised of 10 officials, a chairperson and a deputy who are elected by two-thirds majority of the assembly, and eight AU commissioners who are elected by the executive council and appointed by the assembly. The commission is also made up of staff that collaborate with these officials to enhance the function of the commission. The chairperson holds office for four years, with the option of one subsequent renewal. The current chairperson of the commission is Mr. Musa Faki Bahamut of the Republic of Chad, who was reappointed for a second tenure. He is the chief executive officer, legal representative, and chief accounting officer of the commission, and he reports to the executive council. The chairperson also appoints staff of the commission under established regulations. The chairperson basically heads many AU staff. The deputy chairperson, on the other hand, also holds office for four years, with the option of a subsequent renewal. The current deputy chairperson of the commission is Her Royal Highness Dr. Monique Nisambangwa. In this role, she's charged with the administration and finance of the AU, and in assisting the chairperson in running the commission. The eight AU commissioners support the chairperson in running the commission, and have the responsibility to implement all the sessions, policies, and programs relating to their portfolios. And so, the next question is, how does the commission organize to perform its functions? To carry out its mandate of daily performing administrative, executive, and support roles to the other organs of the AU, and in fulfilling its mandate, the commission organizes along departmental lines. Each department within the commission further organizes differently in terms of the number and types of divisions within this department. These departments and divisions within them are tasked with distinct areas of action and responsibilities. Within the commission, the following departments exist. Agriculture, rural development, blue economy, and sustainable environment. Two, economic development, trade, industry, and mining. That's it. Third, education, science, technology, and innovation. We also have infrastructure and energy, also PAPs, political affairs, peace, and security. There is also health, humanitarian affairs, and social development, as well as the bureau of the chairperson and the bureau of the deputy chairperson. The commission, which is a custodian of the constitutive act of the AU, has a wide-reaching responsibility, including providing operational support to all organs of the AU, assisting member states in the implementation of AU programs, promoting and harmonizing AU programs with member states and the regional economic units. In a nutshell, we have surfaced the role of the commission as an organ of the AU, the life wire of the AU, constantly and continuously providing support to other organs of the AU, and strengthening regional integration through assistance in program implementation. We have also highlighted some specific departments within the commission. We would like to have your questions and comments. So, I want to say thank you so very much for joining in. Remember to like, share, subscribe, leave your comments in the comment section below, and hit the notification bell so that you're notified when there's a new video. We would also like to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter. Let us know the content you'd like to see. Thank you.