Midrand 06 August 2024 - The Executive Director of the Coalition for Dialogue (CoDA) on Africa, Ms. Souad Aden-Osman, met the CEO of the APRM Continental Secretariat, Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre, for the first time since her appointment in February 2024 by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
During the meeting, Ms. Aden-Osman provided a detailed presentation on the work and mandate of CoDA, deliverables in terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into by CoDA and the APRM, including the role the latter can play in stemming Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from the continent. Ms Aden-Osman recalled that IFFs were identified by the United Nations (UN) High Level Panel (HLP) in its report and mentioned the support the APRM can provide at the national level to curb them. Indeed, the APRM’s national structures are regarded as crucial to this endeavour. In accordance with the MoU, the CoDA Secretariat will collaborate with the APRM Continental Secretariat on the implementation of activities in the 44 APRM member-states to reduce IFFs. Moreover, Ms. Aden-Osman expressed her appreciation for the indispensable assistance provided by the APRM and requested the CEO to afford CoDA support for the second phase of implementation activities towards stemming IFFs from the continent.
In her remarks, Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose Quatre thanked Ms Aden-Osman for her visit and her detailed presentation, reaffirmed her commitment to CoDA and pledged continued support.
Both parties agreed that a detailed roadmap will be developed for the full operationalisation of the MoU as well as the identification of areas of urgent attention to collaborate on fighting the scourge of IFFs on the continent.
Note: The recommendations of the HLP (Mbeki Panel) were promptly adopted by African Heads of State at the 24th African Union (AU) Summit in 2015. Following this adoption, a Consortium of African Institutions to stem IFFs from Africa and its technical arm, the IFFs Working Group (IWG), were established to oversee the implementation of the Panel’s recommendations. An Action Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation framework as well as specifically targeted projects have been developed in a bid to enhance a strong coalition for Joint Delivery based on comparative advantages and pooling of resources. The eighteen African institutions in the Consortium, led by H.E Thabo Mbeki and the AU Commission, unanimously agreed to increase ongoing efforts at national, regional and global levels to implement cohesively and report on in a structured manner. They also committed to carry out additional research to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon and strengthen national level interventions. To ensure optimal cooperation and facilitation of the work of the HLP and Consortium, the Secretariats were established within the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) with the support of the AU.
Subsequently, the APRM and CoDA agreed in 2019 to work together to advance the work of the latter on carrying out the second phase of implementation activities on stemming IFFs. As part of it, the APRM will assist in structuring, coordinating, and institutionalizing national responses to the scourge of IFFs. The APRM will further facilitate the work of the CoDA nationally using its national structures in Member States.
The APRM and CoDA signed an MoU in March 2021 to advance efforts to curtail IFFs from African countries. As per the MoU, the APRM will provide support to CoDA on carrying out the second phase of activities on stemming IFFs from the continent. This involves, among others, actions to address IFFs at the national level by building the capacity of AU Member States, including their relevant regulatory institutions as well as advocating for the review of legislation to support the prevention of IFFs.
