Article 1
The Purposes of the African Youth Development Alliance are:
To maintain regional peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen Africa peace;
To achieve international co-operation in solving regional problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
Article 2
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
· The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
· All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
· All Members shall settle their regional disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
· All Members shall refrain in their regional relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the African Youth Development Alliance.
· All Members shall give the African Youth Development Alliance every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the African Youth Development Alliance is taking preventive or enforcement action.
· The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the African Youth Development Alliance act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of regional peace and security.
· Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the African Youth Development Alliance to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
Article 3
The original Members of the African Youth Development Alliance shall be the organizations/networks which, having participated in the African Youth Development Alliance Conference on Regional Organization at Abuja, Nigeria, or having previously signed the Declaration by African Youth Development Alliance of 1 August 2003, sign the present Charter and ratify it in accordance with Article 110.
Article 4
1. Membership in the African Youth Development Alliance is open to all other peace-loving Youth Organizations/Networks, which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
2. The admission of any such Youth Organizations/Networks to membership in the African Youth Development Alliance will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council.
Article 5
A Member of the African Youth Development Alliance against which preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Economic and Social Council may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council. The Economic and Social Council may restore the exercise of these rights and privileges.
Article 6
A Member of the African Youth Development Alliance, which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter, may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council
Article 7
There are established; as the principal organs of the African Youth Development Alliance: A General Assembly an Economic and Social Council and a Secretariat.
Such subsidiary organs as may be found necessary may be established in accordance with the present Charter.
Article 8
The African Youth Development Alliance shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.
COMPOSITION
Article 9
The General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance.
Each Member shall have not more than five representatives in the General Assembly.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 10
The General Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters within the scope of the present Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any organs provided for in the present Charter, and, except as provided in Article 12, may make recommendations to the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance or to the Economic and Social Council or to both on any such questions or matters.
Article 11
The General Assembly may consider the general principles of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments, and may make recommendations with regard to such principles to the Members or to the Economic and Social Council or to both.
The General Assembly may discuss any questions relating to the maintenance of regional peace and security brought before it by any Member of the African Youth Development Alliance, or by the Economic and Social Council , or by a state which is not a Member of the African Youth Development Alliance in accordance with Article 35, paragraph 2, and, except as provided in Article 12, may make recommendations with regard to any such questions to the state or states concerned or to the Economic and Social Council or to both. Any such question on which action is necessary shall be referred to the Economic and Social Council by the General Assembly either before or after discussion.
The General Assembly may call the attention of the Economic and Social Council to situations which are likely to endanger regional peace and security.
The powers of the General Assembly set forth in this Article shall not limit the general scope of Article 10.
Article 12
While the Economic and Social Council is exercising in respect of any dispute or situation the functions assigned to it in the present Charter, the General Assembly shall not make any recommendation with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Economic and Social Council so requests.
The Secretary-General, with the consent of the Economic and Social Council , shall notify the General Assembly at each session of any matters relative to the maintenance of regional peace and security which are being dealt with by the Economic and Social Council and shall similarly notify the General Assembly, or the Members of the United Nations if the General Assembly is not in session, immediately the Economic and Social Council ceases to deal with such matters.
Article 13
The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of:
a. promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification;
b. promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
The further responsibilities, functions and powers of the General Assembly with respect to matters mentioned in paragraph 1 (b) above are set forth in Chapters IX and X.
Article 14
Subject to the provisions of Article 12, the General Assembly may recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation, regardless of origin, which it deems likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relations among nations, including situations resulting from a violation of the provisions of the present Charter setting forth the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
The General Assembly shall receive and consider annual and special reports from the Economic and Social Council; these reports shall include an account of the measures that the Economic and Social Council has decided upon or taken to maintain regional peace and security.
The General Assembly shall receive and consider reports from the other organs of the African Youth Development Alliance
Article 16
The General Assembly shall perform such functions with respect to the regional trusteeship system as are assigned to it under Chapters XII and XIII, including the approval of the trusteeship agreements for areas not designated as strategic.
Article 17
The General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization.
The expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by the General Assembly.
The General Assembly shall consider and approve any financial and budgetary arrangements with specialized agencies referred to in Article 57 and shall examine the administrative budgets of such specialized agencies with a view to making recommendations to the agencies concerned.
VOTING
Article 18
Each member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. These questions shall include: recommendations with respect to the maintenance of regional peace and security, the election of the members of the General Assembly, in accordance with paragraph 1 (c) of Article 86, the admission of new Members to the African Youth Development Alliance, the suspension of the rights and privileges of membership, the expulsion of Members, questions relating to the operation of the trusteeship system, and budgetary questions.
Decisions on other questions, including the determination of additional categories of questions to be decided by a two-thirds majority, shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting.
Article 19
A Member of the African Youth Development Alliance which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. The General Assembly may, nevertheless, permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member.
PROCEDURE
Article 20
The General Assembly shall meet in regular annual sessions and in such special sessions as occasion may require. Special sessions shall be convoked by the Secretary-General at the request of the Economic and Social Council or of a majority of the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance.
Article 21
The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It shall elect its President for each session.
Article 22
The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CO-OPERATION
Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the African Youth Development Alliance shall promote:
a. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development;
b. solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Article 56
All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.
Article 57
The various specialized agencies, established by intergovernmental agreement and having wide regional responsibilities, as defined in their basic instruments, in economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related fields, shall be brought into relationship with the African Youth Development Alliance in accordance with the provisions of Article 63.
Such agencies thus brought into relationship with the African Youth Development Alliance are hereinafter referred to as specialized agencies.
Article 58
The Organization shall make recommendations for the co-ordination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies.
Article 59
The Organization shall, where appropriate, initiate negotiations among the states concerned for the creation of any new specialized agencies required for the accomplishment of the purposes set forth in Article 55.
Article 60
Responsibility for the discharge of the functions of the Organization set forth in this Chapter shall be vested in the General Assembly and, under the authority of the General Assembly, in the Economic and Social Council, which shall have for this purpose the powers set forth in Chapter X
Article 61
The Economic and Social Council shall consist of fifty-four Members of the African Youth Development Alliance elected by the General Assembly.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, eighteen members of the Economic and Social Council shall be elected each year for a term of three years. A retiring member shall be eligible for immediate re-election.
At the first election after the increase in the membership of the Economic and Social Council from twenty-seven to fifty-four members, in addition to the members elected in place of the nine members whose term of office expires at the end of that year, twenty-seven additional members shall be elected. Of these twenty-seven additional members, the term of office of nine members so elected shall expire at the end of one year, and of nine other members at the end of two years, in accordance with arrangements made by the General Assembly.
Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one representative.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 62
The Economic and Social Council may make or initiate studies and reports with respect to international economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related matters and may make recommendations with respect to any such matters to the General Assembly to the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance, and to the specialized agencies concerned.
It may make recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
It may prepare draft conventions for submission to the General Assembly, with respect to matters falling within its competence.
It may call, in accordance with the rules prescribed by the African Youth Development Alliance, international conferences on matters falling within its competence.
Article 63
The Economic and Social Council may enter into agreements with any of the agencies referred to in Article 57, defining the terms on which the agency concerned shall be brought into relationship with the African Youth Development Alliance. Such agreements shall be subject to approval by the General Assembly.
It may co-ordinate the activities of the specialized agencies through consultation with and recommendations to such agencies and through recommendations to the General Assembly and to the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance
Article 64
The Economic and Social Council may take appropriate steps to obtain regular reports from the specialized agencies. It may make arrangements with the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance and with the specialized agencies to obtain reports on the steps taken to give effect to its own recommendations and to recommendations on matters falling within its competence made by the General Assembly.
It may communicate its observations on these reports to the General Assembly.
Article 65
The Economic and Social Council may furnish information to the Secretariat and shall assist the Secretariat upon its request.
Article 66
The Economic and Social Council shall perform such functions as fall within its competence in connexion with the carrying out of the recommendations of the General Assembly.
It may, with the approval of the General Assembly, perform services at the request of Members of the African Youth Development Alliance and at the request of specialized agencies.
It shall perform such other functions as are specified elsewhere in the present Charter or as may be assigned to it by the General Assembly.
VOTING
Article 67
Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one vote.
Decisions of the Economic and Social Council shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting.
PROCEDURE
Article 68
The Economic and Social Council shall set up commissions in economic and social fields and for the promotion of human rights, and such other commissions as may be required for the performance of its functions.
Article 69
The Economic and Social Council shall invite any Member of the African Youth Development Alliance to participate, without vote, in its deliberations on any matter of particular concern to that Member.
Article 70
The Economic and Social Council may make arrangements for representatives of the specialized agencies to participate, without vote, in its deliberations and in those of the commissions established by it, and for its representatives to participate in the deliberations of the specialized agencies.
Article 71
The Economic and Social Council may make suitable arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence. Such arrangements may be made with international organizations and, where appropriate, with national organizations after consultation with the Member of the African Youth Development Alliance concerned.
Article 72
The Economic and Social Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method of selecting its President.
The Economic and Social Council shall meet as required in accordance with its rules, which shall include provision for the convening of meetings on the request of a majority of its members.
DECLARATION REGARDING NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES
Article 73
Members of the African Youth Development Alliance which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:
a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses;
b. to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;
c. to further international peace and security;
d. to promote constructive measures of development, to encourage research, and to co-operate with one another and, when and where appropriate, with specialized international bodies with a view to the practical achievement of the social, economic, and scientific purposes set forth in this Article; and
e. to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII and XIII apply.
Article 74
Members of the African Youth Development Alliance also agree that their policy in respect of the territories to which this Chapter applies, no less than in respect of their metropolitan areas, must be based on the general principle of good-neighborliness, due account being taken of the interests and well-being of the rest of the world, in social, economic, and commercial matters.
THE SECRETARIAT
Article 97
The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary-General and such staff as the Organization may require. The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the
Economic and Social Council. He shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organization.
Article 98
The Secretary-General shall act in that capacity in all meetings of the General Assembly, of the
Economic and Social Council and shall perform such other functions as are entrusted to him by these organs. The Secretary-General shall make an annual report to the General Assembly on the work of the Organization.
Article 99
The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the
Economic and Social Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of regional peace and security.
Article 100
In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might reflect on their position as international officials responsible only to the Organization.
Each Member of the African Youth Development Alliance undertakes to respect the exclusively regional character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Article 101
The staff shall be appointed by the Secretary-General under regulations established by the General Assembly.
Appropriate staffs shall be permanently assigned to the Economic and Social Council, and, as required, to other organs of the African Youth Development Alliance. These staffs shall form a part of the Secretariat.
The paramount consideration in the employment of the staff and in the determination of the conditions of service shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard shall be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 102
Every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the African Youth Development Alliance after the present Charter comes into force shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it.
No party to any such treaty or international agreement which has not been registered in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article may invoke that treaty or agreement before any organ of the African Youth Development Alliance.
Article 103
In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the Members of the United Nations under the present Charter and their obligations under any other international agreement, their obligations under the present Charter shall prevail.
Article 104
The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes.
Article 105
The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilment of its purposes.
Representatives of the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance and officials of the Organization shall similarly enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions in connexion with the Organization.
The General Assembly may make recommendations with a view to determining the details of the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article or may propose conventions to the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance for this purpose.
AMENDMENTS
Article 108
Amendments to the present Charter shall come into force for all Members of the African Youth Development Alliance when they have been adopted by a vote of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly and ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by two thirds of the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance.
Article 109
A General Conference of the Members of the African Youth Development Alliance for the purpose of reviewing the present Charter may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a two-thirds vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any nine members of the Economic and Social Council. Each Member of the African Youth Development Alliance shall have one vote in the conference.
Any alteration of the present Charter recommended by a two-thirds vote of the conference shall take effect when ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations including all the permanent members of the Economic and Social Council .
If such a conference has not been held before the tenth annual session of the General Assembly following the coming into force of the present Charter, the proposal to call such a conference shall be placed on the agenda of that session of the General Assembly, and the conference shall be held if so decided by a majority vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any seven members of the Security Council.
RATIFICATION AND SIGNATURE
Article 110
The present Charter shall be ratified by the signatory states in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.
The ratifications shall be deposited with the Government of the Nigeria, which shall notify all the signatory states of each deposit as well as the Secretary-General of the Organization when he has been appointed.
The present Charter shall come into force upon the deposit of ratifications by the ...................................................................................................
and by a majority of the other signatory states. A protocol of the ratifications deposited shall thereupon be drawn up by the Government of the Nigeria which shall communicate copies thereof to all the signatory states.
The states signatory to the present Charter which ratify it after it has come into force will become original Members of the African Youth Development Alliance on the date of the deposit of their respective ratifications.
Article 111
The present Charter, of which the French and English texts are equally authentic, shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the Nigeria. Duly certified copies thereof shall be transmitted by that Government to the Governments of the other signatory states.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the representatives of the Governments of the African Youth Development Alliance have signed the present Charter
