The Central Organ of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution held its 83^rd Ordinary Session at Ambassadorial level, on Monday, 3 June 2002, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The session was chaired by Ambassador S. Akapelwa, Permanent Representative of Zambia to the OAU.

The Central Organ was briefed by the Secretary General on the situation in the Comoros and Madagascar.� The representative of the Current Chairman provided additional information on the efforts made by the Current Chairman.

At the end of its deliberations, the Central Organ decided as follows:

A)����� On the situation in the Comoros

The Central Organ:

1.                 ExpresseD ITS SATISFACTION at the election of the President of the Union of the Comoros and the President of the Executive of autonomous islands of Anjouan, Grande Comore and Moheli, and the climate of calm and serenity that prevailed throughout the electoral process;

2.                 CONGRATULATED the newly elected authorities, namely Colonel Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of the Comoros, and Colonel Mohamed Bacar, Mze Abdou Soule El Bak and Mr. Mohamed Fazul, Presidents of the autonomous islands of Anjouan, Grande Comore and Moheli, respectively.� The Central Organ CALLED UPON the new elected authorities of the Union of the Comoros, as well as all the other Comorian parties, to continue to demonstrate the spirit of compromise to enable them deal, in unity, with the socio-economic challenges facing the Comoros;

3.                 PAID TRIBUTE to the countries of the Region and the Secretary General for their sustained efforts aimed at maintaining the unity and territorial integrity of the Comoros and assisting in the establishment of a new constitutional order.� The Central Organ EXPRESSED ITS APPRECIATION to the OAU Partners, namely l�Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the League of Arab States, the European Union and the United Nations, for their support to the OAU;

4.                 WELCOMED the assistance provided by the OAU through a generous contribution made by the Republic of South Africa, for humanitarian assistance and the development of the health sector in the Comoros.

5.                 REQUESTED the Secretary General, working closely with the Government of Mauritius, to accelerate the preparations for the convening, as soon as possible, of the Donors Conference on the Comoros;

6.                 WELCOMED the conclusion, on 31 May 2002, of the OAU Military Observer Mission to the Comoros which was deployed to assist the Comorian authorities in ensuring the security of the archipelago during the electoral process, and PAID TRIBUTE to the Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, who were members of the mission, for their work, as well as Member States which contributed to the Mission for their support to OAU efforts in the Comoros;

7.                 CALLED UPON OAU Member States and the international community at large to provide the Comoros with the necessary assistance for the improvement of the living conditions of the Comorian people and the socio-economic development of the country.

B)����� Situation in Madagascar

The Central Organ:

1.                 EXPRESSED ITS GRAVE CONCERN about the continuing crisis in Madagascar and its attendant socio-economic and humanitarian consequences, and the threats against national unity and cohesion, and the territorial integrity of Madagascar;

2.                 PAID TRIBUTE to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and the other Heads of State, namely Presidents Mathieu K�r�kou of Benin, Laurent Gbagbo of C�te d'Ivoire and Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, as well as the OAU Secretary General and the Personal Representative of the UN Secretary General, for their efforts aimed at finding a peaceful and negotiated solution to the crisis and for having facilitated the signing of the Dakar Agreement between Mr. Didier Ratsiraka and Mr. Marc Ravalomanana;

3.                 REITERATED its support to the Dakar Agreement, which constitutes an appropriate framework for the resolution of the crisis.

4.                 URGED all the parties concerned in Madagascar to exercise maximum restraint and abstain from any action that could worsen the situation and undermine the ongoing reconciliation efforts;

5.                 PAID TRIBUTE ALSO to President Levy P. Mwanawasa of Zambia, Chairman of the OAU and the OAU Secretary General for their efforts and ENCOURAGED them to pursue their consultations aimed at convening, as soon as possible, a meeting of the Central Organ at Summit level to review the situation in Madagascar and to push the reconciliation process forward;

6.������ CALLED UPON the international community at large to provide full support to the efforts of the OAU.