Common African positions on global issues

The report examines the mechanism of Common African Positions (CAPs) used by the African Union to articulate collective interests on the global stage. While highlighting successes such as the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Position on Asset Recovery, it identifies critical weaknesses including a lack of member state ownership, over-dependence on external funding, and a disconnect between AU headquarters in Addis Ababa and multilateral diplomatic hubs. The author argues that for CAPs to be effective, the AU must move toward more inclusive, participatory processes and ensure that member states, rather than AU bureaucracy, drive the advocacy and implementation of these positions.

• The process of negotiating Common African Positions (CAPs) within the African Union is described as convoluted, time-consuming, and politically stressful, often hindered by member states prioritizing national geostrategic interests over continental goals.
• A primary weakness in the CAP framework is the lack of ownership by AU member states, resulting in many positions becoming mere diplomatic papers that are not implemented or promoted beyond AU offices in Addis Ababa.
• The AU is overly dependent on external development partners for the financial and technical resources required to convene sessions and validate expert inputs, which the report suggests is counterproductive to African leadership.
• The Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (2014) is cited as a highly impactful example of a CAP, successfully influencing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR), endorsed in February 2020 and spearheaded by Nigeria, focuses on four pillars: detection, recovery, management of assets, and cooperation.
• There is a significant disconnect between the AU's coordinating role in Addis Ababa and the African groups operating in major multilateral diplomatic hubs such as New York, Geneva, Vienna, Brussels, and Nairobi, leading to inconsistent positions.
• The African Mining Vision (2009) is highlighted as a CAP that has struggled to achieve its goals because many resource-rich African countries have not fully engaged with the international community or investors based on its principles.

APA

Adeoye, B. (2020). Common African positions on global issues. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-30-2.pdf

Chicago

Adeoye, Bankole. Common African positions on global issues. Institute for Security Studies, 2020. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-30-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Adeoye |first1=Bankole |title=Common African positions on global issues |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=December 2020 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-30-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{adeoye2020common, author = {Adeoye, Bankole}, title = {{Common African positions on global issues}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ar-30-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }