Parliaments as Pillars of Treaty Integration: Insights from AU Legal Counsel at Midrand

The African Union’s Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC), represented by Francis Olatoundji Adanlao has underscored the need to strengthen the role of parliaments in the ratification, domestication, and oversight of AU treaties. Speaking virtually on the opening day of the 13th Conference of Speakers of Africa’s National and Regional Parliaments, he outlined both the current landscape of AU treaties and a clear roadmap for legislatures to take on a more decisive role in driving continental integration.

Treaty Landscape: Progress, Gaps, and Urgency

Mr. Adanlao began by expressing gratitude to the Pan-African Parliament leadership for affording the OLC a platform to highlight the importance of treaty ratification and implementation. He framed his talk in two parts: first, an analysis of AU treaties (status, challenges, strategies), and second, the indispensable role of parliaments in bringing them to life.

AU Treaties: Where We Stand

·       To date, the AU has adopted 65 treaties spanning governance, human rights, peace & security, trade, investment, and social development sectors, among others.

·       Yet only 41 of these treaties are currently in force, meaning that nearly a third remain dormant, having failed to meet the threshold of ratifications necessary for entry into force.

·       Some treaties date back decades (some to the 1970s), but remain inactive due to a deficit of ratifying states.

Ratification: A Dual Act, with Serious Delays

Adanlao emphasized that ratification is not a singular act but comprises two dimensions:

1.     Domestic law — each member state follows constitutional procedures to approve or adopt a treaty domestically.

2.     International dimension — the state must deposit its instruments of ratification with the AU Legal Counsel to formalize its commitment.

He observed that, on average, it takes five years for treaties to enter into force after adoption. (He cited the AfCFTA as a rare exception: it entered into force in just one year, setting a continental record.)

He enumerated the principal barriers to timely ratification:

·       Political challenges: lack of political will, frequent changes in governance, unstable internal contexts, shifting priorities among ministries or administrations.

·       Technical challenges: weak inter-institutional coordination (especially between ministries and parliaments), inadequate human and financial resources, poor archival systems, and insufficient follow-up.

The net result: many treaties remain adopted on paper but unratified in practice, stymying the momentum of continental integration.

From Ratification to Implementation & Compliance

Adanlao stressed that ratification is only the first step — the real test lies in implementation and monitoring. He elaborated:

·       To benefit citizens, treaties must be domesticated — that is, translated into or aligned with national laws. This may require legislative revision, institutional reforms (e.g. strengthening anti-corruption bodies), and infrastructure upgrades (e.g. making public facilities accessible for persons with disabilities).

·       Monitoring tools include periodic reporting obligations, treaty bodies or commissions (such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights), and regular Conferences of States Parties.

·       The challenge is stark: many states routinely fail to submit required reports or engage with review mechanisms on time.

To accelerate progress, Adanlao outlined AU strategies:

·       A Ministerial Committee on AU Treaties

·       Assembly decisions that compellingly urge member states to sign treaties within one year of adoption

·       An Annual Treaty Signing Week

·       A publicly accessible AU Treaty Database tracking each state’s ratification status

·       Promotion of national sectoral committees to strengthen domestic coordination and advocacy

Parliaments: From Passive Observers to Active Guardians

The centerpiece of his presentation was on how parliaments must move from peripheral to leading roles:

Representation And Inclusivity

Parliaments must ensure that the voices of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities are heard during treaty negotiations, deliberation, and oversight.

Legislative Role

·       In many jurisdictions, parliamentary approval is constitutionally required for ratification.

·       Parliaments must drive the domestication of treaties into national statutes.

·       They must ensure that budgets allocate resources to support implementation (via finance laws or appropriation acts).

Oversight & Accountability

·       Parliaments should deploy oral and written questions to governments, demanding regular updates on ratification and implementation status.

·       They should consider establishing dedicated committees or working groups focused on AU treaties.

·       Using oversight hearings, audits, and monitoring plans, they must make treaty obligations a subject of routine parliamentary scrutiny.

Closing Charge to Speakers And Legislators

In conclusion, Mr. Adanlao offered a sharp reminder:

“The real measure is not the number of treaties adopted but the extent to which they are ratified, domesticated, and implemented.”

He urged Speakers and parliamentary leadership to accelerate ratification, strengthen oversight, and transform treaty commitments into tangible benefits for citizens.

Reflections And Stakes

Mr. Adanlao’s intervention was a timely call to action within a forum focused on “Transforming Parliaments for Citizen-Driven Continental Integration.” His clear diagnosis that the bottlenecks lie not only in adoption but in ratification, coordination, and follow-through aligns with longstanding critiques in African integration discourse (see analyses of AU ratification challenges).

For the participants of the 13th Conference of Speakers, his recommendations constitute a blueprint for legislative reform:

·       Strengthening institutional capacity within parliaments

·       Embedding treaty oversight mechanisms within standing committees

·       Coordinating with executive branches, ministries, and civil society

·       Advocating for full domestication and compliance

If adopted, these reforms can close the gap between Africa’s ambitious vision and institutional reality, bringing AU treaties off the shelf and into the lived realities of citizens.