African
Union
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Access- Accessibility
Accessibility is the aptitude of a road or rail network or any other transport network
generally evaluated in time of travel or measured in distance to be covered to reach public
equipment, an employment pool, arrive at the city centre, obtain a proximity service (trade,
leisure, public services, social network). It is presently considered as a good accessibility if
one can have access to a daily service within a period of less than 20 minutes and a weekly
service within a period of less than one hour.
On the other hand, inaccessibility is considered as the impossibility to obtain a service
within a socially-acceptable time frame; it is the synonym of isolation, relegation, exclusion.
Accessibility comprises four dimensions that mutually overlap:
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non-discrimination,
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physical accessibility,
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economic accessibility (affordability),
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accessibility of information.
Accession
Accession is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become
a party to a treaty already negotiated and signed by other states. Accession usually
occurs after the treaty has entered into force. The Secretary-General of the United
Nations, in his function as depositary, has also accepted accessions to some
conventions before their entry into force. The conditions under which accession
may occur and the procedure involved depend on the provisions of the treaty. A
treaty might provide for the accession of all other states or for a limited and defined
number of states. In the absence of such a provision, accession can only occur
where the negotiating states were agreed or subsequently agree on it in the case of
the state in question.
Accountability
The ability to determine who in the government is responsible for a decision or action and
the ability to ensure that officials in government are answerable for their actions.
Adoption
Adoption is the formal act by which the form and content of a proposed treaty text are
established. As a general rule, the adoption of the text of a treaty takes place through the
expression of the consent of the states participating in the treaty-making process. Treaties
that are negotiated within an international organization will usually be adopted by a
resolution of a representative organ of the organization whose membership more or less
corresponds to the potential participation in the treaty in question. A treaty can also be
adopted by an international conference which has specifically been convened for setting up
the treaty, by a vote of two thirds of the states present and voting, unless, by the same
majority, they have decided to apply a different rule.
Capacities
Range of resources (financial and human, technical, administrative, social, economic and
scientific) put in place for achieving a determined objective.
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