The Africa Governance Report In practice, the AU–RECs partnership has been characterised by challenges such as lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities, which have made it ineffective. “RECs are not well integrated into the policy and decision-making processes of the Union”, a situation that has led them to play only a marginal role. It has also been deplored that “there is no coherence in the decisions and activities of the AU as they relate to the RECs”.66 RECs have played an important role in facilitating the enforcement of the AU’s shared values, particularly in situations involving unconstitutional change of government. However, the AU and RECs have often adopted differing approaches and actions in such situations, which has hindered the effectiveness of their interventions. Further, these approaches and actions have not been well coordinated. This lack of coordination can in part be explained by the absence of a clear definition or shared understanding of the principle of subsidiarity, to which the AU and the RECs therefore give varied or opposing interpretations. In addition, most RECs face considerable challenges that hinder their effectiveness. For example, they often have overlapping memberships and mandates. The fact that several states belong to more than one REC hinders coherence and coordination of approaches and responses. It also causes ambiguity and confusion over leadership and responsibilities. Accordingly, one of the priorities of the AU Assembly will be to clarify the division of labour and collaboration between the Union and the RECs, in line with the principle of subsidiarity and complementarity. 67 7.7 7.6.3 REC Approaches to the AU Agenda 2063 The AU Agenda was a result of consultations and consensus that culminated in the Common African Position in negotiations for the post-2015 global agenda. Therefore, RECs endorse the vision and aspirations in the Agenda 2063. Although RECs agreed to harmonise their strategies and implementation plans with the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of the AU Agenda 2063, this, as of now, has not been entirely successful as they are still in the process of reconciling existing frameworks with the Agenda. 7.6.4 Mechanism for Monitoring Implementation of Shared Value Instruments This appears to be an area that deserves attention because there does not seem to be any systematic attempt in each REC to monitor implementation of AU shared values instruments. Regional Integration and AU Agenda 2063 Regional integration is one of the seven aspirations of Agenda 2063. In particular, Aspiration 2 of Agenda 2063 calls for an integrated, politically united prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens. It is therefore encouraging that all the eight RECs are pursuing regional integration, which is also consistent with the ideals of the Abuja Treaty. RECs are encouraged to adopt AU Agenda 2063 and its First Ten-Year Plan as the basis for developing 66 67 African Union, 2018. Ibid, Annex 1. Ibid. Page 84 of 96