CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ AU treaties/conventions not yet ratified by Benin 109. To date, Benin has signed all the treaties or conventions of the Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) and of the AU. However, a number of standards have not yet been ratified and the incorporation of most of these instruments into national law has been dragging. This is shown in the table below: Table 3.6: AU treaties/conventions not yet ratified by Benin Title, date and venue of adoption Date and venue of signing by Benin Observations Additional Protocol to the OAU General Convention on Privileges and Immunities: June 1980, Freetown 11 February 2004, Addis-Ababa Ratification pending African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption: July 2003, Maputo 11 February 2004, Addis-Ababa Adopted but not yet enacted and published in the Official Gazette The African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty: 11 April 1996, Cairo 11 February 2004, Addis-Ababa Not ratified by Benin Protocol to the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism: 8 July 2004, Addis-Ababa Not ratified by Benin The African Union Non-Aggression and Common Defence Pact: January 2005, Abuja 11 February 2004, Addis-Ababa Not ratified by Benin Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union: July 2003, Maputo 11 February 2004, Addis-Ababa Not ratified by Benin African Charter for Democracy, Elections and Governance: 30 January 2007, AddisAbaba Not in force Not ratified by Benin 110. The CRM noted that, while efforts had been made to ratify the international legal instruments, the same could not be said for the legal standards set by the AU. Efforts by the government to combat corruption would have an impact if the commitments made by Benin on this issue begin materialising, following the enactment and publication in the Official Gazette of the law on the ratification of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, July 2003. All serving of writs and passing of sentences by courts for corruption will depend on the enactment and publication of this convention by Benin. 111. The CRM was informed that a large number of ratification authorisations are still pending at the offices of Parliament. The official explanation given for these delays is that the commissions, to which these projects are submitted, need to organise awareness workshops on the issues so that MPs can understand the texts and vote responsibly. 65