Institutions

The General Secretariat is composed of:

• a Secretary-General appointed by the Presidency Council for a three-year term, renewable once;
• a sufficient number of staff recruited by the Secretary-General, as needed, from among citizens of the Union, on the basis of competence, commitment to the Union’s objectives and equitable distribution among the Member States, in accordance with the General Secretariat’s internal regulations.

The General Secretariat performs the following essential duties:

1. Work to implement the decisions of the Presidency Council of the Arab Maghreb Union, in coordination with the other bodies of the Union.
2. Contribute to preparing the implementation plans for the Union’s work programme, in cooperation with the Follow-up Committee.
3. Prepare research and studies, provide information and documents, and issue specialised opinions, giving priority, where appropriate, to Maghreb expertise.
4. Prepare periodic reports on progress made in building the Union.
5. Perform secretariat duties for the Presidency Council, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Follow-up Committee and the specialised ministerial commissions, in cooperation with the host country, and document their proceedings.
6. Keep the documents and records of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Follow-up Committee, the specialised ministerial commissions, the Consultative Council and the Judicial Body, as well as every official document of the Union, including instruments of ratification of collective agreements concluded within the framework of the Union.
7. Coordinate the Union’s specialised bodies in the fields of information and documentation, with a view to building an advanced statistical and reference information resource on the Member States across the various sectors and fields of Union activity and making it available to practitioners.
8. Establish relations with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the general secretariats of Arab groupings to identify areas of cooperation and strengthen joint Arab action, and cooperate with similar African groupings and other international groupings and organisations, in coordination with the bodies of the Union.
9. Establish relations with popular associations and non-governmental organisations in support of the Union’s progress.

Headquarters: Rabat.

• The Consultative Council is composed of twenty members from each Member State of the Union, selected from the parliamentary bodies of the Member States or in accordance with the internal system of each State. At its sixth ordinary session, the Presidency Council approved increasing the number of members to thirty.
• It holds one ordinary session each year and may also hold extraordinary sessions at the request of the Presidency Council.
• The Consultative Council gives its opinion on draft measures and decisions referred to it by the Presidency Council. It may also submit to the Presidency Council any recommendations it considers appropriate to strengthen the Union’s work and achieve its objectives.

Headquarters: Algeria.

• The Judicial Body is composed of two judges from each State, appointed by the State concerned for a six-year term. Half of its membership is renewed every three years.
• It elects a president from among its members for a one-year term.
• It has jurisdiction over disputes concerning the interpretation and application of treaties and agreements concluded within the framework of the Union that are referred to it by the Presidency Council or by one of the States party to the dispute.
• The judgments of the Judicial Body are binding and final.
• It provides advisory opinions on legal matters referred to it by the Presidency Council.

Headquarters: Nouakchott.

University of the Arab Maghreb

• The University is composed of Maghreb university units distributed among the States of the Arab Maghreb Union according to the requirements of their mission and the resources available in each of them.
• The Maghreb University aims to train students of the three cycles and researchers in the priority fields determined by the University’s Board of Directors.

Headquarters: Tripoli.

Maghreb Academy of Sciences

The Academy aims to:

• establish a framework for cooperation between scientific research and higher education institutions in the countries of the Union, and between them and similar institutions in the Arab world and foreign countries;
• implement a scientific and technological research policy focused on the common development aspects of the countries of the Union, taking into account the available means and capabilities;
• enable researchers in the Union to participate in the development of science, assimilate technology and employ it effectively in scientific and technical circles;
• limit the migration of Maghreb talent to foreign countries and provide a scientific environment that allows specialists to be integrated in the countries of the Arab Maghreb, as well as Maghreb researchers residing abroad.

Headquarters: Tripoli.

• The agreement establishing the Maghreb Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade between the States of the Arab Maghreb Union was signed on 10 March 1991.
• The Bank aims to contribute to establishing an interconnected and integrated Maghreb economy, including by preparing, carrying out and financing agricultural, industrial and other projects of common interest in the Maghreb countries, encouraging the flow of capital and its investment in economically viable and financially profitable projects, and developing trade and the resulting current payments.

Headquarters: Tunis.