The "very successful" African Union (AU) summit has set in place key strategies to enhance institutional capacity and peace and security on the continent, President Mbeki told journalists yesterday.

Among these decisions were the urgent deployment of a peace force to the strife-torn Darfur region in Sudan, and the proposed Economic, Social and Cultural Council (Ecosoc).

"(Ecosoc) is important because the building up of the AU has essentially involved governments," said Mbeki in Addis Ababa after the closing ceremony of the AU.

Ecosoc, which might be working by the end of the year, should pave the way for civil society to become more involved in the AU and in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

Lack of civil society involvement has been a major criticism levelled against the AU and Nepad.

Ecosoc, together with the Pan African Parliament -- the seat of which would be in South Africa -- formed part of the architecture of the AU, said Mbeki.

He said another decision that would enhance the institutional capacity of the AU related to the merging of the African Court of Justice and the Court for Human and People's Rights into one body.

Mbeki emphasised that "the necessary balance" would need to be maintained between these courts, suggesting the single court operate like the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa which hears cases across the legal spectrum.

Turning to financial implications Mbeki said a budget would be proposed in an extraordinary meeting of the executive council of the AU in November this year.

"This would take care of the expanded activities of the AU...it has been described as a solidarity fund."

Mbeki said one proposal for securing funding was that the AU become part of the normal budgetary plan of member states.

"We want to rely on our own resources," he emphasised, adding that funding needed to be properly sought out, and stable.

On peace and security on the continent, Mbeki said the AU would urgently deploy peace observers, together with their protection unit, to the Darfur region of Sudan.

This deployment would be complimented by, inter alia, the continuation of a political process between the Sudanese government and rebels in Addis Ababa next week.

Mbeki said a related peace and security matter was the question of mercenary activities, and the need for African countries to enact legislation to deal with a problem he said "did not want to go away.

"Work should be done immediately to ensure that we have got a consistent legislative framework affecting the entirety of the continent," he said.

Mbeki said other important decisions related to gender emancipation and equality and expediting economic development and poverty reduction programmes.

The summit "demonstrated our determination to be pro-active on our continents problems", AU chairman and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said at the summits closure.

He told reporters the first preoccupation of the AU was to deliver peace, security and stability.

"For the rest, development, we will not be able to make progress unless we have peace".

The deployment of armed forces in Sudan marks a clear departure of the non-interventionist policy of the Organisation of African Unity, which the AU replaced in 2002.

The Sudanese conflict, involving rebels, government forces and their ruthless militia allies, has left more than 10 000 dead and forced more than a million people from their homes, many of them to squalid camps in Chad, which has played a mediating role in negotiations between Khartoum and two rebel groups who rose up in February 2003.

The massive displacement of people has also created a looming famine that US officials have warned will claim several hundred thousand lives.

Obasanjo said the AU assembly would be meeting twice yearly from next year. – Sapa.