Crises in Libya and the Sahel, Zleca, Coronavirus… These were the major issues that fuelled the debates at the 33rd African Union (AU) summit held on 9 and 10 February in Addis Ababa. There was also talk about unity, or more precisely the lack of unity, as Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, deplored the lack of solidarity among African countries.
By Bilkiss Mentari
The theme chosen for the 33rd African Union (AU) summit held on 9 and 10 February in Addis Ababa was « Silencing the guns: creating conducive conditions to Africa’s development », it was an opportunity to discuss the crises in Libya, the Sahel, the Central African Republic, Western Sahara, Sudan, etc. These conflicts continue to exist and hinder the development of a continent which, despite real economic growth, still has to face the challenges of peace and security.
« This lack of active solidarity is one of the great fragilities of our systems of resistance and our overall capacity for continental resilience »
« The year that just ended was not a year of full peace and harmony in the world. Nor does the year that is now beginning announces that we are at the end of our troubles. It calls us to the need for a constant mobilization of all energies to meet difficult challenges », urged Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Before deploring: « the lack of African solidarity » among the countries of the continent, especially the weakest, which he considers « disconcerting ». « How can we escape the unbearable questioning of our silence on the situation of these brotherly countries? To explain it clearly, apart from the victim countries themselves, Rwanda and the ECOWAS announcement, no other African State, to our knowledge, including those of our Union which have significant economic, financial, industrial, logistical and military potential, that has made the gesture of solidarity that the brothers, who are in peril, are entitled to expect. This lack of active solidarity is one of the great fragilities of our systems of resistance and of our overall capacity for continental resilience. I sincerely hope that this African solidarity will spearhead the international coalition for the Sahel that unites us with our friends and partners around the world. »
ZLECAf: « This is a historic agreement in that it enshrines one of the great dreams of the founding fathers of our organization and lies at the heart of the continent’s aspirations for economic integration »
The time has thus come, according to him, for the « crucible of African unity », namely the African Union, to return to its fundamentals. An institution, he said, which has been undergoing a wave of reforms, which will, he added, recorde « significant progress ». « This progress has affected the restructuring and accountability of the Commission, governance and coherence between the different organs, the division of labour between the Union and the Regional Economic Communities, the issue of partnerships as well as the implementation of the Union’s new financing system. « And the FTAAf, which offers the continent new opportunities. In favour of regional integration in particular. « It is a historic agreement that enshrines one of the great dreams of the founding fathers of our organization and lies at the heart of the continent’s aspirations for economic integration. »
Libyan crisis The AU « systematically ignored »
Thus, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa succeeds Egyptian Abdel Fatah al-Sissi at the head of the AU within the framework of the rotating presidency, the annual meeting of the African Union concluded with a willingness to assert itself and to bring African solutions to the challenges of the continent, first and foremost the Libyan conflict which has, once again, demonstrated the inability of Africa, was ‘systematically ignored’ in the words of Moussa Faki, to make its voice heard. It remains to be seen whether the Heads of State present will respond to the appeal of the Secretary of the African Union. In the meantime, organized on the sidelines of the Summit, the extraordinary ECOWAS summit, marked by the presence of most of the Heads of State of the sub-region, will have once again revealed the dissensions among the countries of West Africa. On the issue of the common currency in particular…
