Another topic at the African Union summit was the demand for a permanent seat for Africa on the UN Security Council.
The summit is the first physical meeting of African leaders since the pandemic.
(dpa)
At its summit meeting in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, the African Union (AU) sharply condemned the coups in several West African countries. On the sidelines of the summit, Bankole Adeoye, the AU commissioner for political affairs, stressed: “The AU assembly has zero tolerance for military adventurers.” The Sahel zone must not become a hotspot for those who despise the constitution again. “This plague leads to many unpleasant effects,” said the commissioner. The AU chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat had previously criticized the coup as a “disaster”.
The two-day meeting began on Saturday with a call for a permanent seat for Africa on the UN Security Council. “More than seven decades after the creation of the United Nations, Africa remains a junior partner without significant input or a major role within the system,” said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
In the Security Council – the most powerful body of the United Nations – only the five veto powers USA, Russia, China, Great Britain and France have a permanent seat. The other members rotate every two years. Germany has also been trying for years to get a place on a permanent basis – without success. Many criticize that the Security Council reflects a picture of the world order that no longer corresponds to today’s conditions.
The conflict in Ethiopia was also on the agenda of the summit – which last took place two years ago due to the restrictions caused by the corona pandemic. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres repeated his call for a ceasefire in a video message. According to Bankole, the AU is planning a new push to achieve an unconditional ceasefire. At the summit, a decision on Israel’s observer status at the AU was postponed. A committee is now to deal with it.