POLITICS-AFRICA: AU Summit Faces a Host of Crises

By Moyiga Nduru Reprint | | Print |

Moyiga Nduru

KHARTOUM, Jan 22 2006 (IPS) - The annual summit of the African Union (AU) begins in Sudan’s dusty capital of Khartoum, Monday, amidst a political crisis in the Ivory Coast, famine in East Africa and conflict in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Although the themes of this year’s summit are education and culture, other issues – such as whether Sudan should assume the rotating chairmanship of the AU – are likely to overshadow the Jan. 23 to 24 gathering.

Already Chad has downgraded its delegation by sending Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmad Allami to represent it at the AU. President Idriss Deby had refused to attend the summit, accusing Khartoum of backing rebels seeking to overthrow his government. Sudan denies the charge.

Human rights groups say there is evidence that government-backed militants from Sudan known as the janjaweed (“men on horseback”) are active in Chad. “Our reports say janjaweed are attacking across the border where civilians are (taking refuge),” Reed Brody of the New York-based Human Rights Watch told IPS in Khartoum.

The janjaweed have been accused of involvement in the deaths of more than 300,000 people in Darfur and the displacement of over two million others, including 200,000 civilians who fled to Chad. They are said to have played a key role in a campaign against members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups which are suspected of providing support to two rebel movements that took up arms against government in 2003.

Authorities in N’Djamena tried in vain to have this week’s summit relocated to Nigeria and its president, Olusegun Obasanjo, continue in his role as chair of the AU.

Rights groups also fear that allowing Sudan to preside over the AU would give the appearance of condoning government-sponsored abuses in Darfur.

“(This) will be very sad for Africa, sad for human rights and sad for Sudan – particularly for the people of Darfur,” said Brody. “Africa needs a credible leader who can negotiate on behalf of Africa. Bashir is not somebody who can sit down with world leaders and talk about debt reducing, about peacekeeping.”

“For the people of Darfur, it would be like handing the key to the people who have been killing them,” he added.

But Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister Lam Akol said no other country had put itself forward for the AU chairmanship.

On Jan. 19, Alpha Konare, chair of the AU commission, told African foreign affairs ministers ahead of the Khartoum summit that it was critical for the various conflicts around the continent to be resolved.

“The people of Africa are fed up, I repeat, fed up with conflicts,” he noted, urging Sudanese belligerents to address the situation in Darfur.

“I would like to invite all the protagonists of the conflict to redouble their efforts and transcend their differences so that the Abuja talks succeed and create the conditions for a definitive political settlement of the crisis,” he said. Negotiations to end the fighting in Darfur began in the in the Nigerian capital of Abuja last year.

“Africa has played its part; it has mobilised its sons and daughters and enlisted the support of our partners. In this collective effort we expect our Sudanese brothers – both from the government and the rebel movements – to play their part also…We are waiting,” Konare added.

Speaking to African leaders on the eve of the summit Sunday, Bashir said his country was tackling the situation in Darfur: “We are very keen on restoring stability in Darfur. We back the AU in mediating the conflict in Darfur.”

However, he rejected a recent call by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to let the world body take over from the cash-strapped AU in Darfur. “We instead invite the international community to assist the AU in restoring peace and security in Darfur,” he said.

Civil society groups have warned that these debates should not be allowed to distract attention from other issues affecting the world’s poorest continent.

“The AU has still to articulate a strong humanitarian strategy about the famine in Niger (and) the famine in Kenya, where five million people require food aid from January to March this year,” Irungu Houghton of Oxfam, a leading international charity, told IPS in Khartoum. “This is the area where the AU needs to strengthen capacity to resolve its problems.”

Houghton added that while many promises of aid had been made last year, 2006 had to be the year of delivery.

“For example, the G8 committed to doubling financial assistance to Africa,” he said. (The Group of Eight leading industrialised countries – or G8 – comprises the United States, Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, France and Britain.)

“The World Bank and the IMF (the International Monetary Fund) have pledged to cancel the debts of the 13 poorest African countries and Nigeria; the latter would enjoy bilateral debt cancellation through the Paris Club,” said Houghton.

The 53-member AU, formed in 2002, is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity.