ADDIS ABABA — The
African Union (AU) has condemned a recent "wave" of military coups
that has seen an unprecedented number of member states suspended from the bloc,
a senior official said Sunday, the last day of its annual summit.
اضافة اعلان
The putsches were among the main issues
expected to be discussed at the summit, along with the AU's ties to Israel and
its response to a grinding war in the north of host country
Ethiopia.
Less than two weeks before the summit began
Saturday, Burkina Faso became the fourth country to be suspended by the AU
after disgruntled soldiers toppled President
Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Guinea, Mali and Sudan are also currently
suspended.
"Every African leader in the assembly
has condemned unequivocally ... the wave of unconstitutional changes of
government," Bankole Adeoye, head of the AU's Peace and Security
Council, told a press conference Sunday.
"At no time in the history of the
African Union have we had four countries in one calendar year, in 12 months,
been suspended," Adeoye said.
Addressing African foreign ministers ahead
of the summit, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the AU Commission, denounced a
"worrying resurgence" of such military coups.
But the AU has been accused of an
inconsistent response, notably by not suspending Chad after a military council
took over following the death of longtime President
Idriss Deby Itno on the
battlefield last April.
And while Adeoye touted the AU's use of
suspensions to punish coup leaders, analysts say the body must be more
proactive to prevent putsches.
"It is only when crisis hits that we
say, 'Gosh, how come this country is falling apart like this so quickly?'"
Solomon Dersso, founder of the AU-focused Amani Africa think-tank, told AFP
this week.
Israel debate paused
Also on Sunday, leaders agreed to suspend
debate on Faki's controversial decision to accept the accreditation of Israel,
postponing a potentially divisive vote.
Faki's move last July drew protest from
influential members including
South Africa and Algeria which argued that it
flew in the face of AU statements supporting the Palestinian Territories.
Both countries pushed to have the issue put
on the summit agenda.
During Saturday's closed session, Faki
defended Israel's accreditation, noting that 44 member states have diplomatic
ties with Israel.
He also said the move was "in total
harmony" with the AU's backing of a two-state solution and
Palestinian independence.
But Palestinian Prime Minister
Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday called for Israel's accreditation to be
revoked, saying it "should never be rewarded" for its "apartheid
regime".
Accredited non-African states are able to
attend some conferences, access non-confidential AU documents, and present
statements at meetings that concern them.
The AU normally prizes consensus, but it was
unclear how a vote would have fared, with a two-thirds majority required to
overrule Faki.
Instead a six-country committee will study
the issue, diplomats told AFP Sunday.
Along with South Africa and Algeria, the
committee will include Rwanda and the
Democratic Republic of Congo, who
supported Faki's move, as well as Cameroon and Nigeria, the diplomats said.
Israel's foreign ministry said the AU had
"rejected attempts by Algeria and South Africa to revoke" its accreditation,
adding that the outcome of the committee's discussions would be presented at
next year's summit.
Ethiopia peace push
It was unclear whether the summit, most of
which took place behind closed doors, substantively addressed the 15-month war
in Ethiopia, which pits Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government against fighters
from the northern Tigray region.
The fact that Ethiopia hosts the AU makes
any intervention by the bloc especially delicate, and Faki waited until last
August — nine months after fighting began — to appoint Olusegun Obasanjo as a
special envoy tasked with trying to broker a ceasefire.
Ethiopia has also held a seat on the Peace
and Security Council throughout the conflict, though it failed in its bid to
stay on the 15-member body for the next term, diplomats said.
Adeoye said Sunday it was "not
true" that the AU had been slow to respond to a war that has left
thousands dead and, according to the
United Nations, driven hundreds of
thousands to the brink of starvation.
"There was no way the AU would not
engage on such a situation given its exact location in Ethiopia," he said.
Obasanjo will head to war-hit areas this
week, and the AU will provide "experts from the
African continent" to
back up his push for dialogue, Adeoye said.
"We are all working for peace."
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