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The African Union at 20: some reason to cheer, but lots of work ahead

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The European Union (EU) has lived up to the primary reason it was created – ensuring that member states will not wage physical war against one another, but settle their differences amicably. It owes some of its successes to a combination of enforcement and management mechanisms to ensure member states conform to rules and policies.

Other regional bodies, like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are advancing towards their objectives of economic growth, social progress and cultural development. ASEAN draws on its distinctive informal and consensus-based principles and decision making.

What about the African Union (AU), which was modelled on the EU?

There is some reason to cheer as the continental body celebrates its 20th anniversary on 9 July. Key among its achievements is the African Continental Free Trade Area, which commenced on 1 January 2021. It is expected to boost intra-African trade by about $35 billion by end of 2022.

The larger market area will likely attract investment for continental infrastructure development. The increased trade will create jobs, enhance Africa’s global competitiveness, improve social welfare and position Africa for greater industrialisation. The resultant economic growth should help contribute to peace and stability for the continent’s more than one billion population.

On the diplomatic front, the AU has established a permanent mission in Beijing, China, to strengthen economic, commercial and cultural ties with Africa’s largest trading partner. This consolidates Africa’s global profile and ability to speak with one voice on world affairs.

Still to be achieved is reform of the UN Security Council to give Africa at least two permanent seats. Over two-thirds of the council’s agenda concerns Africa, yet the continent is excluded from permanent representation.

In my view, the AU still needs to address two main problems to steer Africa into a prosperous future. These are the use of unconstitutional means by leaders to hold on to power; and disregard for the rule of law.

Unconstitutional hold on power

Africa has seen a troubling resurgence of military coups and leaders using unconstitutional means to cling to power. There have been at least 32 coups and coup attempts since 2013, when General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi toppled the government in Egypt.

The AU handed him its rotating chair-ship in 2019, tacitly endorsing power grabs.

Following the October 2021 coup in Sudan, United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres expressed concern that some military leaders felt they could do whatever they wanted.

Five out of the seven coup attempts since 2020 succeeded. The coup leaders in the five countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan – violently suppressed pro-democracy protesters.

The death toll from the suppression of anti-coup protestors in Sudan, for instance, is over 100. Over 18 million Sudanese are threatened by food insecurity.

But the AU acts as if it’s unaware of the political paralysis in Sudan.

Some coup plotters justify their actions by pointing to poor social, political and economic conditions in their countries. For example, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya of Guinea cited endemic corruption and lack of economic progress to justify deposing President Alpha Condé in September 2021.

Condé had manipulated the constitution to extend his term. This led to political instability. But that does not justify the coup.

Turning a blind eye to unconstitutional leaders and their actions indicates a backsliding from peaceful handover of power and democracy. It threatens Africa’s security.

Some African leaders have perfected the art of unconstitutionally holding on to power. They use violence to rig elections. Or they doctor the rules of participation to exclude rivals. That happened in Tanzania, where laws that clamped down on freedoms of expression and assembly were passed and enforced ahead of the 2020 election.

Others criminalise popular opposition leaders, as happened to leading opposition challenger Bobi Wine in Uganda. Some feign constitutional reform to change constitutions and prolong their stay.

Disregard for the rule of law

Africa is seeing a relapse into the autocratic rule of the Cold War era. An increasing number of democratically elected and legitimate governments are cracking down on civil society organisations. This is worrying, even if it is part of a global trend.

The governments are squeezing out institutions that should hold them accountable and are silencing the media. They arrest activists and enact laws that restrict civil society organisations and their activities.

This reversal in democratic norms flies in the face of the normative framework mechanisms of the AU, which are about the rule of law, peace, security, democracy, good governance and human rights.

The AU should deal decisively with member states that undermine the rule of law within their territories. The rule of law is essential for sustained and inclusive economic growth, sustainable development, and the eradication of poverty and hunger. The rule of law enables people, business and commerce to flourish.

Looking ahead

African leaders should address the problems which military leaders use as the pretext for coups in African states – mainly corruption, misrule and insecurity. Solving these problems would deny the military an excuse to interfere in civilian matters.

Instead of cracking down on citizens and civil society, states should use their natural resources to grow their economies and empower citizens. Collective economic strength will improve Africa’s standing as a global actor.

The response to coups and instability can’t be limited to sanctions.

The AU must also be firm and consistent in dealing with constitutional violations. It’s no use hoping that illegitimate officials will relinquish power. Recent examples show that perpetrators simply defy calls to restore constitutional order.

 

Politics

Ugandan opposition politician abducted, wife says

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According to his wife on Wednesday, a well-known opposition leader from Uganda, Kizza Besigye was abducted during a book launch in Kenya over the weekend, taken to Uganda, and detained at a military prison in Kampala.

Despite his rejection of the results, Besigye has run against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni four times and lost each time, claiming voting intimidation and fraud. He has been arrested several times in the past.

“I request the (government) of Uganda to release my husband Dr Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately,” said his wife Winnie Byanyima.

It was not immediately possible to get in touch with a Ugandan military spokesperson for comment.

“As police we don’t have him, so we can’t make any comment,” Ugandan police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told Reuters.
A spokesperson for Kenya’s national police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, one of Uganda’s major opposition parties, had 36 members arrested by Kenyan police in July. They were then deported to Uganda and accused of terrorism-related charges.

On the social networking site X, Byanyima stated that Besigye, who served as Museveni’s doctor during the guerrilla war but later turned into a vocal opponent, was abducted on Saturday as senior Kenyan opposition leader Martha Karua was launching a book.

“I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala,” said Byanyima, who is the executive director of UNAIDS, the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. “We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?”

Museveni’s administration has been charged with repeatedly violating the human rights of opposition leaders and followers, including extrajudicial executions, torture, and unlawful detentions.

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Politics

Sudan army chief Burhan meets US envoy

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The United States special envoy to Sudan has made his first trip to the African nation, hoping to bring an end to a horrific war and boost relief to millions of people in need.

After being appointed Washington’s ambassador to Sudan in February, Tom Perriello visited Port Sudan, the army-led government’s de facto capital on the Red Sea coast.

For the first time since the evacuation of the U.S. embassy in April 2023 due to the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a top U.S. official visited the nation.

“We feel an enormous amount of urgency to end this crisis and to ensure that we can … help to get food and medicine and life-saving support to the 20 million people plus that are in need,” a State Department official said before the trip.

Over 25 million people, or half of Sudan’s population, require help, according to the U.N., as hunger has spread to one area and over 11 million people have abandoned their homes.

Sudan’s sovereign council stated in a statement that Perriello spoke with tribal, government, and humanitarian figures in addition to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country’s army head.

During what the council described as a “lengthy, comprehensive, and frank” discussion, the two men talked about how to provide humanitarian help and how to end the war through a political process.

“The U.S. envoy presented several suggestions which the head of the sovereign council agreed to,” the statement said.

Although the army declined to join U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva earlier this year, the meetings did obtain commitments from the warring parties to increase access to aid.

A power battle between the army and the RSF preceded a planned shift to civilian government, which is why the conflict broke out more than a year ago.

Perriello discussed “the need to cease fighting, enable unhindered humanitarian access, including through localized pauses in the fighting to allow for the delivery of emergency relief supplies, and commit to a civilian government,” a State Department statement said.

“Right now, I think there’s a key opportunity to build on the expansion of humanitarian aid,” the State Department official stated, emphasising the need for relief corridors to the most battle-ravaged areas, such as al-Fashir, Sennar, and parts of the capital Khartoum, even though the U.S. would continue to pursue a more comprehensive ceasefire and negotiations.

Last Monday, Sudan’s sovereign council announced that it would prolong the temporary opening of the Adre border crossing with Chad. According to relief organisations, this crossing is essential for delivering food and other supplies to famine-prone portions of the Darfur and Kordofan regions.

An RSF official stated at a press conference in Nairobi that while they were still amenable to peace, they had doubts about the army’s readiness.

“They do not listen to any language but that of the rifle, and so we will continue to talk to them in the language they understand,” said Brigadier General Omar Hamdan.

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