The agenda of the African Union Heads of State Summit was devoid of discussion of the countless wars and humanitarian crises on the African continent (Reuters)

A report by the French magazine "Africa Intelligence" said that the agenda of the summit of heads of state of the African Union - which will be held next Sunday and Monday - was devoid of discussion of pressing political and security crises in Africa, such as the war in Sudan, Ethiopia, or the Sahel region. Instead, it is scheduled to... Leaders are focusing on lower priority issues such as the Union's internal reforms and Agenda 2063.

The agenda of the 37th regular session of the Summit of Heads of State of the African Union - which is supposed to be held on February 17 and 18 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa - did not include any of the main security and political issues on the continent, according to the report of the magazine specializing in African affairs.

The agenda of the meeting focuses mainly on less important administrative issues, including structural reforms of the African Union, budgetary affairs, the internal audit that revealed anomalies, multilateral cooperation, economy and trade, programmes, conferences, education, science and technology, gender equality issues, and the results of the exhibition. African Trade Conference held in Cairo in November.

The countless wars and humanitarian crises on the African continent, such as the conflicts in Ethiopia, Sudan, the Sahel region, and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, are excluded from the agenda of the Union - which celebrated its 60th anniversary.

The Commission did not insist on including these thorny issues on the agenda, and left its formulation to the Joint Permanent Committee, which was keen not to offend any of the member states - especially the six: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea and Sudan - whose unconstitutional changes in authority led to the suspension of their participation. In all African Union activities.

However, officials from the suspended countries still plan to attend the summit to hold informal meetings and increase pressure on regional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Among these are the Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Lamine Zein, who intends to travel to Addis Ababa, as well as the Foreign Minister of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop.

Gabon's ruling general, Brice Cloutier Olegy Nguema, also intends to send a representative if he is unable to attend in person.

Sudan

As for the President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the rival general (and former vice president) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, they are expected to participate or send their representatives if they are unable to attend.

The Rapid Support Forces, led by Dagalo, have been fighting the Sudanese army led by Burhan since April last year, wreaking havoc across the country.

The Peace and Security Council is scheduled to meet on Sudan, and a high-level mediation committee has been formed in an attempt to stop the escalation of violence.

Congo

The Union is witnessing tension between its regional blocs, such as the dispute between the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community over the war against the M23 rebellion in North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). This conflict is described as one of the bloodiest conflicts since World War II. Some estimates put the number of its victims at approximately 6 million people.

Displaced Congolese people in eastern Congo as a result of sectarian fighting between the armed forces and local militias (French)

Crises of the West and the African Sahel

On the other side of the continent, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is experiencing unprecedented turmoil, becoming weaker than ever following a wave of coups. The group witnessed the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which makes it necessary for the regional bloc to deal with the security situation. The deteriorating situation in the Sahel region and uncertainty in Senegal after the presidential elections scheduled for February 25 were postponed.

The summit's agenda also includes a report on the activities of the African Union's Peace and Security Council, of which 10 of its 15 regionally allocated positions will be redistributed for two years at the end of the week. In the race for the only seat allocated to North Africa - out of two seats - Egypt faces Mauritania and Algeria, which have led the Peace and Security Council for nearly two decades.

Union crises

Several reports indicate that countries' failure to pay is the biggest problem facing the Union, which makes it unable to fulfill its various obligations, so it resorts to gradual sanctions, which in turn affects the Union's financial resources.

At the level of heads of state, the African Union suffers from a lack of vision. Historically powerful members, such as Algeria and South Africa – as well as other southern African countries led by parties that emerged from liberation movements – are seeing their capacity for diplomatic action weakened by domestic political issues and upcoming elections.

Like other key bodies of the African Union, the Peace and Security Council is suffering from a deep leadership crisis and a form of diplomatic paralysis, embodied by the Chair of the African Union Commission and former Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Faki, whose second and final term as president ends in February 2025, is under severe criticism from several senior African Union officials. In addition to his management, which was questioned in the latest audit report, he has been criticized for his inability to influence major events, his minimal involvement in conflict prevention and resolution, and the weakening of the political system.

Source: websites