AU Monitor Weekly Update

The African Union (AU) has issued a communiqué this week condemning “the continuous deadly and indiscriminate attacks against civilian areas in Gaza Strip committed by the Israeli occupying forces”, which it claims constitute systematic violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people and are contrary to humanitarian law. In peace and security on the continent, informal consultations with regional and international observers and partners on the situation in Darfur were led by the AU and United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces in an attempt to bolster the political process, which may also gain momentum following the signing of the Dakar peace agreement during the Organization of the Islamic Conference between the Sudanese and Chadian presidents. The agreement, which is the “sixth peace accord in six years” between the two actors, makes provision for a monthly contact group to monitor compliance led by Libya and the Republic of Congo. Also, this week, the conflict in Anjouan seems to have reached new heights with the AU stating that it has exhausted all opportunities to end the political dispute that ensued following elections in June 2007. An African force composed of troops from Tanzania, Senegal, Sudan, Libya and Comoros is on standby for likely military intervention. Further involving the military and security architecture in Africa, General William “Kip” Ward, head of the United States Command for Africa (Africom), addressed the U.S Congress in a speech that focused on Africom’s military rather than humanitarian role in contrast to earlier pronouncements. This shift in emphasis comes as a relief to some humanitarian agencies who feared greater U.S military involvement would put the neutrality of humanitarian assistance in jeopardy.

In trade and development news, a conference of African Ministers of Trade and Finance will take place in early April in Addis Ababa. The meeting will focus on: interim agreements and regional integration in Africa; elements of African common positions in the forthcoming high level engagement with the EU; aid for trade; and the consideration and adoption of the Draft Decision/Declaration on the way forward on EPA negotiations. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a line of credit of fifty million U.S dollars and an equity capital increase of US$6.8 million (payable), as well as US$40.8 million (callable), to support the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, which provides development financial services, including trade and project financing. In addition, a one million dollar grant for institutional capacity building for the Bank is being provided by the AfDB-managed Fund for African Private Sector Assistance. AfDB also held a conference aimed at increasing the competitiveness of African middle-income countries (MICs) in Cairo, Egypt. The conference is focusing on three areas of competitiveness: the investment climate, science and technology and infrastructure, and is expected to conclude with actionable recommendations for the support of African MICs by multilateral development banks and development partners. Lastly, a summit will be held in April in Mumbai, India, with the said objective of enhancing partnership between India and Africa in achieving the Millenium Development Goals.

In East Africa this week, President Gaddafi of Libya, along with other Heads of States, is visiting Uganda at the close of the Afro-Arab Festival. While the aim of his visit is philanthropic and includes the opening of a mosque in Kampala, it is expected that Colonel Gaddafi and President Wade of Senegal will use their visit to rally support for the union government proposal after President Museveni surprised observers at the African Union by endorsing a gradualist approach to continental unity. In addition, “Col Gaddafi’s first visit to Uganda in seven years underscores Libya’s growing portfolio of investments in the region and the political and economic weight it wields and is increasingly willing to use to acquire and defend its interests in the region and across the continent”. Lastly, as Kenya continues to grapple with the causes and impact of the recent post-election violence, the Peace and Security Council of the AU has called for a comprehensive review of electoral procedures across the Continent while Professor Oluyemi Adeniji, who took over from Dr Kofi Annan as the chief mediator in the Kenyan mediation process, has said of the commission of inquiry investigating the contested December elections that "determining the culpability of some of the participants is going to be a daunting task". It is also expected that the AU will soon undertake a review its Declaration of Principles Governing Democratic Elections.