Fahamu’s Monthly Round Up: May 2014

As the African Union (AU) celebrated the 51st anniversary of the establishment of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, many policy analysts voiced their concern over the AU’s failure to maintain peace and security on the continent, especially its inability to stop terrorist activities in Kenya and Nigeria where terrorist groups Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram respectively have been increasing their dreadful attacks. On the other hand, the AU does not agree with those criticisms and argues that there have been important positive developments on the group. The AU cites the recent air strike on an Al-Shabaab stronghold in Jilib carried out by its troops in Somalia on 18 May 2014 as an example of AU efforts to weaken the Somali militant group. The AU currently has over 22,000 security personnel in Somalia, the biggest AU security contingent on the continent.

Still on matters of security, the African Union Commission of Inquiry for South Sudan has been undertaking consultations with East African leaders and South Sudanese stakeholders including the civil society on possibilities of establishing a hybrid criminal court in partnership with the United Nations to address first level perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the four-month-old conflict in South Sudan. In case the hybrid court were to be established, it would take the shape of the Extraordinary African Chambers for Senegal, established in 2013 for the trial of former president of Chad, Hissène Habré. Furthermore, The African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) met on 9th May 2014 to discuss the resurgence of violence in the Darfur region and reiterated their support for engagement between non-signatory rebel groups and the Sudanese government in order to bring hostilities and conflict to an end. The AUPSC called upon rebel groups in the Darfur region of Sudan to enter negotiations with the Sudanese government and urged Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir to spare no efforts in facilitating such participation. The Darfur rebels have not signed up to the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, which was agreed upon in 2011 and makes up the framework for a comprehensive peace process in Darfur.

In other developments, the AU has expressed its concerns over the rising political tensions in Burundi in the run-up to the 2015 elections. The AU’s concerns centred on the refugee situation, disarmament of former rebels in Burundi and on shrinking space for opposition parties. The AU called on all political players to maintain the ongoing peace consolidation and reconciliation process in the country. Burundi and Rwanda are part of the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), where the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Chief of MISCA, Jean Marie Michel Mokoko, has congratulated Rwandan peacekeepers on their service with the AU’s mission in the Central African Republic. The MISCA peacekeepers were instrumental in setting up a humanitarian corridor that has been vital in allowing essential supplies to reach the Central African Republic.

Finally, the African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs has been discussing possibilities of expanding the African Court of Human Rights and Justice to include criminal jurisdiction on international crimes. The expanded court would be a big step for Africa, as it would extend its jurisdiction to include genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, there are concerns about a proposal that would provide immunity to senior government officials, including heads of state, from prosecution.