The African Union has a desperate need for a new beginning | African Union

On February 15, during the 38th Summit of the African Union (AC), held in Adis Abba, Ethiopia, African leaders elected Mahmoud Ali Yusuf, Foreign Minister of Djibouti, as a new chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC) , the executive branch of the continental body. He prevailed over Rayla Oding, former Kenya Prime Minister, and Richard Randriamantrato, former Madagascar Foreign Minister.

Youssouf has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2005 and has taken over by Musa Faki Mahamat, the former Prime Minister of Chad, who has served two consecutive four-year terms as a leader of AUC. In his official manifesto, he is committed to progressing in management and democracy, strengthening institutional capacity and promoting peace and security, among other purposes.

Youssouf takes a position at an uncertain time in Africa and is expected to use his diplomatic expertise, especially to deal with conflicts raging in Sudan and at Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)S

Youssouf seems to be ready to support peace and work for significant positive changes in countries across the continent in the coming years. But its success is less than guaranteed, since in principle, African leaders hesitate to give up significant power of the AU and its related organizations.

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) Released A Report in March 2022, Which Revealed That As of July 2021, Just 7 Percent of Its Judgements Had Been Fully Compl Complied with, and a substantial 75 percent have not been respected at all.

In addition, the report mentions that several African countries have made it clear to the Executive Council that they will not adhere to the court's decisions. Perhaps this explains why last year the ACHPR report missed these statistics.

Most African leaders oppose the imposition of strict external supervision measures – critical interventions that their countries strongly need to prevent war and instability. Therefore, it is less than safe what you can achieve in the next four years.

The successes and failures of his predecessor Musa Faki Mahat can offer some clues for what the new AUC chair may expect to achieve in the next period.

At a ceremony, to celebrate the official start of his term of office on March 14, 2017, he removed with confidence. He had promised to “turn the commission an instrument capable of becoming a reality of the vision of our leaders and the aspirations of our peoples” and “to silence the weapons and to realize Africa free from conflict until 2020.”

Eight years later, the presentation of his administration was marked by a combination of limited achievements and many unresolved challenges.

Maham plays an important role in the mediation of Termination of the Military Action Agreement (COHA)A remarkable peace treaty signed between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigra People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on November 2, 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa. This agreement put an end to the devastating 2020-2022 Tigray WarS However, a decisive achievement, however, he failed to “silenced the weapons” in conflicts in Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso., Somalia and Mozambique “Although it was not for a lack of effort.

In his address to the 37th ordinary session of the African Union Assembly on February 17, 2024, Mahahat expressed his deep powerlessness from the non -liberal actions of African leaders, which he chose not to name, seemingly in a spiritual attempt to rationalize his various his various his different Your different different your different your different your different your different your different your different your different your different your different your different your own Different your different your different failures.

He pointed to the continued conflicts of the continent, the resumption of military coups in Central and West Africaand the prevailing reluctance of certain states -Member States of AC To hold elections that are considered reliable. To the latter, he correctly said: “Instead of being a joyful way of peaceful transfer or maintenance of power, the election came through the extent of their irregularities, factors for deepening crises.”

At the same time, he stressed that many African leaders have largely ignored African peace and security architecture (APSA), the AU plan to prevent conflicts, management and resolution and his colleague – African governance architecture (AGA). The aim of AGA is to encourage and protect the rights of people and people, to strengthen democratic institutions and culture, and to guarantee good governance and rule of law.

Mahamat also puzzled the fact that institutional reforms in the continental Union did not deal with the issues related to AUC and its chairman. “Although the chairman of the committee was recognized in the texts as a legal representative and” chief accountant “of the organization, it is paradoxically deprived of a sufficient margue margin to act urgently on strategic issues.”

He then proposed a sharp criticism to African leaders, claiming that they had “the frantic tendency to make decisions without a real political will to implement them.” This led to a great and non -working scenario, in which, according to Maham, 93 percent of the decisions taken in 2021, 2022, and 2023 were not in force.

Such a systematic challenge, he added, is noticed both at the level of the Member States and the regional communities, with Member States often do not neglect and neglect the resolutions established by the continental organs. Alarmingly, he warned that without transformative changes, the organization would not be able to effectively respond to the social political challenges present on the continent.

African leaders are no doubt a significant barrier to the social and economic progress of the continent. They are enjoying witnesses to AU, who develop in a deliberately weakened entity, which takes care of their self -centered, unscrupulous goals.

It is therefore imperative that Yusuf in his role as a heir to Mahahat to receive sufficiently independent authorities and resources to impose strict adherence to the organization's conventions, especially with regard to APSA and AGA.

Without this, he can unfortunately be as powerless to solve the most pressing problems of the continent as his predecessor.

In 2002, AU introduced the African Partnership Mechanism (APRM) to allow Member States to voluntarily evaluate their management practices. However, its effect is minimal. Given the ongoing conflicts and inadequate management that continue to exist on the entire continent every year, Africa clearly requires a complete regulatory framework for annual and improvised national assessments.

Think about the situation in Sudan.

For three decades, the ace closed his eyes to the illegal, autocratic and deeply inhuman actions of the regime of President Omar Al Bashir-Presses that slowly paved the way for the coup of the coup April 11, 2019S Al-Bashir's removal in the coup subsequently set the scene for another military absorption October 25, 2021And the current civil war.

AU inaction and inability to impose good governance create the scene for such disadvantages in Mozambique.

The deep inability of the ruling party Fralimo to establish an inclusive democracy, to guarantee economic stability and to provide basic services, make the gas -rich Cape Delgado province a fertile position for uprising. In early October 2017, an armed rebellion in the countryside led to the displacement of over 1.3 million people, compromised health infrastructure and led to a critical humanitarian crisis. AU and its various bodies made a little more than to observe how these tragedies unfold.

In fact, in both scenarios, AU had the opportunity to apply decisive and timely interventions to manage peace, stability and socio-economic well-being. It wasn't, or more precisely it couldn't.

Unfortunately, Addis Ababa was historically deprived of the necessary body to analyze and respond to bad leadership. Mozambique and Sudan are just two examples among many. AU also failed to cope with the difficult situation of Eritrea's political prisoners, a democratic retreat in Tunisia, and the long -standing brutal repression of opposition leaders in Uganda, to name only a few.

Given the constant disregard for the main protocols of the AU, which encourage the unrest of the entire continent, it is essential that the new AUC chairman does not take a passive position in the next four years. His service must be endowed with unambiguous power to keep African leaders responsible for his political surpluses and failures.

Youssouf can create a legacy of peace and socio -economic transformation in its new role, but first it must make the AC start working in the best interests of its main stakeholders: 1.5 billion people in Africa.

The anger expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazee's editorial position.