Africa: AU Summit

African leaders are meeting in Addis Ababa for the African Union's (AU's) annual summit.

Many of the week-long proceedings will be focused on the mundane issues of budgeting and selection of members for various panels and commissions.  But two items are of more serious import. 

First, the AU Commission will be selecting a new president.  The incumbent, Omar Konare, has been an outspoken activist for African unity, and critic of African governments he has perceived as dragging their feet on their obligations for peace and security -- including Sudan, Ivory Coast and others.  The choice of a new Commission president will have a significant impact on the role that the AU plays in pushing for African leadership in fostering security and prosperity.

The second event will be the report of the current AU chairman, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, on his visit to Kenya.  Kufuor attempted to engage both sides in the disputed elections, but was undermined by President Mwai Kibaki's disregard for African mediation.  Kufuor's experience in Nairobi is symptomatic of a wider issue with respect to the AU's peace and security architecture.  As in Kenya, the AU’s efforts elsewhere -- including Somalia and Sudan -- have been thwarted by both its lack of resources, and a shortfall of credibility in African politics. 

Without a firm hand at the Commission, and continued promotion of the peace and security agenda, the AU will continue to be marginalised in the continent’s crises.