Just look at who is now heading the African (Dis)Union, and you get an idea why the organization gets no respect in most parts of the world.
African leaders tackle Ivory Coast crisis
France's Sarkozy (right) shakes hands with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
African Union leaders sought a peaceful solution to crises in Ivory Coast and other continental hotspots Sunday even as they designated a new chairman notorious for his brutal seizure of power.
The leaders homed in on the continent's trouble spots and praised its successes, notably the peaceful handover of power in Guinea and the conduct of the independence poll in southern Sudan.
They went on to designate Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema as the new chairman of the 53-member bloc, replacing Malawi's Bingu wa Mutharika.
"The concept of democracy, human rights and good governance are not new to Africa, but they should be adapted to the African culture," Obiang said in his acceptance speech.
Observers have criticised Nguema's appointment, citing his poor human rights record at home which they say is at odds with the democracy aspirations of the 53-member pan-African bloc.
Obiang toppled his own uncle in a 1979 coup and had him killed. Since then he has ruled his country with an iron first.
"The vast majority of wealth in Equatorial Guinea is being used to support President Obiang and his family while most of the country lives in extreme poverty," said Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch.
"A country that has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world also has one of the highest rates of infant mortality," he said. "Don't Africans and the African Union deserve better?"
The African Union's presidency rotates among heads of state and government for a term of one year and alternates between the continent's five sub-regions.
The holder of the post does not however have much sway on the bloc's policies, with the most important decisions taken by heads of state and government of its member nations.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon told the two dozen heads of state assembled at the meeting to "confront common challenges."
On Tunisia, where protests ended the 23-year rule of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali earlier this month, Ban urged the leaders to support "the swift establishment of an inclusive interim government that will work with all of society to establish peace and stablity."
The UN chief called for "restraint" in the deadly Egyptian uprising, which has left more than 100 dead since Tuesday.
"With respect to Egypt I would also make a call for restraint, non-violence and respect of fundamental rights and freedoms and human rights," he said.
Many of the pre-summit talks have been given over to the political crisis in Ivory Coast, where Alassane Ouattara has been recognised as the winner of the November presidential poll but his rival Laurent Gbagbo refuses to step down.
Earlier Ban said a recount of the disputed ballot would be a "grave injustice."
"Reopening the results of the election would be a grave injustice and set an unfortunate precedent," he said.
Ban underlined the importance of a "peaceful and honorable exit" for Gbagbo, and urged "President Ouattara to form a national unity government."
The AU is setting up a five-member heads of state panel to make binding recommendations on the Ivory Coast rivals within a month.
The bloc will hold a special meeting Monday on Sudan after the landmark January 9-15 south Sudan referendum.
According to complete preliminary results released Sunday, close to 99 percent of southern Sudanese chose to secede from the north.
"We are still very much concerned about post-referendum issues -- border security, citizenship, wealth sharing, demarcation," said Ban.
The leaders also voiced concern over war-ravaged Somalia. The country's Western-backed transitional government's mandate expires in August.
Since its formation in Kenya in 2004, it has failed to stamp authority across the country and has been battered by an Islamist insurgency.
No comments:
Post a Comment