The election of commissioners is a key step in the reform process of the African Union Commission.
Addis Ababa, November 2018. The African Union launches its own Peace Fund with the aim to ensure predictable financing for peace and security activities in Africa.
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Frank Mattheis, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Ueli Staeger, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)
Wavering commitment in African capitals and the continued attractiveness of the African Union to external funders risk stalling the crucial path to financial autonomy.
Soldiers from the Mozambican army patrol the streets in Mocimboa da Praia following an attack by suspected Islamists in October 2018.
Adrien Barbier/AFP via Getty Images
African governments must engage rating agencies better, providing them and investors with credible economic data, and regularly address all concerns being raised.
French Air Force soldiers work on a Boeing C135 parked on the French Air Force base in Niamey, Niger in December, 2017.
The Horn of Africa is the epicentre of foreign military activity. Foreign troops have been deployed to support peace initiatives, subdue terror groups and support foreign security initiatives.
Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki (left), Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (right) and Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
Mali’s precarious political situation has been the subject of ECOWAS resolution attempts for months
A demonstrator stands with a sign reading: “Demands: sack the local authority, disarm militias, protect citizens, cattle, and farmland, and end friction between farmers and shepherds”, during a protest in Central Darfur.
Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images
President Alassane Ouattara (78) has been blowing hot and cold on whether he’ll be seeking a third term.
A soldier from Niger patrols near the border with Nigeria. Porous borders with Nigeria and Mali are hotbeds for Jihadists and marauding local militias.
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Leaders’ efforts to end conflict have been ineffective. Working through regional economic communities might be part of a better approach.
Lesotho’s former Prime Minister Tom Thabane, left, and his successor Moeketsi Majoro, at the latter’s swearing in ceremony at the Royal Palace in Maseru.
Molise Molise/AFP-GettyImages
Moeketsi Majoro’s installation as Prime Minister is welcome. But it does not guarantee much needed political stability in an era of complex coalition politics.
Ugandan protesters call for an end to President Yoweri Museveni’s despotic rule.
Peter Busomoke/AFP via Getty Images
Trouble in Africa’s cities is due to the fact that electoral competition drives leaders to be biased towards rural areas.
African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 24, 2020. The Chairperson, African Union Commission, H.E. Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, said that the Commission will strengthen partnerships and coordination across Africa to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak.
African Union
Despite the transnational dimension of the Covid-19 crisis, transnational responses are facing many obstacles. Yet, some regional organisations might be able to expand their mandate and resources.
Africa is facing a profound crisis that could set its development back a generation. It needs a solution to its debt problems that doesn’t cripple countries.
Lockdowns to curb the coronavirus have shut down Africa’s dominant informal economy, destroying livelihoods.
Simon Maina/AFP/GettyImages
The loss of livelihoods flowing from the efforts to combat the pandemic highlights the dearth of social protection measures on the continent.
An activist poses for the camera outside Botswana High Court which ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality in June 2019.
Tshekiso Tebalo/AFP via Getty Images
Predominant public sentiment remains largely anti-homosexual and overshadows constitutionally guaranteed rights in Africa.
Sudanese protestors celebrate a deal with the ruling generals on a new governing body, in the capital Khartoum, recently.
Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images)
The African Union’s staunch support for al-Bashir, cloaked in criticism of the International Criminal Court, denied justice to the millions affected by the conflict in Sudan.
Supporters of Cameroonian President Paul Biya outside the French embassy in Yaounde.
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Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), University of the Witwatersrand