The humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur has emerged as the litmus test for the African Union's capacity for conflict resolution, writes Gamal Nkrumah The third summit of the African Union (AU), which replaced the now defunct Organisation of African Unity, took place in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday. The two-day summit focussed on conflict resolution in a continent ripped apart by civil wars. Devastating wars in Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi were reviewed and the long-standing tensions in the African Great Lakes region, Horn of Africa and the political stalemate in Somalia were touched upon. But it was the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur that topped the agenda. AU commissioner, Alpha Oumar Konare, set the tone for the summit by boldly declaring that "Africa is back". "Africa is often presented as a risk for itself and the rest of the world. We reject this image. This continent, this land that is so rich in natural resources, is a demographic force," the former Malian president said. Konare also presented a $1.7 billion three-year plan for Africa's economic recovery. However, success is by no means certain. The AU's current budget is a mere $43 million, peanuts when compared with the budgets of other comparable regional organisations, such as the European Union or Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This meagre budget is further weakened by the fact that seven months into the year, AU member states have paid less than $13 million in dues. Conspicuously absent from the summit was Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, one of the most ardent supporters of the AU. Indeed, few North African leaders turned out, with the notable exception of Algerian President Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika. Eritrean leader Isayas Afeworki also boycotted the Addis Ababa summit, despite the peace agreement signed between Eritrea and Ethiopia in Algeria two years ago. In a strongly-worded statement, the Eritrean government angrily accused the AU of neglecting its responsibilities. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bitter border war between 1998 and 2000, a conflict which cost some 100,000 lives. Tensions remain high between the two Horn of Africa countries and Eritrean patience with the AU is running thin. Subsequently, Eritrea withdrew its ambassador to the Addis Ababa based AU. Egypt was represented by Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who said that Egypt anticipated working more closely with other African countries to resolve the Darfur crisis. He stressed that Egypt was committed to peace and maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its southern neighbour Sudan. Egypt intends to play a more prominent role in the Sudanese peace process by assisting in the resolution of the Darfur crisis. The AU peacekeeping mission to Darfur involves the deployment of 300 troops to guard an eventual 60 AU peace monitors who will patrol refugee camps. "The protection force will be deployed as soon as possible," AU director for peace and security, Sam Ibok, told a news conference in Addis Ababa. It is not yet clear if Egyptian troops will take part in the AU peacekeeping mission. The AU also approached Botswana, South Africa, Rwanda and Ethiopia to provide peacekeeping troops in Darfur. "At the moment there are six monitors in a region as big as France. They do not leave the hotel where they are staying because they are not provided with cars or other means of transport," Emma Bonino, a member of the International Crisis Group, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The deployment of more monitors is essential," added Bonino, stressing that the EU is working hand in hand with the AU to resolve the crisis in Darfur, especially with Konare. A large number of international observers are in Addis Ababa to garner support for intervention in Darfur. Many human rights activists are outraged by the atrocities committed there, where the civilian population has bourne the brunt of the fighting. "These are innocent women and children being raped, murdered, forced into sexual slavery and being submitted to all kinds of atrocities and gross human rights violations," said Bonino who wants the Sudanese authorities to open Darfur to international humanitarian relief workers. She also alluded to practical concerns that face the donor communities. "The money is there. There is much goodwill in Europe and around the world. The humanitarian budget is there, but who is going to get the funds. We have a budget for such an emergency, but how do we deliver the funds and who do we deliver the money to," Bonino said. She stressed that most humanitarian relief organisations are wary of the Sudanese government, who is widely seen as responsible for the mayhem in Darfur. Representatives of armed opposition groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement ,(JEM) are not regarded as trustworthy either. The SLA signed a ceasefire agreement with the Sudanese government in Chadian capital Ndjamena on April 2004. But the Chadian government is not considered completely neutral in the Darfur crisis either. The only other AU peacekeeping mission was deployed to Burundi in 2003. But because it was starved of funds, the mission was transferred to the control of the United Nations. UN Secretary- General, Kofi Annan, also spoke in Addis Ababa and urged African leaders to focus on food security by launching a "green revolution". Poverty and Africa's debt crisis also featured prominently on the agenda of the AU summit. Africa had a combined foreign debt of $106 billion in 2002. The continent's leaders called on the countries of the G8, the world's wealthiest and biggest economies, to write off the debt. Africa's leaders also allude to the problem of poverty in a continent where 40 per cent of the population lives on less than $1 a day. It is under these very difficult circumstances that the continent's leaders are trying to build a better Africa. The AU summit also coincided with the launching of the African Parliament, one of 17 new organisations that will be set up to strengthen the process of African political and economic integration. In March, African MPs elected Tanzanian Gertrude Mongella as their speaker. African leaders are also looking into initiating simpler more transparent procedures that would better facilitate continental unity.
