African heads of state gather at the headquarters of the African Union to try to find a way to prevent conflicts proliferating across the continent
The two-day summit has taken as its theme"Silencing the Guns", yet AU officials are well aware of their failure to achieve the goal adopted in 2013 of ending"all wars in Africa by 2020".African heads of state gather on Sunday at the headquarters of the African Union for a summit meeting due to focus on how the body can play a more prominent role in resolving conflicts proliferating across the continent.
The focus on conflicts this year marks a departure from multiple years of summits dedicated to reforming the AU -including its funding structure- and the implementation of a continent- wide free trade area.Though some progress has been made recently in Central African Republic and Sudan, long-running conflicts in places like Libya and South Sudan have been joined by new crises from Cameroon to Mozambique.
The AU "must be more proactive" in responding to conflicts instead of leaving the job to outside powers, Naledi Pandor, South Africa's international relations minister, told AFP. One priority for Ramaphosa is to have the AU play a bigger role in Libya-related peace processes, which have been led primarily by the UN.But the AU's attempts to assert itself have been undermined by its own divisions.
The AU will also need to convince Europe, which is following Libya closely given its proximity to the conflict, to give it room to operate.
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