ETHIOPIA 1-2 February 2008 African Union leaders meet for 10th AU summit 

When the leaders of the 53-nation African Union meet in Addis Ababa for their 10th summit, the so-called Grand Debate on unification, spilling over from the 9th AU summit, is likely to vie for attention with newer issues like the African diaspora and developments in the continent's conflicts.

The AU foreign ministers meet from 28-31 Jan to decide on the priorities.

Full integration of the AU member states into a "United States of Africa" modeled on the European Union has been the dream from the start of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafy, who was also a prime mover in the conversion of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union in 2002. The 9th AU summit was convened around the Grand Debate. Leaders such as Gaddafy, feel the continent must unite without delay under one government with its own army and an agreed foreign policy. So-called gradualists, like South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of Nigeria, want to do it in a more measured way.

The new project on the AU plate is the effort to draw on the resources of the African diasporsa. At their 2003 meeting the leaders announced the intention of attracting the expertise and investment of people of African heritage around the world as a way to speed up AU development. This February summit will hear a report from AU ministers meeting in November. They have been directed to move the project into a final stage that will lead to an official declaration and document the leaders can sign at a special diaspora summit in April.

The most pressing of the conflicts for the leaders' attention at the summit is Darfur. The AU Mission in Sudan (UMIS) has peacekeepers from 26 AU countries in pockets throughout the conflict zone in western Sudan. On Aug 1, the UN approved the deployment of 26,000 military and police personnel to the region to boost peacekeeping, which is widely regarded as under-powered due mainly to logistical bottlenecks and lack of money. Khartoum's demands on the makeup of the force and its mission continue to be obstacles to deployment.

Other AU headaches include Somalia and Zimbabwe. Somalia was named and shamed on Sep 26 as the worst-governed country in sub-Saharan Africa in a survey of political performance across the continent. The inaugural annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance, published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, ranked 48 countries against 58 individual measures. The foundation ranks countries on five factors: safety and security; rule of law, transparency and corruption; participation and human rights; sustainable economic opportunity; and human development. Somalia is on an almost constant war footing with Ethiopia, which creates diplomatic difficulties for the AU summit host. Ethiopia's on-again-off-again conflict with Eritrea also is another AU headache.

Most leaders in the southern cone of Africa support Zimbabwe President Robert Mubage, so the debate is likely to be more about helping Zimbabwe than condemning its president.

RELATED READING:

9th African Union summit (Suite101.com 5 Jul 2007)

UN, African Union unite to end Darfur violence (NPR 1 Aug 2007)

Somalia shamed in African governance index (AFP 26 Sep 2007)for their 10th summit, the so-called Grand Debate on unification, spilling over from the 9th AU summit, is likely to vie for attention with newer issues like the African diaspora and developments in the continent's conflicts.

The AU foreign ministers meet from 28-31 Jan to decide on the priorities.

Full integration of the AU member states into a "United States of Africa" modeled on the European Union has been the dream from the start of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafy, who was also a prime mover in the conversion of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union in 2002. The 9th AU summit was convened around the Grand Debate. Leaders such as Gaddafy, feel the continent must unite without delay under one government with its own army and an agreed foreign policy. So-called gradualists, like South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of Nigeria, want to do it in a more measured way.

The new project on the AU plate is the effort to draw on the resources of the African diasporsa. At their 2003 meeting the leaders announced the intention of attracting the expertise and investment of people of African heritage around the world as a way to speed up AU development. This February summit will hear a report from AU ministers meeting in November. They have been directed to move the project into a final stage that will lead to an official declaration and document the leaders can sign at a special diaspora summit in April.

The most pressing of the conflicts for the leaders' attention at the summit is Darfur. The AU Mission in Sudan (UMIS) has peacekeepers from 26 AU countries in pockets throughout the conflict zone in western Sudan. On Aug 1, the UN approved the deployment of 26,000 military and police personnel to the region to boost peacekeeping, which is widely regarded as under-powered due mainly to logistical bottlenecks and lack of money. Khartoum's demands on the makeup of the force and its mission continue to be obstacles to deployment.

Other AU headaches include Somalia and Zimbabwe. Somalia was named and shamed on Sep 26 as the worst-governed country in sub-Saharan Africa in a survey of political performance across the continent. The inaugural annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance, published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, ranked 48 countries against 58 individual measures. The foundation ranks countries on five factors: safety and security; rule of law, transparency and corruption; participation and human rights; sustainable economic opportunity; and human development. Somalia is on an almost constant war footing with Ethiopia, which creates diplomatic difficulties for the AU summit host. Ethiopia's on-again-off-again conflict with Eritrea also is another AU headache.

Most leaders in the southern cone of Africa support Zimbabwe President Robert Mubage, so the debate is likely to be more about helping Zimbabwe than condemning its president. Dec/07

RELATED READING:

9th African Union summit (Suite101.com 5 Jul 2007)
http://africanaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/9th_african_union_summit

UN, African Union unite to end Darfur violence (NPR 1 Aug 2007)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12421660