AU expresses concern over resurgence of military coups

Published:February 04,2022

                                                                                                                                        Olympia De Maismont | AFP

A man crosses through burning barricades in Ouagadougou during protests in January. The AU has suspended Burkina Faso in response to the coup that ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.                                                                              

The African Union (AU) Commission has expressed its deep concern over the growing trend of military coups across the African continent that undermines peace and stability of countries in Africa.

The statement was made by the Peace and Security Council of the AU Commission during its latest meeting on Monday that dwelt upon the situation in Burkina Faso, which has become the latest African country to experience military coup. 

The Council, which suspended Burkina Faso from the bloc until normal constitutional order is restored, stressed its concern over the new trend of military coups in Africa. 

The 55-member pan-African bloc further reiterated its zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government in line with the AU Constitutive Act and reaffirmed total adherence to the AU normative frameworks on illegal takeover of governments on the continent. 

It reiterated its communique adopted back in September 2021, which called for a comprehensive and objective analysis of the root causes and impact of unconstitutional changes of government in the continent. 

The Council further noted the recommendations of the 8th High Level Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa held in Oran, Algeria in December 2021, which called for the review of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the Lome Declaration on unconstitutional changes of government.

The Council underscored the need for such analytical review to also examine existing AU instruments on democracy and good governance, with a view to factor in contemporary challenges to African peace and security and modalities to address the surge in unconstitutional changes of government in Africa, and report to the Council within two months, with practical recommendations on steps to be taken. 

allafrica.com