The modern history of Africa is one of a fight against terrorist groups. Al Qaida, al Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Lord's Resistance Army are just the tip of the iceberg that became afloat after wars in Syria and Libya. These agents cause significant unrest on the continent, leaving behind casualties, poverty and famine. The African Union's (AU) mission is to oppose the activity of extremists. Has it succeeded so far? What are its objectives?
The first decisions of AU concerning defense date back to 1977, when the organization adopted the Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism, which criminalized the phenomenon. The next milestone came in 1992 when AU put in power the Resolution on the Strengthening of Cooperation and Coordination among the African States, pledging to fight extremism and terrorism. Since then, the African Union has adopted several other important terrorism-related instruments, such as the 2002 African Union Plan of Action on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism or the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism. While much progress has been made, there are still areas in which the AU has to work on solutions bringing peace to the continent actively.
The new chapter in the history of the fight against terrorism opened this year. Senegal's President Macky Sall was elected the new chairperson of the African Union on February 5, 2022. Within a year before his presidency, several countries' governments fell in coup de etats: Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Chad. The choice of Macky Sall was, therefore, thoughtful as most of the listed countries are in the region of Sahel. Senegal, led by Sall, is the only country with a stable and healthy democracy, efficiently fending off the adversaries at its gates. Senegalese president understands the struggles of all African nations and has solutions ready to be implemented right away.
Mr. Sall has already found a way to appropriately address the region's crisis. The African Union works closely with the United Nations Security Council to ensure peace and security. As a member of ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African Nations), Senegal introduced free movement of persons and goods, allowing for the integration of the countries, also in the militaristic sense. Thirdly, the African Union tightens its relations with European Union. At the AU-EU summit held in February 2022, the organizations decided to foster cooperation by:
supporting adequate training, capacity building and equipment,
strengthening and scaling up autonomous peace operations of African defense and security forces, including through EU missions and assistance measures,
supporting law-enforcement capacity-building.
The problematic challenge lying ahead the AU is deepened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a food crisis across the continent. Poverty pushes young men into extremist groups' open arms, causing further atrocities throughout the continent.
However, the decisiveness of Mr. Sall so far sheds a light of hope on the situation. He has already addressed African nations to carefully manage food resources in the face of a looming crisis. He effectively handles the Casamance rebellion. Throughout his career, his judgment proved to be correct. The future of Africa is in his hands and, however difficult it may be, Mr. Sall is the only African leader capable of dealing with the current state of affairs effectively.
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