The African Union launched preparations for two consecutive extraordinary summits scheduled for the weekend in Equatorial Guinea, the first on humanitarian crises and the second on terrorism and "unconstitutional changes of government."
Around twenty heads of state are expected. AU estimates that some 113 million Africans need emergency humanitarian aid in 2022. More than that, jihadist terrorism is spreading all over the continent. The last two years were marked by four coups recognized as such by the Pan-African organization, which suspended Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
"About 113 million people need humanitarian aid in Africa, of which 48 million are refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons", detailed Mr. Faki Mahamat. There is an "urgent" need for aid in 15 African countries most affected by crises, the AU said in a statement.
According to the AU, "humanitarian needs are increasing rapidly in Africa", in particular "due to climatic shocks and conflicts (...) which have exponentially increased humanitarian needs". In a continent of 1.4 billion people, around 282 million are undernourished, up 49 million from 2019.
The second summit, "Terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government", will commence on Saturday. It will address "terrorism, a gangrene that is gradually infecting all regions of the continent, from Libya to Mozambique, from Mali to Somalia, via the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Terrorism continues to expand its macabre law with far-reaching consequences on finances, economies and human security".
"As for the unconstitutional government changes in many countries, recent scourges mark a setback in the democratic processes initiated in many countries for twenty years," lamented Faki Mahamat. In Mali, Sudan, Guinea and Burkina Faso, soldiers have overthrown civilian regimes in the past two years. The putschists all promised a transition to a civilian power, but sometimes indefinitely or deemed too long by the AU. Some European Union capitals imposed sanctions on the or suspended diplomatic relations until the handing over of power to civilians.
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