The 26th Summit of the African Union (AU) was held from January 21 to January 31, 2015 in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa.
Chad’s president Idriss Itno Déby took over from Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe as the new chair of the African Union (AU).
Leaders meeting at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa amongst other things discussed the Burundi crisis, Boko Haram and Al Shabaab. Agenda 2063, a 50-year blueprint for Africa’s development adopted to mark the African Union’s 50th anniversary in 2013 was also n discussion during the meet.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta led an onslaught against the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The AU adopted a proposal to develop a road map for the withdrawal of African nations from the Rome Statute, which governs the court. Cases against Kenyan president and his deputy were all dropped.
At the time of the 26th AU Summit the crisis in Burundi had heightened. The AU however decided not to deploy troops to Burundi in the face of opposition from the government, saying this was never the intention. International rights groups and the UN believed Burundi may be on the brink of a civil war, precipitated by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for an unconstitutional third term. Instead a delegation of presidents would be sent to meet Nkurunziza on the issue.
Also UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made his final address to the AU, asking the continental body to deploy peacekeepers to Burundi, and decrying leaders who hang on to power for too long.
The hard-hitting Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe took a swipe at the United Nations, saying Africa would walk out of the world body if not given a permanent seat on the Security Council. He also accused US President Barack Obama of being a puppet of whites.
Nigeria and Egypt were elected to serve on the AU Peace and Security Council for three years.
The meeting closed with a ceremony to thank stakeholders who contributed to the African Union’s response to last year’s Ebola outbreak in western Africa.
