Mereja Forum

[sarcasm]

African Union at 20: Ethiopian–Tigray crisis remains a blemish, By Adeoye O. Akinola

In addition to this intentional or unintentional neglect by the African Union, other segments of the continent, including the academic community and mass media, are also culpable.

Why is the world turning its eyes from the plights of Africans, including the merciless killings in Tigray? While this should not be a rude shock, one would have expected more commitments from African leaders, the African Union, and other regional arrangements, to forge ahead with the Responsibility to Protect the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives being lost in Ethiopia, thereby activating the long-forgotten slogan, ‘African solutions to African problems’.

On 19 August, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), announced that the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia was worse than the one in Ukraine. Since President Vladimir Putin of Russia attacked Ukraine on 24 February, the global community has been running helter-skelter in its attempt to resolve the complex violent conflict, which many have regarded as Russian aggression against Ukraine. African Union (AU) leaders have expressed serious concerns and have become very active in trying to resolve the Russia–Ukraine conflict; for instance, the AU chairperson, President Macky Sall of Senegal, paid a visit to Russia, while the envoys of the two warring countries have continued to diplomatically cut through Africa.

By 14 August, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had recorded 13,212 civilian casualties in Ukraine (5,514 killed and 7,698 injured). In Tigray, by contrast, The Globe and Mail in Canada reported in March that between 50,000 and 100,000 people had been killed directly, between 150,000 and 200,000 have died from starvation, and over 100,000 died through a lack of access to healthcare facilities. Basic amenities such as schools, electricity infrastructures, and hospitals have been destroyed. More than two million people have fled their homes and an additional 2.5 million need life-saving humanitarian assistance in the war-affected areas. In addition to this, the media have also become victims due to their restricted access to the war zone – no thanks to the Ethiopian government.

As predicted at the beginning of the Russia–Ukraine war, the conflict in Europe has shifted the attention of the global community from conflict situations in Africa to Europe. In furtherance of the North-South relations, Africa continues to attract less attention from the global powers. For instance, the United States, under President Biden, has allocated approximately $54 billion in aid and military facilities to Ukraine in support of the current hostility, while it has sent only about $488 million for the 18-month-old conflict in Ethiopia. Similarly, the United Kingdom has offered an estimated £2.3 billion in military support to Ukraine. This is in addition to the £1.5 billion in humanitarian and economic aid extended to the country since the outbreak of the war in February. Between November 2020 and October 2021, the United Kingdom donated about £75 million to ameliorate suffering in the war-torn zone in Africa. While the Russia–Ukraine situation is different from the Ethiopia–Tigray war, Europe and the United States have shown less commitment to combating the threats to lives in Africa. Furthermore, the war in Europe has also exposed the racialisation of the European Union (EU)’s migration governance, as Ukrainian migrants are gladly received by EU member states, while African migrants – fleeing violent conflict – have been subjected regularly to inhumane conditions.

Many commentators have committed the sin of neglecting the AU’s financial and institutional incapacity to live up to its expectations. However, the African Union could have performed better in terms of promoting peace and security on the continent – its peace and security architecture has underperformed. The AU’s African Standby Force (ASF) has refused to ‘standby’ and be dispatched to conflict areas…

Why is the world turning its eyes from the plights of Africans, including the merciless killings in Tigray? While this should not be a rude shock, one would have expected more commitments from African leaders, the African Union, and other regional arrangements, to forge ahead with the Responsibility to Protect the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives being lost in Ethiopia, thereby activating the long-forgotten slogan, ‘African solutions to African problems’. Ironically, the distance between the war zone and the seat of the AU is less than 1,000 kilometres.

Continue reading https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/ ... inola.html