Foreign Minister Maas visits Addis Ababa

Prior to the visit of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns of too high expectations. “The German Foreign Office has praised the AU as a stability anchor – but it is actually more like a drift anchor, giving the false impression of stability,” stated Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Thursday – emphasizing that the AU appears to be unable to fight impunity in connection with Africa’s largest human rights crisis in South Sudan, Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic. “In addition, some of the AU member states are fueling armed conflicts in neighboring countries through arms deliveries,” the human rights activist criticized. “As long as some of the member stated misuse the AU for their national interests, the union is not to be seen as a guarantor of stability. For many of the AU member states, democracy, a rule of law, and good governance are not a priority. Thus, the AU will most probably not show much commitment toward these values in the near future.”

Delius placed special emphasis on the AU’s failure to fight impunity in South Sudan. According to an internationally binding peace agreement that was signed in August 2015, the AU was supposed to establish a tribunal, consisting of South Sudanese and other African judges, in order to bring to justice those who are responsible for the serious atrocities in the civil war. However, the government of South Sudan is so reluctant that there has been no significant progress in establishing the mixed court. “The AU’s failure has led to new serious human rights violations in South Sudan, beacuse the perpetrators don’t have to fear prosecution,” Delius stated. Since the outbreak of the civil war in December 2013, more than 50,000 people have become been victims of armed conflict, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.

The AU had also remained silent for weeks when – in 2016 and 2017 – Ethiopian security forces had arbitrarily detained, tortured, or murdered members of the population groups of the Oromo and Amhara who had gathered for peaceful protests just outside of Addis Ababa,” Delius criticized. “The AU just watched the violence caused by its influential host, and has thus lost its credibility regarding human rights issues.” In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the AU also failed to persuade President Joseph Kabila, who has been ruling illegally since December 2016, to step down – and to organize elections in the country, which are long overdue.