Talking shop: The irony of Africa's peace talks as strife proliferates

Senegal President Macky Sall (centre) with other Heads of State and Governments and ministers at the Dakar International Forum in Dakar, Senegal. [File, Standard]

Fight Against Terrorism

The AU chairperson prioritised the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, saying it was a global threat.

"If the continent has today become one of the epicentres of terrorism, it is because the scourge is fueled by cross-border crime, the illegal proliferation of weapons, financial flows and illicit trafficking of all kinds, and the participation of foreign fighters," the president said.

Sall also questioned the intention of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (currently operating in twelve countries across the world), saying it needs to be updated to fully integrate the fight against terrorism, including in Africa. His sentiments come on the back of ongoing criticism of UN missions across the region and other peace-support missions in various parts of the continent.

"In the face of terrorism, the United Nations Classic Peace Operations have shown their limits. Blue helmets attacked even on their own bases, without significant response capabilities, certainly cannot protect populations threatened by terrorist groups."

"The inertia of the Security Council in the fight against terrorism in Africa carries with it the failure of the multilateral system," the AU Chair added.

Cape Verde President Jose Maria Neves acknowledged that the wave of terrorism in the SAHEL region also places a huge burden and challenge on the African continent. "There is a need for countries to mobilise all our forces and energies and place them at the service and development of our continent."

Terror groups have set sights and solidified operations in Africa, with concerns rising on the insurgency of Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda groups to the east and the Horn of Africa and Boko Haram and Muslim Islamic violence to the west.

According to the Global Terrorism Index 2022, Africa emerged as the global epicenter of terrorism, with 48 per cent of global deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa owed to terrorist activities.

Just days after the Dakar forum, where solutions to end terrorism took center stage, more than 100 people were killed in twin-car bomb explosions in Mogadishu, Somalia.

It was the second deadliest attack in Somalia's history, after the October 2017 attack in the capital that left 587 people dead and hundreds more injured. The Al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for both explosions.

In his message, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attacks as "a cruel and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent people by the morally bankrupt and criminal Al-Shabab group."

The African Union (AU) mission in Somalia (Amisom) said the attacks underline the urgency and critical importance of the ongoing military offensive to further degrade Al-Shabaab.

Somalia Ambassador to Senegal Mohammed Hussein Abukar who spoke to The Standard on the sidelines of the Dakar forum averred that other countries need not cut off Somalia, lest it will be a losing battle.

"The Somalia National army is capable of managing the fight but with a bit of help from AU and neighbouring countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the rest of the world. Losing this battle will be a danger to the whole continent. The Gambia, Senegal, and West Africa shouldn't watch what happened to East Africa. It's a wakeup call for them," said Abukar.

Senegal Foreign Affairs Minister Aisatta Tall Sall during the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa in Dakar, Senegal. [Betty Njeru, Standard]

UN Security Council seat

Calls for Africa to have a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council also topped discussions at the forum, with AU chairperson Macky Sall denouncing the unfair representation of the continent at the council.

Senegal's Foreign Affairs Minister Aisatta Tall Sall said this was no time for Africa to bury its head in the sand.

"How can we purport to discuss African problems while African countries are not represented? She posed. "We should be sitting right where they discuss our own issues but we will keep on fighting and do what needs to be done to correct the injustices," Tall said.

"What is certain is that it is unfair that the African continent, with 54 countries, is not represented as a permanent member of the Security Council," AU Chair Sall said.

The UN Security Council is made up of 15 member countries. Only five countries are permanent members. They are the US, China, Russia, France, and Britain. The other ten seats rotate between nonpermanent members who serve two-year terms. Kenya served as a non-permanent member in 2021.

More than 1,000 participants and 30 ministerial delegations took part in the eighth edition of the Dakar International Forum on peace and security in Africa.

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