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CWA # 1364, 31 March 2024
NIAS Africa Studies
The 37th African Union Summit: Five takeaways

  Vetriselvi Baskaran

On 17 and 18 February, the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) was conducted in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The summit was themed “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.” During the summit, the President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, was elected as the chairperson of the AU for 2024. The two-day event focused on gender equality and women empowerment, education, science and technology, agriculture, rural development, water, and environment; transport, regional infrastructure, and energy; and justice and legal affairs. The meeting further approved Agenda 2063's second ten-year (2024–2033) implementation plan. 

The following are the five takeaways of the summit.

1. Larger focus on education. The major focus of the summit was on education. It is intended to fill the gap in attaining Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education (SDG4). The summit adopted a road map in which national, continental, and global activities would be implemented throughout the year to reaffirm the political commitment of African governments to education. Despite efforts, pre-COVID-19 pandemic, sub-Saharan Africa had the lowest literacy rate with 86 per cent. Following the pandemic, it increased to 90 per cent. Besides poor infrastructure, inadequate training, and vast inequalities, the AU has identified that political instability and tensions are additional challenges to education. Coups-caused displacements affected schooling in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Lack of funding is another issue. An additional USD 40 billion is required to finance education to accomplish the Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals for Education.

2. Pan-African financial institutions are still a dream. African leaders have long been pressing for greater African participation and voting rights in global financial organizations including the World Bank and the IMF. Besides other initiatives on enhancing the Global South's access and quality of financing, a few points were summarised at the summit. Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo emphasized the importance of giving African MDBs and financial institutions more authority. He suggested giving African multilateral financial institutions 30 per cent access to African reserves, which are currently held by non-African banks. Additionally, he proposed that these establishments be named "AU agencies" to convey a unified "badge of approval" from all AU members. Apart from this, the African Multilateral Financial Institutions have come together to establish the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI), or the Africa Club - which is Africa-owned and controlled, to provide innovative solutions to economic challenges. 

The summit also discussed the establishment of three financial institutions: the African Monetary Union (AMU), the African Central Bank (ACB), and the African Investment Bank (AIB). Despite planned benefits, hurdles like insufficient finance pose a significant hindrance to AMU's operationalization, which is a prerequisite for the establishment of the ACB. Furthermore, AMU and AIB legislation was passed in 2014 and 2009. However, neither of the financial organizations has received the necessary ratifications to come into effect. 

3. Beyond discussions, continental integration is unlikely. The tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over the port deal, the DRC-Rwanda conflict over the M23 rebels, the GERD conflict in East Africa, the conflict in the Lake Chad Basin, and the series of coups were discussed during the summit under the theme of continental integration. However, beyond statements, counter statements and proposals, the bloc is equipped to strengthen the idea of continental integration. 

The “continental integration” has been falling since its adoption. The bloc tends to spend its power on protecting the elites which is known to be the “elitist club.” For instance, in Burkina Faso, the junta was supposed to hold an election in July 2024 to restore civilian rule, however, was indefinitely postponed. Likewise, in Senegal, President Macky Sall postponed the elections and sparked “constitutional coup” accusations. The bloc fails to take action against their undemocratic developments in the continent. 

4. New initiative against AU’s weakening circumstances amidst coups. One of the outcomes of the summit was the “Africa Facility.” A body to monitor developments in the countries that went through military coups since 2020. The AU’s policy of suspending countries after unconstitutional takeovers seems to be failing. The Lomé Convention, the AU's tool for dealing with coups, was once effective. However, the situation has changed. Juntas use increased geopolitical rivalry to pit foreign players against one another; one such example is Mali, which has improved its relations with Russia. Moreover, the AU's efforts are undermined by countries like China and Saudi Arabia, which invite coup leaders to summits. 

In its role as Africa's defender of democratic values, the AU is falling short. The AU's inability to strike a balance between these conflicting forces makes it more difficult for them to defend democracy.
 
5. The AU plans to be a global actor. The AU plans to assert itself on the world stage. It is calling for a significant increase in their influence within two major international organizations: the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the G20. At the UNSC, the AU is demanding at least two permanent seats along with five non-permanent seats. Additionally, it is pushing for the right to choose their representatives to ensure these officials act in the AU's best interests.  A range of factors combine to propel the development and also bring obstacles. For example, the AU's autonomy is restricted by the race between external countries for resources and influence, and the weight of external debt. The bloc seeks a high priority on independence, to find African answers to African problems. Despite obstacles including the members' lack of cooperation, the agenda 2063 aims to make Africa a major participant in the world. However, whether the AU would take a stand on global politics is still up for question. 

About the author
Vetriselvi Baskaran is a Postgraduate Student at University of Madras.

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