Tracking the African Union’s Response to the Situation in Ukraine

Tracking the African Union’s Response to the Situation in Ukraine
Photo by Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

04-03-2022

Clea Strydom

International Justice  and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence. 

African countries have come under fire for abstaining from the United Nations Resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was adopted on March 2nd, 2022, and called on Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” The resolution was supported by 141 of the 193 UN member States, with 17 African Countries abstaining and 8 not voting at all.  However, this need not necessarily be seen as an indication of support of Russia from the continent, but rather an attempt to push for a peaceful resolution of the conflict without alienating Russia with which many African nations have strong ties.  

The African Union, which is made up of all 55 African States, released a statement on February 24th, 2022 from the current Chair of the African Union and President of Senegal, President Macky Sall, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressing concern about the dangerous situation in Ukraine created by the Russian invasion. The statement called “[…] on the Russian Federation and any other regional or international actor to imperatively respect international law, the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Ukraine”. Following reports of Africans being prohibited from crossing the border and leaving Ukraine, a further statement noted: “that all people have the right to cross international borders during conflict, and as such, should enjoy the same rights to cross to safety from the conflict in Ukraine, notwithstanding their nationality or racial identity” (African Union,  2022). In a tweet on Wednesday, March 9th, 2022, Mack Sall said: "As president of the African Union, I am delighted about my talk this morning with President Putin to press for a lasting ceasefire. I commend him for listening and for his willingness to maintain dialogue for a negotiated outcome to the conflict" (Agence France Presse, 2022) 

Interestingly, the Kremlin website for the President of Russia reported on the phone call saying that “Vladimir Putin informed [Mack Sall] about the main aspects of the special military operation to protect Donbass with an emphasis on the humanitarian element. In particular, it was stressed that Russian military personnel take every possible measure to safely evacuate foreign citizens” (Official Internet Resources of the President of Russia, 2022). One can assume that the last part of this statement is in response to allegations of African’s being barred from crossing the borders by Ukrainian officials. The statement also emphasised the relationship between Russia and Africa, noting that during the phone call “The leaders reaffirmed that it was important to consistently implement the agreements reached at the first Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi in 2019 and further develop diverse ties between Russia and Africa” (Official Internet Resources of the President of Russia, 2022).

Sources and Further Reading

African Union (February 24, 2022). Statement from Chair of the African Union, H.E President Macky Sall and Chairperson of the AU Commission H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat, on the situation in Ukraine. https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20220224/african-union-statement-situation-ukraine

African Union (February 28, 2022). Statement of the African Union on the reported ill treatment of Africans trying to leave Ukraine.

https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20220228/statement-ill-treatment-africans-trying-leave-ukraine

Agence France Presse (March 9th, 2022). African Union Calls For Ukraine Truce In Call With Putin. https://www.barrons.com/news/african-union-calls-for-ukraine-truce-in-call-with-putin-01646827207?refsec=afp-news

 

Strydom, C (March 4, 2022).  “Many African Nations Abstained from Voting on the Ukraine-Russia Resolution.” GHR TV. http://ghrtv.org/many-african-nations-abstained-from-voting-on-the-ukraine-russia-resolution


Official Internet Resources of the President of Russia (March 9, 2022). Telephone conversation with African Union Chairperson, President of Senegal Macky Sall.    http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67950