By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The African Union on Sunday concluded its 2-day annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where it reaffirmed that four countries — Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Sudan will remain suspended from the 55-nation bloc over undemocratic practices which has led to change of government through military coup.
AU says it has “zero tolerance” for undemocratic changes of power and vowed to push through a continent-wide free trade deal. The 36th session of the summit also discussed other challenges facing the continent, including armed conflict and climate change.
“The assembly reaffirmed zero tolerance against unconstitutional change (of government),” said its Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye.
“The Commission is ready to support these member states to return to constitutional order, the idea is that democracy must take root and must be promoted and protected,” he told a news conference.
“It is necessary to re-emphasise that the AU remains intolerant to any undemocratic means to political power.”
New AU Cairman and President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, said the leaders had agreed to accelerate the implementation of a faltering trade deal launched in 2020.
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is billed as the biggest in the world in terms of population, gathering 54 out of 55 countries on a continent with 1.4 billion people, with Eritrea the only holdout.
“I shall leave no stone unturned to ensure that this becomes a reality,” Assoumani said.
