African Union: Summit in Addis Ababa. Support from Bishops’ Conferences, “peace and development, guns must be silenced”

“This time more than ever, the voice of the Church must be heard in full support of the theme for this year’s African Union Summit. Africa must develop, Africa must enjoy peace, the guns must be silenced now!”. In a brief message posted on Twitter, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) expressed full support for the work of the African Union (AU) Summit that will be held on 9-10 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the AU is based. The theme for discussion by the Heads of State and Government is, indeed, “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”. The AU Executive Council met yesterday to prepare the work for the Summit. The latter will be an opportunity to discuss, among others, the AU’s institutional reforms and the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In Addis Ababa, in compliance with the annual rotation rule, Egypt’s President Abdel el-Sisi will hand over the AU presidency to South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Marco Calvarese