Just In: Egypt’s President, El-Sisi Elected New AU Chairman

Related stories

Drama as 16, 17-year-olds Now Allowed to Vote In UK Elections

By Abiola Olawale  The government of the United Kingdom announced...

Brazil’s Petrobras Weighs Return to Retail Fuel Market to Reduce Prices

Brazil’s Petrobras will discuss this week tweaking its mid-to-long-term...

Base Handover: France Ends Decades-Long Military Presence in Senegal

By Abiola Olawale France on Thursday officially ended its 65-year...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been elected chairman of the African Union at the continental body’s summit in Ethiopia.

Also at the African Union meeting Sunday, a statue of Ethiopia’s last emperor was unveiled. Afterward a scuffle erupted between security guards for some African leaders and African Union guards, causing a delay in the entry procession of the heads of state into the main meeting.

El-Sisi addressed the summit after being elected the new chairman, saying he would focus on security on the African continent.

“Our work must continue to improve peace and security in Africa in a holistic and sustainable manner,” el- Sisi said. “Mediation and preventive diplomacy will remain one of the priorities of the African Union.”

The new African Union chairman said that “counter- terrorism requires the identification of those who support and finance it and combating them collectively. While we are aware of the difficulty and complexity of the struggle, this remains the only appropriate way to uproot terrorism and eradicate it.”

The rights group Amnesty International warned that el-Sisi’s chairmanship might undermine the African Union’s human rights mechanisms.

“During his time in power President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has demonstrated a shocking contempt for human rights. Under his leadership the country has undergone a catastrophic decline in rights and freedoms,” said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty’s North Africa Campaigns Director. “There are real fears about the potential impact his chairmanship could have on the independence of regional human rights mechanisms and their future engagement with civil society.”

The rights group said Egypt since 2015 has orchestrated a sustained political attack against the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the body that aims to monitor African states’ human rights records. “Dozens of cases alleging serious human rights violations have been lodged against Egypt at the ACHPR,” it said.

Egyptian leaders have been absent from African Union meetings since 1995 when an assassination attempt was made on the life of former leader Hosni Mubarak.

El-Sisi’s election brought to an end the one-year chairmanship of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame.

African Union chairmen set agendas of issues to be addressed during their one-year tenure.

During his tenure, Kagame dramatically challenged the election results in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
2027: Buhari’s exit Cripples APC in entire North as CPC Loyalists Defect in Large NumbersDrama as 16, 17-year-olds Now Allowed to Vote In UK ElectionsSenate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by TrumpBrazil’s Petrobras Weighs Return to Retail Fuel Market to Reduce PricesBase Handover: France Ends Decades-Long Military Presence in Senegal5 Oil Titans Who Revolutionized the Energy Sector2027: Dele Momodu dumps PDP for Coalition party, ADCBuhari's Honour: Tinubu holds special FEC session as Nigerians Mourn late Hero, Statesman. First Bank Crisis: In High-Stake Intrigues, Otedola Seizes Control with 40% Stake as Oba Otudeko Exits in N324.47bn DealElderstatesman, Emeka Anyaoku, Speaks Again , Urges Nigeria to Adopt a "People’s Democratic Constitution""Nigeria's challenges not about the constitution, but its operators", says ObasanjoNigeria Surpasses OPEC’s 1.5 Million Barrel Oil Quota in June 2025Natasha vs Akpabio: Senate President Heads to Court, Challenges Court Order to Reinstate SenatorOluwo Commends Awujale's Burial, Says Late Monarchs Shouldn't Be "Butchered Like Animals"Alleged N6.9Billion Fraud: Drama as Ex-Governor Fayose Wins in Court
X whatsapp