Excellency Ismael Oumar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti, Chairman of IGAD

Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President of the Republic of Uganda,

Excellencies, Heads of State, Government and Delegation

Mr. Executive Secretary of IGAD,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I, first of all, thank His Excellency President Ismael Omar Guelleh for convening this important Extraordinary Summit, and to our host, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, president of the Republic of Uganda, for the warm welcome and the excellent facilities accorded to us.

Excellencies,

The situation between the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is of great concern to us. In fact, it can leave no African indifferent. 

Indeed, the stability of the Horn of Africa, a vital physical and cultural corridor with other Regions, is a major preoccupation for the Continent. 

The current tensions between the brotherly nations of Somalia and Ethiopia, compounds an already difficult time for the Region, where, despite our collective efforts, the Al Shabaab threat remains high in Somalia, and the destructive war in Sudan, continues unabated. 

Excellencies,

The respect of the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of all our Member States, is a sacrosanct principle of our Union. Another key principle is the commitment to the resolution of disputes through peaceful means and consensual arrangements between Member States.

The African Union supports and continues to work with the Regional body, IGAD to achieve our shared objectives. In this regard, I instructed my High Representative for the Horn of Africa, President Olusegun Obasanjo to continue and reinforce our cooperation. This cooperation was duly endorsed at yesterday’s meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council.

This imperative is not only the one that guarantees the interests and fundamental rights of both countries, but is also essential to ward off all attempts at external interference. I urge the Leaders of both countries, Ethiopia and Somalia, to engage, without delay, on this path.

Excellencies,

On Sudan, I would like to recall certain facts regarding the crisis that remain key for our understanding. 

With the support of Ethiopia, neighboring countries and international partners, we succeeded in laying the foundations for a consensual democratic Transition in Sudan in 2019. However, in October 2021, less than three years later, the military component carried out a disastrous coup d’état. 

Various mistakes of the elites and the rival ambitions that foreign interference have fueled, opened the way to the forces of evil and triggered a war between the two main military forces, namely the National Army and the Rapid Support Forces. Our reaction was immediate. The AU Peace and Security Council held an emergency session on 16 April 2023, and five days later, I convened an urgent high-level international meeting with all of Sudan’s neighbors, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, Members of the African Union Peace and Security Council, IGAD, the Troika, and some Gulf countries. The United Nations Secretary-General, and the heads of the League of Arab States and the European Union, were also present. 

We established a Forum, called an Expanded International Mechanism on Sudan, in order to pool all African efforts and of all others, to avoid duplication and the fragmentation of exogenous approaches. 

The AU Peace and Security Council met at Heads of State level on 16 May 2023, under the Chairmanship of President Museveni and adopted a Roadmap, that focused on a cessation of hostilities, humanitarian action in support of civilians and to launch an inclusive Political Dialogue between all national, political, civilian and military actors. This Roadmap was unanimously supported by the international community 

We also supported the Jeddah Process, initiated by the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite our deep conviction that African problems must be resolved in Africa, by Africans themselves. 

When IGAD, positioned itself, and rightly so, to play its full role for peace, we supported its action and continue to do so. 

A Joint Team of experts, including the AU and IGAD Special Envoys to Sudan, was set up. This Team did a remarkable job mapping and sequencing the envisaged Political Dialogue process, which currently only awaits the green light from the Sudanese stakeholders and the leadership of our two Organizations, for it to be put in motion 

To strengthen this effort, the AU Peace and Security Council requested that I appoint a High-level Panel on Sudan. This has been done. 

We remain determined and indeed committed to continue to work in close collaboration with IGAD and international partners. 

Excellencies, the AU will respect your decision for our collective action in support of our Sudanese Brothers and Sisters out of this grave crisis, and for which they hold primary responsibility to resolve themselves without, and I cannot stress this enough, any external interference. It is up to the Sudanese themselves to decide on their national destiny. 

Excellencies, I wish you success in your deliberations and thank you for your attention.