Accra, March 18, GNA – The African Union (AU) has reiterated its condemnation of all forms of unconstitutional changes of government in Africa and urged leaders to enhance efforts at strengthening democratic institutions.
The AU further urged interested parties to address their political concerns through the available national mechanisms with a view to finding solutions in a constructive, peaceful, and constitutionally acceptable manner.
The Regional body said unconstitutional changes of government in any circumstance could not be justified.
This was contained in a communique christened the “Accra Declaration” issued after a three-day Forum on African Union Reflection Forum on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa.
The forum was attended by representatives of AU Member States, Members of the Peace, and Security Council (PSC) of the AU, representatives of the AU Organs and the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (RECs/RMs), as well as the representatives of the African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Institutions and partners.
The AU stressed that there was urgent need for African leaders to enhance efforts at strengthening democratic institutions to address governance deficits in the society and respond to the legitimate concerns of the population.
It called on leaders to open more spaces and arenas for sharing of concerns, including developmental challenges, such as disproportionate socio-economic inequalities reflected in excessive wealth and opportunity, gaps across various social groups such as women, youth, and marginalised communities that were usually underlying the political malaise.
Also, popular uprisings that led to unconstitutional changes of government, politically partisan instrumentalisation of critical State institutions leading to institutional decay and deep-seated corruption and insecurity must be openly talked about and remedies found.
The Forum called for the deployment of efforts and resources necessary to prevent and defeat unconstitutional change of government and other peace and security challenges such as violent extremism as well as transnational organised crimes in the continent.
In that respect, it pledged to redouble efforts to mobilise political and financial resources for more ratifications of the AU and RECs/RMs human rights instruments, especially the ones addressing social justice problems often leading to political conflicts, including the Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa (2016), the Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (2018), and the Protocol on the Rights of Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security (2022).
The AU said it strongly rejected any forms of foreign interventions or external interference on peace and security matters in African and warned those who financed coups in Member States that their “nefarious actions” would not be tolerated.
The African Union, therefore, encouraged Member States to address peace and security challenges through mutual support within the Continent and that there was need for the full operationalisation and deployment of the African Standby Force (ASF) for early and timely response to early warning.
The Forum committed to mobilise resources from within the Continent to ensure predictability and sustainability of funding for peace and security activities within the spirit of enhancing its ownership and leadership in the implementation of continental peace and security agenda.
The forum called on African Leaders to comprehensively address factors which led to unconstitutional changes of government, including tempering with constitution, and effecting amendments within a short span before the elections, which deprived public participation.
Therefore, it encouraged Member States to create public forums for citizens to openly express their concerns, aimed at enhancing participation in decision-making processes and democracy, as well as building trust and confidence between the government and citizens.
The AU appealed to Member States to respect their respective Constitutions, especially presidential term limits and organise free, fair, democratic, and credible elections in line with national laws and international norms, and respecting the outcomes of such elections.
GNA