Rabat – The African Union started today the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Addis Ababa, as a prelude to its 35th Ordinary Assembly.
The event is being held under the theme: “Building Resilience in Nutrition on the African Continent: Accelerate the Human Capital, Social and Economic Development.”
The Session will involve multiple ministerial committees who will discuss various issues, such as the agenda of the upcoming assembly, as well as the ongoing situation with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The committees will receive and examine various reports about the performances of several organizations operating under the AU, such as the Africa CDC and the Pan African Parliament (PAP).
Additionally, they are planned to examine the economic progress in various African nations, and evaluate the implementation status of decisions passed during previous AU meetings.
“I express the ardent wish that 2022 will reinforce a common determination to tirelessly pursue our efforts to build Africa, despite the barriers that we find on our path,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
The event comes in the midst of regional tensions throughout the continent. Earlier this week, the AU suspended Burkina Faso following an attempted coup d’Etat in the West African country.
Merely a day later, news of an attempted military coup in another West African country, Guinea Bissau, prompted Mahamat to condemn the coup attempt in a statement.
Sanctions were also imposed on Mali and Guinea for similar reasons over the past few weeks.
Notably, the Session will also see the election of a female Vice President for the Pan African University (PAU) Council, which is the highest governing body of the university.
The ministerial committees will also elect 15 members for the AU’s Peace and Security Council, as well as the election of a female member of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC).
The two-day Executive Council’s session will take place between February 2-3; the opening ceremony was held on Wednesday morning and is available to stream online.
The AU’s Ordinary Assembly is scheduled to take place on the 5th and 6th of February, and will include the attendance of various heads of states and governments.
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