APS : Sunday, 06 February 2022
ALGIERS-The suspension of the decision granting the Zionist Entity observer status in the African Union (AU) is to be classified in the chapter of Algerian diplomatic victories as Algeria was among the first to oppose this
decision which goes against the founding principles of the pan-African organization.
Since July 22, when the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, decided to grant observer status to the Zionist entity within the AU, Algeria and other African countries, including South Africa, have fiercely opposed it. They drew attention to the fact that this decision, which has raised fears of division within the AU, is not consistent with previous resolutions of the continental organization in support of the Palestinian cause.
The suspension of the status of the Zionist entity was decided on Sunday at the 35th Summit of heads of state and government of the AU, which also decided to create a committee of seven African heads of state to make a recommendation to the AU summit, which remains seized of the issue.
This committee will be composed of Senegal’s President Macky Sall, in his capacity as the current chairman of the AU, the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune, as well as South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya and the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi. President Macky Sall will take the initiative to launch the work of this committee.
Last October, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, had revealed that the debates within the AU Executive Council “had highlighted a deep division of member states of the African Union” on the issue.
“I hope that the summit will mark a step forward of an Africa worthy of its history and will not support an irrecoverable break,” he said.
Except for Morocco, the other members of both the Arab League and the AU were against granting observer status to the Zionist entity.
Algeria had deplored, last November, the position of Rabat which “led a campaign in favor of this status.”
