Armed conflicts from the Sahel region in West Africa to the Horn of Africa in the east and the impact of drought and floods have displaced increasing numbers of Africans from their homes, with the number of displaced people south of the Sahara rising by more than 15% in the last year, according to United Nations information.
The UN estimates the number of displaced people at 44 million in 2022, compared to 38.3 million at the end of 2021.
African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Bankole Adeoye is expected to try to rally support for a proposal for new funding for security operations by the United States, African Union members and the European Union, two diplomats said spoke on condition of anonymity told Portal.
Funding has been a constant challenge for AU initiatives such as its peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
In 2020, the African Union delayed plans to start funding security operations from a new fund until 2023 because it had received less than half of the planned $400 million.
The heads of state will also be briefed on the fighting in eastern DRC and the security situation in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Sudan, which suffered from military takeovers in 2021 and 2022, the two diplomats said.
Bankole and a spokesman for the Peace and Security Council did not respond to requests for comment.
Hunger, the central theme of the summit
Another key topic of discussion is expected to be the worsening of hunger in various regions, fueled by armed conflict and extreme weather conditions that scientists have linked to fossil fuel-driven climate change.
After five failed rainy seasons, Somalia is on the brink of famine, and hundreds of thousands of people are suffering catastrophic food shortages.
In addition to the heads of state and government of the 55 member states of the AU, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of the European Council Charles Michel will attend the summit.
According to a draft of the summit’s conclusions, African leaders will work to ensure that the continent has permanent seats on the UN Security Council and the G20 group of major economies.
They will also adopt a series of protocols aimed at accelerating the full implementation of the new African Free Trade Area, which will officially begin trading in 2021.
*With Portal; adapted from its English original