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8th Ordinary Session of AUGhana chosen for AU presidency, despite earlier promises to SudanConflict, women's health and football are some of the issues that African leaders discussed during their two-day summit in Addis Ababa.
One year ago, the chairmanship of the African Union (AU) was 'promised' to Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir. But Khartoum's shortcomings in Darfur and growing tension between neighbouring states caused many to doubt al-Bashir's legitimacy as the most suitable candidate. Chad, in fact, vowed they would withdraw from the AU if Sudan won the post. But on January 29, at the 8th Session of African Union in Addis Ababa, Ghana's president, John Kufuor, was chosen to head the organization for the upcoming year, a decision that, according to Reuters, was supported by Sudan. ChallengesThe AU's agenda for 2007 will be challenging, to say the very least. At the summit, leaders addressed the need to end atrocities in Darfur and recognized opportunities to influence the future of a post-war Somalia. According to Prof. Alpha Omar Konare, the AU's chairman, only half of the 8,000 troops intended for peacekeeping in Somalia have been pledged. In order to ensure security in the Horn of Africa and negotiate a peaceful political solution to Somalia's ongoing strife, more resources will have to be committed. United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, also present at the summit, called for an effort to end other African crises in Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. Other highlightsFor the first time African leaders discussed women's sexual and reproductive health issues en masse and adopted a plan to promote women's health. But skeptics have pointed out that AU meetings are ideal venues for making promises that will be broken. Women and girls make up 70 percent of Africa's agricultural producers. On a lighter note, the AU used the summit to launch the 2007 International Year of African Football that was decided upon last January at the 6th Ordinary Session in Khartoum. In 2010, South Africa will be the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup, the world's most popular sporting event. The summit in Ethiopia's capital ends on January 30 and the next pan-African affair will be on July 4 and 5 in the port city of Sirte, birthplace of Libyan leader, Muammar Ghaddafi.
The copyright of the article 8th Ordinary Session of AU in North African Affairs is owned by Sean Sinclair-Day. Permission to republish 8th Ordinary Session of AU in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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