Cheikh Niang represents Senegal at AU conflict prevention summit in Luanda
Cheikh Niang, Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, represented Senegal in Luanda at an extraordinary African Union session on conflict prevention and resolution. African leaders are examining texts aimed at strengthening the continent’s peace and security architecture.
Senegal took part in the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Luanda, Angola. The country was represented by Cheikh Niang, Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad.
The meeting, led by Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, is dedicated to strengthening African mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution. The Angolan head of state is described as the African Union’s champion for peace and reconciliation.
Expected texts on peace and security
Heads of state and government are expected to consider and adopt a Decision, an Action Plan and an implementation matrix. These documents are intended, in particular, to assess the African Peace and Security Architecture and improve its coordination, financing and operational effectiveness.
According to reports from Luanda, this extraordinary session would be the first in the history of the continental organisation to be specifically devoted to conflict prevention and resolution.
Persistent crises across the continent
The discussions are taking place amid several crisis hotspots in Africa, notably in Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, Libya and northern Mozambique.
At the opening of the summit, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called for an urgent reform of the continent’s peace and security architecture. He notably referred to the need to strengthen early warning, improve the implementation of Union decisions and ensure sustainable funding for peace operations.
A ministerial meeting beforehand
The session was preceded on Saturday, 29 August, by the 26th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council, bringing together the foreign ministers of member states. This preparatory meeting considered draft documents, including the text of the “Luanda Decision”, before they were submitted to heads of state and government.
Through its participation in these discussions, Senegal reaffirms its commitment to peace, security and regional integration on the continent.
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