NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 7 — A seven-member Heads of State Commitee will now consider Israel’s observer status in the African Union (AU) after the union’s top organ deferred deliberations on the matter on Sunday.
The AU Assembly meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 35th Ordinary Session tasked the committee to review the decision by the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki to grant Israel observer status after Palestine protested the decision.
The 7-member panel consists of President Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Algeria’s Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Cameroon’s Paul Biya, DRC’s Félix Tshisekedi and Senegal’s Macky Sall.
“The AU Assembly has mandated a Committee of Heads of State (South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, Algeria, Cameroon, DRC, Senegal) to deliberate on the merit of the Chairperson’s decision to grant observer status to Israel,” Faki’s Press Secretary Ebba Kalondo reported.
She pointed out that Faki’s decision will stand unless and until the Heads of State Committee overturns it after the Assembly after Members States failed to reach a consensus on the matter.
“Until such time, the Chairperson of the Commission’s decision stands,” Kalondo said in a brief statement.
Faki granted Israel observer status at the AU in July 2021 after nearly 20 years of diplomatic efforts.
While expressing its position on the matter, South Africa had joined Algeria in contesting the accreditation of Israel as an observer. Rwanda and DRC are among nations that expressed approval.
In an address preceding determination of the matter by Assembly, Faki defended his decision as having been taken in good faith further saying he followed the laid down procedure while considering Israel’s request.
African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki/AU
He noted that 44 African States, members of the union, had diplomatic ties with Israel out of which seventeen had fully-accredited missions in Tel Aviv. Faki pointed out that there were only eleven African nations which did not recognize Israel.
“It was clear to me and it remains clear to me that I acted in harmony and consistency with the national choices in this matter of more than two-thirds of our Member States, four-fifths in fact,” Faki told the AU Assembly.
“It is clear that by acting in this way I have only done, independently of any subjectivity or personal inclination, a faithful reflection of a tangible, irrefutable reality, that of the recognition of Israel on a very large scale in Africa,” he noted.
Faki said rationale for his determination was also anchored on “number of Member States which expressly asked for the granting of Observer Status to the State of Israel.”
He noted that the number of African States in support of Israel’s accreditation as an Observer in the AU “appeared to me larger than that of the Member States that did not recognize Israel.”
“Which number should I comply with? The majority or the minority? I leave it to your appreciation,” Faki told over 25 Heads of State, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, who attended the summit in person.
The AUC Chairperson also defended his decision as having been informed by the global consensus led by the United Nations for a Two-States solution to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict.
“It is the harmony and coherence of our decision with the consistent option which is that of our Organization and the entire international community, particularly the United Nations, that is the recognition and solemn support to the Two-States solution, for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,” he asserted.
Faki said the forth aspect that informed his decision was his conviction that the AU needed to use its “political and diplomatic tool” to contribute to global peace and security.
He noted that by conferring Israel the Observer status, the AU could challenge the nation to observe fundamental rights of the Palestine people and stop acts of violence.
Faki said he made it clear to Israel representative to the AU when he accredited its representative in July 2021 that the AU was committed a Two-States solution including the right of Palestinians “to establish a National State with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The AUC Chairperson ended his pitch by encouraging the Assembly not to shy off from considering a vote on the matter where the decision by the the “legally required majority” carries the day.
“If the majority remains committed to maintaining the Observer Status, why should the minority not comply, as on any other issue. This is the golden rule of any democratic process and it is the constant practice within our Organization, without any damage to it,” he asserted.
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