By The African Union declares zero tolerance for military coups on the continent.
The African Union emphasizes that individuals plotting coups in Africa should instead prioritize peace, democracy, and development in their respective nations.
Bankole Adeoye, the African Union’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, issued this call ahead of the 2nd AU Reflection Forum on Unconstitutional Changes of Government, scheduled for March 18, 2024.
“Over the past ten years, the African Union has continued through our leaders to champion democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law, as well as sustainable development, but the multiplicity of challenges remains terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organized crime and poverty and to address this, we must all frontally and robustly defend democracy.
“It is necessary to restate that democracy, with its shortcomings, remains the best form of governance and we have always asked why. It is inclusive and we all have a role to play in safeguarding democracy and all of us in Africa must rally for democracy,” Mr. Adeoye stated.
He continued: “The new trend posed by military rulers to return our continent to its past will not be tolerated and accepted and that is why the African Union in March 2022, decided to come to Accra to rally all actors to defend and uphold democracy. So in 2022, we came up with the Accra Declaration, which was endorsed by our heads of state.”
