- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi will officially take over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union (AU) for 2021 on 6 February.
- The focus of the new chair will be: AfCFTA and economic integration, Agenda 2063; the AU’s external partnerships; health challenges including COVID-19; and culture.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi will officially take over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union (AU) for 2021 on 6 February. He will take over from South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa during a two-day virtual summit from Feb 6-7.The focus of the new chair will be: the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and economic integration, Agenda 2063; the AU’s external partnerships; health challenges including COVID-19; and culture ( AU’s 2021 theme- Arts, Culture, and Heritage: Levers for Building Africa We Want).
The summit is taking place at a critical time when the continent is battling the coronavirus. The second wave of the Pandemic is taking a heavy toll on the continent. The strategy of the African Union is to immunize at least 60 percent of the continent’s 1.3 billion people in the next three years. Though vaccinations have begun in many parts of the world, many African countries are yet to start the vaccination drive. Dealing with COVID-19 and its effects will be top on Tshisekedi’s agenda. He has to monitor the continental initiatives led by the outgoing chair Cyril Ramaphosa, the AU Commission, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Another challenge AU chair has to check is the ballooning conflict situations in the different parts of the continent. Many African countries are in turmoil. Though the law and order situation in South Sudan and Libya, have improved, conflicts have broken out in Ethiopia with the potential to destabilize the entire Horn of Africa region. Situations in the Central African Republic (CAR) Sahel, Lake Chad region, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon continue to drive losses of lives and displacement.
The AU chairmanship presents an opportunity for Tshisekedi, to leverage the AU’s strategic importance to scale up his stature in the multilateral space, and at home. Back home, President Félix Tshisekedi has to consolidate power ahead of elections in 2023. He is also striving to create a governing majority in Parliament.
The questions raised by many political observers is, faced with the internal political challenges, can Tshisekedi give time and attention to the position of AU chair? Additionally, the DRC hasn’t yet ratified the AU protocol establishing the Peace and Security Council.
