Baerbock calls on Africa to unite against Putin

Created: 01/13/2023 13:13

Secretary of State Annalena Baerbock stands next to Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission.

© Michael Kappeler/dpa

The Foreign Minister is also following the Russian war in Ukraine in East Africa.

The African Union and Europe must stick together, says Baerbock.

The request is not without explosiveness.

Addis Ababa - Germany and France have called on the African Union (AU) to join forces with Europe against Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.

"We as Europeans need the support of our friends and partners worldwide in these times, when our peace order in Europe has been attacked by the Russian war of aggression," said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) on Friday at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

"In a common world, we can only solve these common crises and challenges together."

Baerbock made the comments during an appearance alongside her French counterpart Catherine Colonna and AU Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Baerbock underscored the call for reform of the UN Security Council with an increase in the number of permanent seats, including two from Africa.

Baerbock: "Neighbours in the Heart"

Referring to Russia, Baerbock said that just as the European Union stands for peace and security and freedom, the African Union also stands for these shared values.

"It is therefore important for us to further expand the cooperation between the European Union and the African Union." This applies "particularly in these times when global crises overlap - the attack on the European peace order, conflicts here in Africa, the climate crisis and the food crisis".

Europe and Africa are not only geographical neighbors, "we are also neighbors at heart".

Baerbock's request is not without explosiveness: there are a number of countries in Africa that are more or less dependent on Russia - and therefore do not want to distance themselves from Moscow.

Ethiopia abstained from the UN resolution calling for a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine and later rejected Russia's exclusion from the UN Human Rights Council.

Ethiopia also rejected a resolution on Russian reparations to Ukraine.

Colonna: Russian aggression threatens UN charter

Colonna emphasized that multilateral cooperation is more important than ever: "Russian aggression against Ukraine threatens the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter." Moussa emphasized the good cooperation with Europe.

Germany and France in particular supported the AU in the fight against terror and violence in the Sahel.

At the same time he criticized: “Africa is not represented in the Security Council, although 70 percent of the work of the Security Council relates to the African continent.

This injustice must be remedied.”

Baerbock and Colonna received a briefing from the head of the AU ceasefire review mechanism in Tigray in the German-funded AU Peace and Security Building.

The Ethiopian government signed a peace agreement with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in November, mediated by the AU.

According to the UN, several hundred thousand people have died in the fighting in the northern region since 2020.

With around 120 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the second most populous African country after Nigeria and is still one of the poorest countries in the world.

African Union: Right to intervene in war crimes

Senegal is currently chairing the AU, which was founded in 2002, and the Comoros will follow in February.

The central goals laid down in the founding act of the AU are peace, security, development, democratization and the protection of human rights.

In the event of war crimes or genocides, the organization has the right to intervene.

The AU places particular emphasis on strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention and in peace processes - this is also an important topic for Baerbock.

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Visit to the coffee roaster

Before the return flight, the minister visited a coffee roastery that exports around 200 tons of coffee to Germany every year with 150 mostly female employees.

Ethiopia is by far the largest African exporter of coffee and has a world market share of three to five percent.

Coffee is the most important export good, the most important markets are Germany and the EU.

Directly or indirectly, coffee production is the livelihood of more than a quarter of the population.

In addition to coffee for the Ethiopian market, another type exclusively for export to Germany is produced in the roastery visited by Baerbock.

According to the Federal Foreign Office, workers who were partly trained in Germany earn three to ten times more than colleagues in other Ethiopian companies.

dpa