{"id":204993,"date":"2021-10-13T17:56:49","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T15:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-the-african-unions-mediation-effort-in-tigray-is-a-non-starter\/"},"modified":"2021-10-13T17:56:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T15:56:49","slug":"why-the-african-unions-mediation-effort-in-tigray-is-a-non-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-the-african-unions-mediation-effort-in-tigray-is-a-non-starter\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the African Union’s mediation effort in Tigray is a non-starter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The United Nations recognises<\/a> mediation as one of the most effective methods of preventing, managing and above all, resolving conflicts. <\/p>\n

The UN guidelines underscore that the mediation process has to have integrity if it\u2019s going to succeed.<\/p>\n

Key elements include, firstly, cultivating the consent of the parties. Success depends on conflicting parties agreeing to the process.<\/p>\n

Another important factor is securing the acceptability of the mediator and the mediating entity. This includes the appointment of an even-handed, high-profile negotiator. The person needs to be impartial \u2013 one of the cornerstones of any successful mediation.<\/p>\n

If either parties question the partiality of the person, the process is bound to fail. Lakhdar Brahimi, who served as head of UN Department of Peace Operations, once described partiality as one \u201cseven deadly sins\u201d of mediators<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Partiality isn\u2019t just about preferring one side to the other. It can also contribute to a biased definition of the problem and lead to a flawed agenda and structure for the mediation. This is a recipe for its failure. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s useful to consider the credibility and acceptability of Africa Union\u2019s newly-announced mediation plan for the conflict in Ethiopia\u2019s northern region of Tigray against these criteria. The conflict in Tigray region<\/a> is a war waged by the federal government against the regional administration since November 2020. It followed Tigray\u2019s holding of regional elections against the will<\/a> of the federal government.<\/p>\n

In August 2021, the African Union appointed<\/a> the former Nigerian president General Olusegun Obasanjo as its special envoy to initiate and lead the mediation process. The announcement by the chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, billed this as part<\/a> of its <\/p>\n

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drive to promote peace, security, stability and political dialogue all over the Horn of Africa region. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In my view neither the AU, nor its mediator, are a credible start to a mediation aimed at resolving the crisis in Ethiopia. That is because both the AU and its special envoy are not even-handed and their definition of the problem is flawed.<\/p>\n

I believe that it will be up to other states and institutions of the international community \u2013 such as the US, European Union, and the UN \u2013 to start a credible process. <\/p>\n

AU\u2019s relationship with Ethiopia<\/h2>\n

The AU is not in a position to drive a mediation process because its stance fails to meet the impartiality test. It failed to act as the situation deteriorated in Tigray region. African intellectuals pointed this out in an open letter calling for dialogue to end the conflict<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In addition, the AU has been seen to be tone deaf to events on the ground. At the height of a government-led offensive marked by executions, rape and ethnic cleansing, Moussa Faki congratulated the Ethiopian government<\/a> for <\/p>\n

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bold steps to preserve the unity, stability and respect for the constitutional order of the country; which is legitimate for all states.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The AU\u2019s impartiality can be questioned further given its role in the recent elections in Ethiopia. It was one of the few non-Ethiopian institutions<\/a> to observe the general elections<\/a> held in June 2021. The election was held at a time when leaders of the key opposition parties were in prison and the country was caught in civil wars in several corners. In many places the ruling party ran without a single competitor. <\/p>\n

The conduct of the election was condemned<\/a> by numerous political parties, including five considered close to the ruling party of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.<\/p>\n

Yet Olusegun Obasanjo, head of the AU observer mission, declared<\/a> that the election had been held in a credible way. <\/p>\n

The AU\u2019s choice of the chief observer as chief mediator raises even more questions about its partiality in mediation process. The problem begins with the willingness of the AU to legitimise the June elections and its choice of the very same individual who championed this decision to be the candidate for mediating the conflict. <\/p>\n

This is more than a question of mere partiality. It affirms the legitimacy of a political process brought about by a combination of transactional strategies. It indicates that the mediator will be willing to countenance, such strategies of political management in the future.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s an even greater reason why the AU can\u2019t be seen as playing a credible role in the Ethiopian conflict. The AU has failed to act based on the foundational principles<\/a> contained in the constituent act of the union. It is never heard of condemning the war crimes and crimes against humanity<\/a> committed in the war in Tigray. <\/p>\n

The Tigray question<\/h2>\n

Given events in the Tigray region, the AU should not have embarked on a mediation process without first negotiating a declaration of principles as a prelude to talks for full political settlement. A good example of this approach<\/a> is the 1996 prelude to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan.<\/p>\n

It appears from this oversight that the AU wants to accept that Abiy has a \u201clegitimate\u201d government that cannot be subject to \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 change \u2013 as stipulated in the constitutive act<\/a> of the AU. Ethiopia can then lay down the terms on which it can talk to \u201crebels\u201d, on an individual basis. <\/p>\n

In addition, a negotiated settlement begins with each accepting the need to talk to the other. It is also essential to agree on transitional arrangements up until a complete political settlement is reached. <\/p>\n

But currently the two governments don\u2019t recognise one another. <\/p>\n

The Regional National Government of Tigray has demanded that the existing constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia be the principle<\/a> on which a negotiated settlement is based. For the people and government of Tigray, full accountability and guarantee of non-recurrence of such crimes is an essential agenda item. <\/p>\n

A mediation that fails to consider these fundamental issues in defining the nature of the conflict will be a non-starter.<\/p>\n

A longer version of this article first appeared as a blog<\/a> for the World Peace Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United Nations recognises mediation as one of the most effective methods of preventing, managing and above all, resolving conflicts. The UN guidelines underscore that the mediation process has to have integrity if it\u2019s going to succeed. Key elements include, firstly, cultivating the consent of the parties. Success depends on conflicting parties agreeing to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-204993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/why-the-african-unions-mediation-effort-in-tigray-is-a-non-starter.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}