Addis Ababa (AFP) - African heads of state will meet this weekend in Addis Ababa to attend the thirty-ninth annual summit of the African Union, amid little hopes of finding solutions to the armed conflicts and coups that are ravaging the continent, apart from accusations of electoral fraud.

Published on: 02/13/2026 - 16:53

The organization, which represents more than one and a half billion people and is headquartered in the Ethiopian capital, is repeatedly criticized for its shortcomings and hesitant positions.

The agenda is expected to address the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, renewed violence in South Sudan, and Sudan, which has been suffering from civil war for nearly three years and is suffering from what the United Nations described as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”

There are no signs of resolving these conflicts on the horizon.

The International Crisis Group says in a recent report, “At a time when the African Union is more necessary than ever, it is currently arguably in its weakest state since the beginning of the century.”

The NGO adds, "Nothing indicates that this institution is capable of performing its tasks."

This situation is exacerbated by the failure of democratic institutions in many Member States.

- Presidents for life -

There are currently three presidents in Africa who have served the longest terms in power in the world, excluding monarchies. They are Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who came to power in Equatorial Guinea in 1979, Paul Biya in Cameroon in 1982, and Yoweri Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986.

Many other African presidents have also spent decades in power.

This situation must be taken into account when these leaders are asked, through the African Union, to evaluate their counterparts.

Since 2020, Africa has witnessed ten coups, including two in recent months in Madagascar and Guinea Bissau. The two countries were expelled from the African Union. An attempted coup was also foiled in Benin in December.

Likewise, Gabon and Guinea were suspended from membership after the coup and then returned to the African Union after presidential elections in violation of the African Charter on Elections, Democracy and Governance, which stipulates that those “bearing responsibility for unconstitutional changes of government... may not participate in elections organized to restore the democratic system.”

Gabonese President Brice Olegé Nguema and his Guinean counterpart, Mamadi Doumbouya, were behind the two coups.

African Union election observers also criticized the union for congratulating re-elected heads of state, despite accusations of fraud and intimidation of opposition figures, as is the case in Tanzania and Uganda.

Benjamin Auger, a researcher at the Africa Center of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), told AFP: “Most of the continent’s leaders are only concerned with their internal problems. ... They do not want at all the interference of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council in the affairs of their countries.”

He added that the continent's presidents have no ambitions related to Africa as a whole.

- Rhetorical tone -

This is the first thirty-ninth summit for the Chairman of the Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who is from Djibouti and has been in office for almost a year.

Benjamin Auger noted that his speech was “more assertive” than that of his predecessor Musa Faki Muhammad, even if it remained “merely rhetorical.”

Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, whose opponents describe his regime as authoritarian, will take over the rotating presidency of the African Union this week, a largely ceremonial position, succeeding Angolan President Joao Lourenço.

African leaders will also discuss access to water, on a continent where “50% of the world’s population drinks water from unprotected sources,” according to the United Nations.

The African Union, which relies on foreign funding to cover about 64% of its annual budget of $700 million, is affected by cuts in international aid, especially from the United States and the European Union.

Nour Mahmoud Sheikh, spokesman for the Commission President, acknowledges that the African Union “is working under stressful global conditions and with a limited budget... but it continues its work,” especially in the field of “preventive diplomacy and mediation.”

The United Nations, which is involved in several peacekeeping missions in Africa, particularly in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, is facing severe budget cuts.

“The African Union can no longer rely on the United Nations to mediate conflicts, which is worrying,” Liesl Le-Vaudrane, a researcher at the International Crisis Group who specializes in African Union affairs, told AFP.

"He will have to decide whether to fill this void, despite the lack of resources," she added.

© 2026 AFP

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