On February 15, during the 38th summit of the African Union (AU) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African leaders elected Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the foreign minister of Djibouti, as the new chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), the executive branch of the continental body. He prevailed over Raila Odinga, the former prime minister of Kenya, and Richard Randriamandrato, Madagascar’s former minister of foreign affairs.Youssouf has been Djibouti’s foreign minister since 2005 and takes over from Moussa Faki Mahamat, the former prime minister of Chad, who has served two consecutive four-year terms as the leader of the AUC. In his official manifesto, he has committed to advancing governance and democracy, strengthening institutional capacity, and fostering peace and security, among other goals.
Youssouf assumes office at a precarious time in Africa and is expected to leverage his diplomatic expertise especially to address the conflicts raging in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Advertisement
Youssouf appears poised to champion peace and work for substantial positive changes in countries across the continent in the coming years. But his success is less than guaranteed, as African leaders are generally hesitant to relinquish significant power to the AU and its affiliated organisations.
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) released a report in March 2022, which revealed that as of July 2021, just 7 percent of its judgements had been fully compl …
