COUNTRIES in the nascent African Union will need a legal framework enshrining their right to intervene in other states in the event of war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity, officials noted in Addis Ababa.
Delegates of the Union, which is to formally replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in July following a one-year transition, met with officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss the issue on Tuesday.
Participants in the seminar said that the delegates discussed the constitutive act of the African Union, a pan-African body with a parliament, court and central bank.
Article 4 of the constitutive act adopted by African heads of state in Lome in 2000 enshrines ”the right of the (African) Union to intervene in a member state in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.”
A west African diplomat close to the OAU said Article 4 was ”particular and innovative for Africa,” and a break from the 1963 OAU charter, which enshrined the principle of non-interference and respect for the sovereignty of African states.
He said participants included ambassadors to the OAU, officials from the body’s general secretariat based in Addis Ababa and representatives of UN agencies and civil society as well as ICRC officials.
The ICRC said in a statement that participants had discussed the principle of ”military intervention with the goal of protecting human life” as called for by humanitarian organisations. ? AFP
