6th - 8th July 2004:

The Third Annual Summit of Heads of State of the African Union has ended in the Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa, during which the continent's leaders strongly agreed to send 300 troops to Darfur region in Sudan.

The Gambian Head of State Yahya Jammeh was among African leaders who arrived in Addis Ababa on Monday morning for the annual AU Summit where they announced far reaching decisions on numerous issues affecting the continent.

Speaking to reporters at Banjul International Airport early Friday morning upon his return from the Summit, the Gambian leader described the African Union as more action-oriented on the way forward for the African continent than the former OAU.

President Jammeh informed reporters that the Summit has launched the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, whose mission is to deal with the main problems faced in African nations especially in great Lake Regions as Darfur in Sudan, Congo and Ivory Coast among others.

President Jammeh emphasised that their discussions also centred very much on improving the economic status of the African continent.

On the issue of African leaders to contribute at least 0.5 percent of their national budget towards the running of the Union raised by AU Chairman Alpha Omar Konare, President Jammeh welcomed the idea saying it is an important point which African leaders should be ready to undertake for the development of the continent.

The 53-Member State Organ is in desperate need of millions of dollars to address its socio-economic and political challenges, which delegates argued are essential in combating poverty, and underdevelopment.

The AU body faces mounting challenges in financing some of its strategic organs such as the Pan-African Parliament, Peace and Security Council, African Standby Force and other goals contained in its ambitious vision and mission plan.

However, under its able Chairman Alpha Omar Konare, the AU is taking a proactive stand on all the major continental issues which shows that this continental organisation means business.

But speaking at the state of the Summit, Mr Konare called on African leaders to pay their arrears to the Union to enable it accomplish its highly ambitious mission

"We have no doubt that you will mobilize the resources commensurate with our ambition which we are determined to achieve with realism and pragmatism, while changing our course and establishing our priorities. Realism but also determination because it is not a fight for tomorrow but a battle to be waged from today to avert a new domination. It is a battle to ensure that our people retain the initiative to take advantage of the continental leadership, the widespread African presence on the international arena and our numerous bonds of friendship we have forged in the world", he said

The incoming Chairman of the Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union, President Olusengun Obasanjo said as Nigeria assumes the Chairmanship of the Union, they will work together with all Member States, the Commission as well as all stakeholders with renewed determination to accelerate the socio-economic development of Africa. He went on , "in this regard, we shall immediately focus attention on certain crucial areas, which in our opinion deserve priority consideration".

Addressing the Summit on July 6, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told AU leaders that the leading role played by Africans themselves in stabilizing Liberia, Burundi and the Comoros show their determination to assume responsibility for peace and security.

" The establishment of the Peace and Security Council is a landmark in your efforts to give yourselves the tools to do just that. The United Nations will continue to assist you with information, training, expertise and resources as you seek in place the African Standby Force. I welcome the support you have received from the European Union and the Group of Eight", he said

"But the vision that you are working so hard to achieve is imperiled by the persistence of deadly conflict in Africa. I am thinking, in particular, of the horrific situation in Darfur in Western Sudan. I have just visited Darfur and the refugee camps in Chad. The ruined villages, the camps overflowing with sick and hungry women and children, and the fear in the eyes of the people should be a clear warning to us all: without action, the brutalities already inflicted on the civilian population of Darfur could be a prelude to even greater humanitarian catastrophe – a catastrophe that could destabilize the region", Kofi Annan emphasised.

Mr Annan told the AU leaders that the Peer Review Mechanism is a uniquely African approach to the challenges of African governance, which he pointed out that its promise will only be realised with the political will to make the mechanism work, as a tool to strengthen democratic governance throughout Africa.
"Your belief in that goal has already been demonstrated with the inauguration earlier this year of the Pan-African Parliament here in Addis Ababa", he pointed out.