In a searing denunciation, the New African Charter International (NACI) and the Sahel Solidarity Campaign Network (SaS-CaN) have leveled a powerful indictment against the African Union (AU) for its failure to intervene amid escalating violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The critics argue that the AU, which established its Peace and Security Council in 2004 to counter conflicts on the continent, has not lived up to its mandate to safeguard human rights and maintain stability, even as the DRC endures full-scale military aggression.
The AU Peace and Security Council was created to address the deep-rooted challenges of conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding across Africa—a mission that the architects of the council believed was vital for the continent’s socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Yet, recent events in the DRC, where Rwandan and Ugandan forces, along with the M23 rebel group, are accused of launching overt military operations, have exposed a stark disconnect between the AU’s ideals and its actions. The current proxy war is marked by a litany of human rights violations including unlawful killings, extrajudicial executions, mass rapes, and the ruthless exploitation of the region’s mineral wealth.
This crisis comes at a time when the international community upholds the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) as a norm—a principle born from the tragic failures to prevent genocide and ethnic cleansing in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The DRC, once a stalwart supporter of humanitarian relief in the region, now finds itself at the mercy of forces accused of perpetrating crimes against humanity on a massive scale. Daily, over a million Congolese in the eastern part of the country face the threat of violence and deprivation of their most basic human rights.
Critics claim that the AU’s inaction is tantamount to complicity. The indictment asserts that while the organization was designed to be a proactive agent of peace, it now appears paralyzed in the face of aggression by member states that have blatantly disregarded both the AU Charter and international law. According to NACI and SaS-CaN, Rwanda and Uganda’s military incursions are not only destabilizing the DRC but also undermining the broader goal of continental peace and security. They contend that the ongoing crisis is driven by a combination of imperialist interests, colonial legacies, and the relentless pursuit of mineral wealth, with foreign powers allegedly complicit in the exploitation of the region’s resources.
In a set of pointed recommendations, the groups call on the AU and its partners to take immediate, decisive action. Among their demands are the exclusion of Rwanda and Uganda from all AU meetings and activities until they withdraw their forces from the DRC, the establishment of a sanctions framework including arms embargoes and targeted economic measures, and the formal designation of the M23 as a terrorist organization. They further urge impartial investigations and the referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court, similar to the model used in Sierra Leone, to ensure that those responsible for the atrocities are held accountable.
Signed by Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh, President and co-founder of NACI, the indictment decries the AU’s silence as a betrayal of its founding principles and a direct contributor to the humanitarian crisis engulfing the DRC. “Africa must live,” the statement declares, urging all stakeholders to act decisively to restore peace, protect vulnerable populations, and reaffirm the continent’s commitment to human rights.
As the international community watches with mounting concern, the fate of the DRC—and the credibility of the African Union’s peace and security agenda—now hinges on the ability of African leaders to transcend political interests and honor the promise of a safer, more just future for all Africans.
