Morocco, which chairs the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of March, convened informal consultations in Addis Ababa on Tuesday 18th March 2025, with Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan. These six countries were suspended by the AU following changes in leadership in these countries.
Organized at the initiative of Morocco, these discussions provided the Ambassadors of the said countries with the opportunity to interact with the PSC to provide updates on the progress of the democratic transition process in their respective countries.
“It is with a deep sense of responsibility and an unwavering commitment to the unity, peace, stability and progress of our beloved Continent that the Kingdom of Morocco, in its capacity as Chairman of the PSC, has convened these informal consultations with our brothers from Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan”, stressed the Kingdom’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi, who chaired a PSC videoconference meeting devoted to these consultations.
Mr. Arrouchi recalled that these exchanges are fully in line with the PSC’s mandate, as defined by its Protocol, in particular Article 8 aliéna 11, which provides for informal consultations with the parties concerned by a situation it is examining, whenever required.
By implementing this key provision of the Protocol, “our meeting aims to strengthen dialogue with States in political transition, to listen to them and to explore together the best ways to foster stability, peace and their return to constitutional order, thus paving the way for their full reintegration into our continental organization”, asserted the Moroccan diplomat.
This informal framework “offers us the opportunity to address, in all frankness and in a constructive spirit, the challenges and expectations of these brotherly countries, taking into account the realities that are theirs, their national specificities and the regional dynamics in which they evolve”, emphasized the Ambassador.
Mr. Arrouchi added that this meeting was therefore an essential step towards strengthening dialogue between countries in political transition and AU institutions, identifying avenues of convergence and reinforcing inter-African cooperation for lasting peace and stability.
Morocco thus demonstrates active and solidarity-driven engagement towards these six countries, aiming to help them accelerate their respective transition processes, based on the principles of democratic institutionalism advocated by the AU, and ultimately to expedite their full reintegration into the Africa.
“Our collective action towards our brothers in transition must be guided by a multidimensional approach, rooted in cooperation and solidarity, in order to identify sustainable solutions tailored to the specific contexts of each country”, stressed the Ambassador, noting that ‘this meeting marks a significant step towards concerted and lasting solutions in the service of peace, stability and progress in Africa’.
