Saturday, the 26th of January 2013 - President Mwai Kibaki yesterday urged that the African Union’s Peace and Security Council not lose the battle for peace and security on the continent even as he commended it for making ‘good progress’ so far.
The President was speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday when addressing the 353rd session of the AU Peace and Security Council.
The President said the council had done a commendable job so far but needed to invest even more effort and resources given the recent events in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Bissau and Mali;
“This calls on us to recommit ourselves to work towards the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts. The reflections during our fiftieth anniversary of our Union provide a unique opportunity to reaffirm this aspiration,” said Kibaki.
The President also urged the AU Peace and Security Council to come up with concrete steps to help Sudan and South Sudan to put aside their differences over resources sharing and territorial disputes so that the two nations are not forever on a war footing.
Kibaki also urged the council to take advantage of France’s recent incursion in Mali by sending its own troops and to also lead the way in finding a political solution to the problem;
“Most importantly, the Council should suggest the way forward in developing a strategic political process to ending the crisis in Mali,” he said.
The Kenyan DAILY POST