The African Union has announced that Ethiopia, as the seat of the AU Commission, will host the 19th AU summit next month instead of Malawi.
The decision was made in accordance with AU statutes which stipulate that if a nation decides not to host the summit, the country where the AU has its headquarters will act as host. The 19th AU summit will therefore be held in Addis Ababa, July 9th to 16th.
Malawi had been due to host the summit next month in Lilongwe, but it withdrew last Friday after the African Union Commission formally told the government of Malawi that under AU statutes a host nation has an obligation to invite all heads of state of member countries. It cautioned that if Malawi failed to invite any head of state, the AU would have to move the meeting from Lilongwe.
The Government of Malawi had written to ask the African Union not to allow President Bashir of Sudan to take part in the Lilongwe Summit as Malawi, a signatory of the International Criminal Court, was also under a duty to arrest President Bashir. Malawi said that a breach of its obligation would have negative implications for its aid dependent economy.
“After considering the interests of Malawians, I want to inform Malawians that the cabinet met today and it was not interested to accept the conditions by the African Union, therefore Malawi is not hosting the summit,” said Vice-President Kachali in an address to the nation last week.
Source: MFA – June 12, 2012
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Related: Ethiopia may host AU summit after Sudan-Malawi row
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