Luanda - President João Lourenço celebrates on Tuesday his second anniversary as Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, a mandate in which he has put his diplomacy at the service of the pacification and stabilization of the continent.
Indeed, it was at the 16th extraordinary summit of the African Union (AU), also known as the Malabo Summit of 28 May 2022, that the President of the Republic is designated African Union Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa (CAMPPAFRICA).
Two years later, President João Lourenço has shown himself to be a 'tireless worker' in his thorny mission of permanent search for solutions to the various conflicts, political and armed, that afflict the continent.
Likewise, and as President-in-Office of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), João Lourenço was mandated, also by the AU, to mediate in the crisis between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
Since then, the Angolan capital has become the scene of constant diplomatic movements, with the entry and exit of foreign delegations of various levels, as if an unavoidable passage in the paths of the 'Pax Africana'.
In other words, Angola has become 'a hub for political consultation' on the African continent, according to observers attentive to the development of African diplomacy.
The commitment of the Angolan statesman goes in the direction of achieving and preserving peace, national reconciliation, democracy and respect for human rights in the continent that is the cradle of humanity.
In the exercise of these responsibilities, it has continuously encouraged dialogue and promoted political consultations as a means of building trust and building understanding between the disagreed parties.
Africa is following with concern the perennial outbreak of intense tensions and conflicts, with the return to war in Sudan and coups d'état in West and Central Africa as the most recent manifestations.
Heavy loss of human life and the tearing apart of the social, moral and material structure of societies have been the common denominator of the stages of these conflicts, followed by the destabilization of neighboring countries and, as a result, of the continent in general.
Background
Before the Summit in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, in May 2022, João Lourenço's political and diplomatic agenda was already dominated by multiple initiatives for peace, stability and security in the regions in which Angola is located.
In this context, and taking into account the worsening situation in Mozambique, the Angolan statesman proposed to the 33rd ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the AU, from 09 to 10 February 2020, in Addis Ababa, the holding of an extraordinary summit on security issues in Africa.
The aim was to comprehensively address the issue of terrorism and violent extremism and the issue of unconstitutional changes of governments, three situations that continue to negatively impact the continent, delaying the achievement of the 'Africa we want'.
The Angolan proposal would be approved at the 35th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the AU, from February 5 to 6, 2022, also in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital and headquarters of the African Union.
The meeting then decided to convene the summit for May 28 of the same year, in Malabo, after repeated warnings by President João Lourenço for the high level of danger of the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of power in Africa.
In his view, this has led to greater political instability and a weakening of democratic legitimacy and the rule of law in the countries affected.
João Lourenço has always condemned and maintained his firm position against attempts to establish autocratic regimes and unconstitutional changes of governments on the continent, as he believes that they constitute a serious threat to peace, stability, security, development and the protection of human rights.
Before that, the Angolan Head of State embraced the challenge of normalizing relations between Rwanda and neighboring Uganda, which had been deeply deteriorated until it caused the closure of the common border, through the Gatuna/Katuna post, in 2019.
A process of negotiations began under Angolan mediation assisted by the DRC, which led to the signing of the Luanda Memorandum of Understanding on 21 August 2019.
The signing of the document, which put an end to the dispute between the two countries, took place during a quadripartite summit, which was attended by, in addition to Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Paul Kagame (Uganda), the Angolan Head of State and his DRC counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi.
The head of state of Congo-Brazzaville, Denis Sassou Nguesso, also attended the meeting as a guest.
The rapprochement of the two neighbouring countries, since 31 January 2022, was symbolised by the reopening of the common border, at the Gatuna/Katuna post, based on the guiding principles of the Luanda Memorandum of Understanding and the decisions of the 4th quadripartite summit of 20 February 2020. FMA/ART/DOJ
