Burkina Faso calls for a refoundation of the African Union for greater sovereignty and effectiveness
via Lefaso.net4 min read
On Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, met with the President of the African Union Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, advocating for a refoundation of the pan-African organization. The Prime Minister called for a more sovereign, effective African Union that aligns better with the aspirations of African people. He questioned if the African Union is truly a union and truly African, citing the dissipation of unity ambitions and insufficient solidarity with African populations facing existential threats, particularly in the Sahel. He criticized the AU for focusing on "discourse of principle" instead of providing concrete solutions to urgent issues. Ouédraogo also stated that the conflict in the Sahel is a "war of recolonization" and denounced an informational war against Burkina Faso and the Confederation of Sahel States, urging the AU to move beyond externally imposed narratives. He highlighted the difficulty for Africans to travel within the continent as evidence that true union is lacking. Furthermore, he argued that the AU's dependence on foreign funding prevents it from defending African causes, emphasizing that "the hand that receives is always below the one that gives." He urged the AU to champion African sovereignty in line with the vision of its founding fathers and to undertake a deep self-criticism of its direction to defend African interests. In response, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf affirmed understanding
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