Facebook

Excellency Mr. Mourad Medelci, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and Chairperson of the PSC,

Excellencies Colleagues,

Invited Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my good friend and Brother Minister Mourad Medelci for inviting Ethiopia to attend this Ministerial session of the PSC, which is convened to discuss the concept of national reconciliation as a crucial factor in promoting security, stability and sustainable development in Africa.

Let me also extend my profound appreciation to the Minister for taking the initiative in organizing this Ministerial session, which will be instrumental in bringing to the fore the concept of national reconciliation in our collective efforts to address the scourge of conflicts on the continent. It will also assist African countries in their post-conflict reconstruction and peace building endeavors.  It will no doubt further contribute its share in our reflections on the past fifty years of efforts towards ensuring peace and stability in our continent as we mark the Golden Jubilee of the OAU/AU.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        As clearly stipulated in Article 3 (c)of its Protocol, one of the cardinal objectives of the PSC is to "promote and implement peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction activities to consolidate peace and prevent the resurgence of violence". I also wish to point out that Article 39 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance emphasizes the need to"promote a culture of respect, compromise, consensus and tolerance as a means to mitigate conflicts, promote political stability and security and to harness the creative energies of the African peoples".

        Although these important legal instruments of the African Union do not explicitly mention national reconciliation, it can be understood that they implicitly recognize it as an important concept in our common resolve to give African solutions to African problems and to promote a culture of peace.  I hope our meeting today will afford us the opportunity to further articulate this concept in the context of effectively addressing the root causes of conflicts bedeviling our continent.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        National reconciliation is not as such a new concept in Africa. There are indeed a number of successful experiences of national reconciliation in our continent.We can certainly draw inspiration from those experiences in our search for peaceful resolution of conflicts in Africa. In this connection, it is fitting that we are holding our meeting in Algeria where we could get valuable lessons from its experience of promoting peace and reconciliation which was aimed at bringing to an end the civil war that ravaged the country in the 1990s.

        As you all know, the case of South Africa has, of course, been one of the prominent examples of national reconciliation in Africa. The truth and reconciliation process launched by the Post-Apartheid South African government played a crucial role in redressing gross violations of human rights and promote national reconciliation among the peoples of South Africa. After the horrendous Rwandan Genocide that decimated the lives of close to a million people in 1994, the country introduced the traditional Gacaca system to address the atrocities of the genocide and promote justice and reconciliation.

These examples represent only a few but not all of the valuable experiences that we have in Africa. Perhaps,one of the important features that we could discern from these peace and reconciliation efforts is that all of them took place under unique circumstances.   There is, therefore, no one template for national reconciliation, which could apply to all conflict situations. That is precisely why efforts geared towards bringing about peace and reconciliation should understand and appreciate the particular situation of a given country emerging from conflict.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        The other important issue that we need to look into is on how to strike a balance between justice and reconciliation. In situations where gross violations of human rights occurred, how could we fight impunity, while also ensuring national reconciliation? This, in my considered opinion, is not only a theoretical question but a practical one indeed. Hence, caution dictates that we seriously examine how we could promote peace and reconciliation, while at the same time resolutely fighting impunity.

We have indeed made a solemn commitment to fight impunity and promote democracy,the rule of law and good governance in our continent. But we also recognize that the search for justice should be pursued in a manner that does not impede or jeopardize efforts aimed at promoting lasting peace and reconciliation. I very much hope that the African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL)will assist us by shading more light on issues of peace, justice and reconciliation in accordance with the decision of the 21st ordinary session of the Assembly.

 This is what I believe will enable us to close the loopholes so that we could curtail external intervention in the affairs of our continent. National reconciliation should not be dictated from outside but must and should be owned and driven by a given country emerging from conflict in an all embracing and inclusive manner. The role of external actors should at best be to support national reconciliation efforts in conformity with the principle of ownership and partnership.

Finally,I am confident that this Ministerial meeting of the PSC will help us to thoroughly examine this important issue particularly in light of recent developments in our continent and chart a way forward in terms of strengthening our existing mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa.

                                                                        I thank you