Niger, Eritrea liable for sanctions in Sirte

SIRTE, Libya, July 1, 2005 (PANA) — Niger and Eritrea are liable to join a list of seven member countries banned from addressing the African Union (AU), deprived from their right to vote by the Panafrican organisation and whose nationals, whatever their skills, are not allowed to bid for posts advertised by the AU.

As of 3 June, both countries, which owe the organisation two full years in arrears of contributions to the AU budget, were in a situation that rendered them liable to sanctions, pursuant to decisions taken 15 years ago by the defunct OAU and fully endorsed by its successor, the AU.

Therefore, if the two countries concerned fail to bring to Sirte the required arrears or part of them, they will find themselves on the banned list which include Somalia, DR Congo, Liberia and the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and the Seychelles.

In total, PANA learned from sources close to the permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC), which regroups African ambassadors accredited to the African Union in Addis Ababa, more than US$88 million are owed by member states in arrears to the AU.

This amount is equivalent to a minimum of the AU’s two-year budget.

Only seven countries, out of the 53 AU member States, have paid their contributions to the ordinary budget in full.

These are South Africa, Algeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Angola and Botswana and the Comoros, a country emerging from a long period of sanctions.

Through the payment of their arrears, the archipelago’s authorities have demonstrated a real political will and their renewed faith in an organisation which played and continues to play a crucial role in the management of the crisis caused by the secessionist impulses on Anjouan.