| After the opening session,
the Commissioner of the new Council, Said Djinnit, told journalists
that it would not be possible to solve all of Africa's problems,
but at least it would now have a mandate
to try. What distinguishes the African
Union from its predecessor - the
Organisation of African Unity - can be found tucked away in Article
4 (h) of its charter - the Constitutive Act. This allows the AU
to intervene in a member state in what are called 'grave
circumstances' - where there have been war crimes, genocide or crimes
against humanity. This is the political justification that now overrides
the old cry - that any action without
the permission of a member state would be interference in its internal
affairs.
The real question now is whether the AU will have the
muscle to put this into practice. The answer is - only
slowly. Getting a robust force
to back the African Union's political
decisions will be some time in coming. Until then the United Nations
will have to fill the void.
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a mandate: the authority
distinguishes: makes it different
its predecessor: the body which
had its role before
grave: very serious
overrides: cancels and replaces
the old cry: the usual comment
(colloquial)
the muscle: the strength
a robust force: a strong group
of soldiers
to back: to support
fill the void: fill the space
- here, step in to solve the problem
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