|
Citizen Posts
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
ADDISABABA: An Israel Ambassador to Ethiopia was on Monday removed from an African Union Session on the Rwandan Genoside after several African countries objected to his presence.
Avraham Neguise was expelled from Mandella Hall at the African Union headquarters. According to Al Jazeera, the ambassador’s participation was not anticipated and several African delegates objected to his presence. Diplomatic sources daid the meeting was paused until Neguise left the room.
The African Union has since reportedly launched an investigation to determined who authorized the Ambassador to attend a meeting which him or his country are not concerned and not allowed to attend.
Since the formation of the African Union in 2002, 87 non-African countries have been granted observer status, which allows them to attend meetings and engage in discussions without voting rights.
The first organization to be granted observer status was the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1973, which continues to receive broad support from African member states. Israel gained observer status in 2021 in an effort to counter Palestinian influence with in the bloc.
However, it’s status was later rescinded following objection from several African countries, which argued that Israel had violated the AU Charter due to it’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories.
This is the second time an Israeli diplomat is ejected from an AU meeting. In February 2023, an Israeli delegation was removed from the opening ceremony of the AU summit in Addis Ababa. The Israel foreign Ministry blamed South Africa and Algeria for what it described as a severe diplomatic breach.
According to the Israel news site Walla, security personnel escorted the Israel delegates out during the event. AU member states have consistently opposed Israel’s participation, citing the ongoing war in Gaza and the genocide against the Palestinian people. Although Israel regained observer status in 2021, Algerian diplomats moved to revoke it in January 2022.
SOURCE: Tasnim News
If you have a story in your community or an opinion article, let’s publish it. Send us an email via news@accord.co.ug. Follow our WhatsApp Channel HERE or Telegram Channel HERE to see more of our stories.
