How relevant is the African Union?
Somalia and Omar al-Bashir are expected to dominate the AU summit taking place in Uganda.
The African Union (AU) summit is underway in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, with two main issues expected to dominate it.
The first – and the one expected to overshadow the gathering is Somalia and the battle against al-Shabab.
Uganda wants a stronger mandate for AU troops already there – if not it says it will go it alone following the July 11 attacks in Kampala.
The assault was the first on foreign soil by the Somali group al-Shabab.
The second issue will focus on Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president who is not attending the summit, but is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and genocide. The AU will make it clear that member states should not arrest him.
Just how relevant is the AU and will it be able to address the challenges confronting it?
Inside Story, with presenter Sohail Rahman, discusses with Patrick Muganda Guma, a spokesperson for the African Union summit and the Ugandan ministry of foreign affairs, Miguna Miguna, an advisor to Raila Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, and Hamdy Abdelrahman Hassan, a professor of political science at Cairo University.
This episode of Inside Story aired from Sunday, July 25, 2010.