Addis Ababa, 3 December 2014: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, strongly condemns the recent cowardly terrorist attacks carried out in Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia. These attacks have claimed the lives of scores of innocent civilians, wounded many others and led to the destruction of property.

The Chairperson of the Commission expresses AU’s solidarity with the Governments and people of the three affected countries, offers her condolences to the bereaved families and wishes to those wounded a speedy recovery. She reiterates AU’s strong rejection of terrorism and violent extremism, which cannot be justified under any circumstances.  

 

The Chairperson of the Commission stresses that these attacks are a stark reminder of the growing threat that terrorism and violent extremism pose to Africa and the need for renewed African collective efforts to combat this scourge. In this respect, she emphasizes the crucial importance of the communiqué adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council at its 455^th meeting held in Nairobi, on 2 September 2014, which articulated a number of steps to be taken by the Member States, as well as by the Commission and the Regional Economic Communities. 

 

The Chairperson of the Commission calls on all Member States that have not yet done so to speedily sign and ratify the relevant African and international instruments, notably the 1999 Algiers Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and its 2004 Protocol. In this regard, she welcomes the ratification by Mauritania, on 29 October 2014, of the 2004 Protocol.

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