African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat speaks during the 70th United Nations General Assembly in 2015 when he was Chad's foreign minister. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — If President Trump was hoping that the rancor provoked by his reported comment about Africa's “shithole countries” had dissipated, the African Union’s top official made clear Thursday that it was still very much on everyone’s mind.
The semiannual meeting of African heads of state and government at the African Union's headquarters here begins Sunday. Speaking to African foreign ministers preparing for the summit, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said Africa was not happy with the U.S. president.
“At the time of this session, Africa has yet to finish digesting the statements of the president of the United States which profoundly shocked with their messages conveying contempt, hate and desire to marginalize and exclude Africans,” he said Wednesday at the opening session of the executive council. He went on to note Trump’s other controversial moves, including the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which was overwhelmingly condemned by a U.N. General Assembly vote.
“These remarks followed a host of others on Jerusalem and the reduction of contributions to the budget for global peacekeeping, leading one to think that multilateralism is in the midst of a grave crisis,” he added. "The continent will not be silent on this subject.”
The remarks likely presage an official condemnation at the conclusion of the summit Monday.
The new chairman of the commission may already have harbored some irritation toward the United States even before Trump’s remarks. He was invited to meet in Washington last April with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who then allegedly backed out of the meeting, Foreign Policy reported.
According to participants in a meeting Trump held with lawmakers, the president questioned during a discussion of immigration why the United States was accepting people from “shithole countries,” such as nations in Africa, instead of getting more people from places like Norway.
The reaction was fierce, with several African countries summoning U.S. envoys to explain the comment and African ambassadors to the United States demanding an apology.
The glaring exception has been the longtime ruler of Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni, who praised the president for talking “frankly” to African countries.
Otherwise, the response has been overwhelmingly negative, as Africans deplored the lack of respect and insulting language used by Trump.
“Africa and the black race deserve the respect and consideration of all,” said President Macky Sall of Senegal.
President Trump poses with African leaders at the Group of Seven meeting in Italy on May 27, 2017. (Andrew Medichini/AP) In fact, it was the Senegalese ambassador to Ethiopia, Baye Moctar Diop, who proposed the draft declaration condemning Trump’s remarks that was adopted for the body’s consideration.
“This matter is serious enough that all African countries should react together to condemn him,” Diop told the Ethiopian News Agency.
Most envoys predicted a strong statement against Trump on Monday when the summit concludes but expressed hope that U.S. ties with Africa would endure despite his comments.
Trump on Friday met with the chair of the African Union, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, at the World Economic Forum in Davos and praised the U.S. partnership with his country, saying the two had “tremendous discussions” according to the Associated Press. Neither made any comment about the controversy.
U.S. officials are quick to point out that the United States is still very much engaged in Africa. Trump hosted eight African leaders for a working lunch during last September’s U.N. General Assembly in which he talked about boosting economic partnerships and working against terrorism. Tillerson hosted 37 African foreign ministers in Washington in November and emphasized U.S. support for Africa and its contributions to the fight against extremism.
The United States is also the biggest contributor to programs helping train up African peacekeepers and is a major supporter of the African Union force in Somalia fighting the radical al-Shabab movement
Kagame is also the architect of the African Union's internal reform process that seeks to make the body more effective — and more self sufficient so it relies less on European and U.S. funding. At last year’s meeting in Addis Ababa, days after Trump’s inauguration, there was a great deal of talk that Africa would probably have to rely more on itself with a U.S. president who barely mentioned the continent in his campaign.
One of the moves proposed to boost Africa has been the creation of a continent-wide free trade area as well as visa-free travel for all citizens of Africa. Despite some optimistic projections, most analysts expect concrete measures on these goals to be a ways off.
Yet in a seminar about the summit held by the Institute of Security Studies, analyst Tsion Tadesse Abebe suggested that Trump’s comments might actually give such measures a push.
“The protocol has been under development for some time, and it might become a very sensational issue — like now Africa is opening its borders,” she said. “Look at you Trump; you are saying this, and we are going to allow this and so on.”