The African Union has expressed concern for the “shocking racist treatment” of Africans fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Videos showing ill-treatment and discrimination against African students and nationals fleeing Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion have sparked widespread condemnation by the African Union. AU leaders are currently scrambling to find ways to evacuate the African nationals and ensure their ability to stay in Ukraine’s European neighbors until they can return to their countries of origin.
In a Feb. 28 statement, the AU expressed concern for the ill-treatment of Africans fleeing the war, saying, “Africans are subjected to shocking racist treatment that violates international law,” and calling on “all countries to respect international law and show the same empathy and support to all people fleeing war notwithstanding their racial identity.”
Kenya’s permanent representative to the UN, Martin Kimani, condemned racist practices against African nationals fleeing the war in Ukraine. Speaking at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly on March 1 to discuss the situation in Ukraine, Kimani called for legal protection from racial discrimination without holding a particular country responsible.
Despite the abstention of 17 African countries, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Russia to immediately stop its offensive and withdraw its troops.
An official at the African Union Commission’s political bureau told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Efforts to protect African nationals in Ukraine are still disconnected efforts based on each country’s ability to evacuate its nationals through embassies in Ukraine’s neighboring countries.”
He explained, “There is no actual coordination or joint diplomatic campaigns through the AU countries to intervene in order to prevent racist practices or acts of violence and exploitation of Africans in Ukraine, despite reports of the use of Africans and other foreigners such as Indian nationals as human shields in a number of Ukrainian cities.”
The official added, “The AU’s condemnation of racist practices has prompted international and civil organizations in Europe to put forth initiatives aimed at helping and securing the Africans’ escape from Ukraine. Also, the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent will help mobilize international institutions to address racism, discrimination and hatred against Africans outside their countries.”
A number of human rights activists focusing on African migrants are monitoring the situation of Africans fleeing Ukraine through social media, documenting the suffering of African nationals in an effort to ensure their evacuation and safety in the countries they are fleeing to.
Diakite Youssouf Simbo, founder of the African Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe, told Al-Monitor, “The AU, in cooperation with the European Union, must do a better job of overcoming the obstacles and unjust practices that have been inflicted upon African nationals, most of whom are students and youth, by providing safe havens and social assistance to ease their integration into the new host countries in Europe and enable them to complete their studies.”
Simbo added, “Many African students and nationals in Ukraine are still suffering from difficult humanitarian conditions, as they have yet to receive any support and protection. As youth initiatives, we are trying to provide some kind of support in receiving them, but we need more resources.”
“The AU has yet to enact effective tools or policies to protect African nationals outside their countries, and it must work in partnership with the EU to provide further aid, especially with the European refusal to grant Africans fleeing Ukraine asylum as refugees,” Simbo went on.
The EU Council voted unanimously March 4 to provide temporary protection for Ukrainians and others fleeing the war for a period of one year, extendable for another year, as an emergency mechanism to provide collective protection with rights to residency, work, housing and medical assistance as well as access to education for children. The decision stipulates that non-Ukrainian Citizens should have had legal residence in Ukraine before Feb. 24 and are unable to return safely to their countries of origin.
Iman Abdel Azim, a professor of politics at the Institute of African Studies at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor, “The AU does not have actual tools against the racist practices that Africans are facing, and not only in war situations, as is happening now in Ukraine, as there were similar practices during the Ebola and coronavirus outbreaks that did not gain the attention of the international community. The African continent was left to suffer alone.”
Abdel Azim said, “The protection of African nationals abroad cannot be done through a regional bloc such as the AU, as it is a responsibility of every country through its consular and diplomatic contacts.”
Through diplomatic contacts, many African countries have been able to evacuate their nationals across the Ukrainian border and secure their return home. Through its embassies in Kyiv and neighboring European countries, Cairo coordinated registration for the Egyptians who are trapped in Ukraine and offered ways to evacuate them.
While efforts to evacuate African nationals are still disconnected and reliant on the diplomatic capabilities and consular contacts of each country, the AU’s lack of tools to prevent violence and racism against Africans continues to be a matter of controversy.