Faith Nyasuguta
The African Union has revealed it is disturbed by reports indicating that Africans in Ukraine are being denied the right to cross the border to safety.
The body has now called on all nations to respect international law and offer assistance to everyone fleeing the war irrespective of their race.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, the Chairman of the African Union, and the African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat condemned incidents of racial discrimination against Africans trying to flee the conflict in Ukraine.
“Reports that Africans are singled out for unacceptable dissimilar treatment would be shockingly racist and in breach international law,” AU said in a statement issued late Monday.
At the same time, the AU has lauded member countries and their embassies in countries neighboring Ukraine that are supporting those fleeing from the war.
Africans living in Ukraine have been complaining of racism at the Ukraine-Poland border amid reports that neighboring countries such as Poland were demanding visas from foreigners, preventing them from crossing into the country.
This forced a number of African countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana and Rwanda to announce that they are in talks with various EU countries to give temporary permits to their citizens in a bid to help them escape the war.
On Monday, the matter arose during a meeting on Ukraine at the UN Security Council, with the African members of the Council, commonly known as A3, denouncing what they termed “the mistreatment of African people, especially students, trying to flee Ukraine.”
The Council’s African members called for equitable treatment and dignity for all victims of war devoid of discrimination based on nationality or race. The A3 currently includes Kenya, Ghana and Gabon.
Earlier, at the UN General Assembly’s Emergency Session on Ukraine, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Martin Kimani disclosed that African nations will not halt condemnation against incidents of racism even when expressing solidarity with Ukraine.
“It has been deeply disturbing to observe the racialism that has characterized the expression of solidarity in parts of Europe,” he told the Assembly on Monday.
“We wholeheartedly condemn such racism against African people and people of African descent. We resist any view that expressing this concern is a distraction because the safety and dignity of African people will never be secondary to us.”
On Friday last week, Polish authorities issued a statement permitting foreigners fleeing Ukraine to reside in their territory for up to 15 days without visas or the need to present a Covid-19 certificate.
However on Monday, Ukrainian authorities were blamed for discriminating against Africans and preventing them from leaving.
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