Not only does Mahmoud Ali Youssouf carry the weight of refugee migrants arising from current conflicts in Africa, but also bares the responsibility of ensuring and advocating for responsible migration policies within the continent for a prosperous shared future.

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti has been elected to lead the African Union Commission (AUC), succeeding Moussa Faki Mahama of Chad who has held the position since March 2017.

Youssouf beat veteran Kenyan politician Raila Odinga in the race to lead the African Union’s executive body.

The election of the new chief comes as the conflict in Africa’s second-largest country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, escalates following recent territorial gains by M23 rebels which left thousands displaced, homeless and thousands more dead or injured.

This was after the M23 forces approached the second-biggest city in eastern DRC, Bukavu, two weeks after seizing the main city of Goma. The DRC accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, although Rwanda denies supporting M23.

Sudan is also undergoing active conflict, through two generals: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands and left thousands more dead.

The continent’s leaders at the ASU Summit collectively called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, cessation of hostilities and the reopening of main supply routes and Goma airport.

Guterres appealed for $6 billion to address the needs of about 26 million Sudanese who need emergency assistance.

In an interview with international media last year, Youssouf vowed to work on “silencing the guns” on the continent.

“Silencing the gun, you know, preventing conflicts, resolving those wars and internal crises … that we are faced with already is one of the priorities,” he said.
“Of course, this is something that we need to work on, and I’ll make sure that the commission will concentrate on that particular program.”

Not only does Youssouf carry the weight of refugee migrants arising from current conflicts in Africa, but also bares the responsibility of ensuring and advocating for responsible migration policies within the continent for a prosperous shared future.

Youssouf is a former foreign minister of Djibouti and a seasoned diplomat. The AUC chairperson is elected for a four-year, renewable only once