Addis Ababa, 1 December 2018: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, takes note of the postponement of the East African Community Summit, which was scheduled in Arusha, Tanzania, on 30 November 2018. This Summit, for which he had travelled to Arusha, was to provide an opportunity for the Facilitator of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue to submit a report on his efforts.
The Chairperson of the Commission seizes this opportunity to express again his appreciation to President Yoweri Museveni, in his capacity as Mediator, and to former President Benjamin Mkapa, Facilitator of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue. He commends the patience and commitment with which they have worked to assist the Burundian parties to find a consensual and lasting solution to the situation obtaining in their country and agree on a roadmap for the organisation of credible elections in 2020.

The Chairperson of the Commission, noting with deep concern the persistent stalemate in the Dialogue, calls upon all the Burundian stakeholders to show the spirit of compromise demanded by the current situation. He stresses that the Inclusive Dialogue remains the only way to enable Burundi to sustainably overcome the current challenges. He looks forward to President Pierre Nkurunziza making his personal contribution to the success of the Summit that the East African Community plans to convene on 27 December 2018. In the meantime, it is crucial that all concerned stakeholders refrain from any measures, including political and/or judicial, likely to complicate the search for a consensual solution, in accordance with the spirit of reconciliation that underpinned the Arusha Agreement of August 2000 and the subsequent Agreements which ended the conflict in Burundi.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates the full support of the African Union to the efforts of the region and its readiness, in coordination with the United Nations, to take any initiative likely to facilitate the completion of the ongoing process.