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African Union Sanctions South Sudan for Nonpayment

David Mono Danga

   JUBA , SOUTH SUDAN - Representatives of South Sudan have been banned
   from taking part in an African Union meeting after their government
   failed to pay overdue fees totaling more than $9 million.

   South Sudan diplomats were caught by surprise last Tuesday when they
   were asked to leave an AU meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

   The AU sanctioned South Sudan after it failed to pay annual membership
   dues for the past three years, according to a June 17 letter to the
   South Sudan Foreign Affairs Ministry signed by Ambassador James Pitia
   Morgan, South Sudan's permanent representative to the African Union and
   to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

   "We were barred from participating in the AU meeting as of June 16,
   2020," wrote Morgan. He called the scene in Addis Ababa "dramatic and
   embarrassing" when the chairperson of the meeting stopped the
   proceedings to inform South Sudan's diplomats that their participation
   was illegal.

   "We should not allow our country to be embarrassed at this regional,
   continental and international stage," said Morgan, who called South
   Sudan "a proud nation and proud people."

   South Sudan owes the AU slightly more than $9 million, according to
   Morgan.

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