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While delivering the Thabo Mbeki lecture, Professor 'Funmi Olonisakin said the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region was evidence of the shortcomings of the African Union.
He replaces Debretsion Gebremichael, whose immunity from prosecution was removed Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Thursday that scores of civilians were killed in a \"massacre\" in the Tigray region, that witnesses blamed on forces backing the local ruling party.
The \"massacre\" is the first reported incident of large-scale civilian fatalities in a week-old conflict between the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
\"Amnesty International can today confirm... that scores, and likely hundreds, of people were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest of Ethiopia's Tigray Region on the night of 9 November,\" the rights group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had \"digitally verified gruesome photographs and videos of bodies strewn across the town or being carried away on stretchers.\"
The dead \"had gaping wounds that appear to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,\" Amnesty said, citing witness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by TPLF-aligned forces after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian military, though Amnesty said it \"has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings\".
It nonetheless called on TPLF commanders and officials to \"make clear to their forces and their supporters that deliberate attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited and constitute war crimes\".
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were prompted by a TPLF attack on federal military camps -- a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to verify competing claims on the ground.
Abiy said Thursday his army had made major gains in western Tigray.
Thousands of Ethiopians have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan, and the UN is sounding the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
AFRICA Day was celebrated yesterday, and although public events are still not permitted due to Covid-19, the occasion was widely honoured on social media.
Several artists took to social media sharing powerful messages on what it means to be African.
Leading songbird and prolific songwriter Erna Chimu said Africans must be thankful for this day, because it acknowledges the continent's many achievements and reflects on the myriad challenges still negatively impacting its development.
\"In the past many Africans only knew about the existence of artists such as Salif Keita, but the growth of social media has made it easier for other artists to be identified, and this is wonderful.
Multiple award-winning musician Elemotho yesterday shared screen time with well-known African artists such as Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo, Ismael Lo, Youssou Ndour, Jimmy Cliff and Naomi Campbell on a show hosted by Worldwide Afro Network (WAN).
The 2020 Global Peace Index (GPI) released by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) has ranked South Africa 123 out of 163.
\"The 14th edition of the annual Global Peace Index [GPI] report, the world's leading measure of global peacefulness, reveals that in 2020 the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth time in 12 years.
Covid-19 has the potential to undo years of socio-economic development, exacerbate humanitarian crises and aggravate unrest and conflict with its impact already seen in worsening US-China relations and civil unrest across the world.
In addition, the GPI also looked at the impact of the coronavirus on the globe, finding the \"economic impact of Covid-19 will negatively affect political stability, international relations, conflict, civil rights and violence, undoing many years of socio-economic development\".
Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the GPI is the world 's leading measure of global peacefulness.
[ANGOP] According to the spokesman for the event, Adriano Campos, the conference will also serve to formalise and launch the ECOWAS Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola.
